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Texts -- 2 Samuel 15:1-18 (NET)

Context
Absalom Leads an Insurrection against David
15:1 Some time later Absalom managed to acquire a chariot and horses , as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard . 15:2 Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate . Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration , Absalom would call out to him, “What city are you from?” The person would answer , “I, your servant , am from one of the tribes of Israel .” 15:3 Absalom would then say to him, “Look , your claims are legitimate and appropriate . But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.” 15:4 Absalom would then say , “If only they would make me a judge in the land ! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement .” 15:5 When someone approached to bow before him, Absalom would extend his hand and embrace him and kiss him. 15:6 Absalom acted this way toward everyone in Israel who came to the king for justice . In this way Absalom won the loyalty of the citizens of Israel . 15:7 After four years Absalom said to the king , “Let me go and repay my vow that I made to the Lord while I was in Hebron . 15:8 For I made this vow when I was living in Geshur in Aram : ‘If the Lord really does allow me to return to Jerusalem , I will serve the Lord .’” 15:9 The king replied to him, “Go in peace .” So Absalom got up and went to Hebron . 15:10 Then Absalom sent spies through all the tribes of Israel who said , “When you hear the sound of the horn , you may assume that Absalom rules in Hebron .” 15:11 Now two hundred men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem . Since they were invited , they went naively and were unaware of what Absalom was planning . 15:12 While he was offering sacrifices , Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite , David’s adviser , to come from his city , Giloh . The conspiracy was gaining momentum , and the people were starting to side with Absalom .
David Flees from Jerusalem
15:13 Then a messenger came to David and reported , “The men of Israel are loyal to Absalom !” 15:14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem , “Come on ! Let’s escape ! Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom ! Go immediately , or else he will quickly overtake us and bring disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword .” 15:15 The king’s servants replied to the king , “We will do whatever our lord the king decides .” 15:16 So the king and all the members of his royal court set out on foot , though the king left behind ten concubines to attend to the palace . 15:17 The king and all the people set out on foot , pausing at a spot some distance away. 15:18 All his servants were leaving with him, along with all the Kerethites , all the Pelethites , and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath . They were leaving with the king .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Whereas the second commandment deals with a potential visualtemptation to depart from Yahweh, the third deals with a potential verbaltemptation. Two of the Ten Commandments affect the use of the tongue and speech: the third (...
  • The gate of cities like Bethlehem was the place where people transacted official business (cf. Gen. 19:1; 2 Sam. 15:2-6; 1 Kings 22:10; Amos 5:10, 12, 15)."In ancient cities the gate' was a short passageway through the thick ...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Samuel)V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8A. The beginning of David's kingdom 1:1-3:51. David's discovery of Saul and Jonathan's deaths ch. 12. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a3. David's overtures to Jabesh-g...
  • The first 20 chapters of 2 Samuel are divisible into four units each of which ends with a list of names that is four verses long (1:1-3:5; 3:6-5:16; 5:17-8:18; 9:1-20:26).2The first two units conclude with lists of David's so...
  • "Saul the king is dead, Jonathan the heir apparent is dead, Abinadab and Malki-Shua (two of Jonathan's brothers) are dead (1 Sam 31:2), Abner the commander of the army is dead--and no other viable claimants or pretenders cont...
  • "As the story of David's accession to kingship over Judah (1:1-3:5) parallels that of his accession to the throne of Israel (3:6-5:16), each concluding with a list of his sons (3:2-5; 5:13-16), so the account of his powerful ...
  • The promises Yahweh made to David here are an important key to understanding God's program for the future.God rejected David's suggestion that he build a temple for the Lord and gave three reasons. First, there was no pressin...
  • "From the religious heights of chapter 7 we descend again to the everyday world of battles and bloodshed in chapter 8. The military action picks up where the story left off at the end of chapter 5."130Chapter 8 evidently desc...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
  • While Joab was continuing to subdue the Ammonites the following spring by besieging Rabbah (modern Amman, the capital of Jordan; cf. 10:7), David was residing in Jerusalem (11:1). By mentioning the fact that normally kings le...
  • This is the longest literary section in the Court History of David (chs. 9-20). It records Absalom's antagonism to David that resulted in the king having to flee Jerusalem, but it ends with David's defeat of his enemy and his...
  • Joab's masquerade proved effective. David agreed to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem (v. 21). However even though he did not execute him, neither did David restore Absalom to fellowship with himself (v. 24). His forgivene...
  • Two sub-sections each begin with a reference to time (vv. 1, 7) and form a literary "diptych"(i.e., two complementary panals).233The first six verses explain how Absalom undermined popular confidence in the Lord's anointed fo...
  • The people of Israel had formerly given the kingdom to David as a gift (5:1-3), but now they took that gift from him (v. 13).237David knew that Absalom was popular with the people. Evidently he fled Jerusalem to save his own ...
  • This is the central unit of chapters 5-20, and its central focus is the judgment that Hushai's advice was better than Ahithophel's (17:14). This advice is the pivot on which the fortunes of David swung in his dealings with Ab...
  • "In the overall structure of 15:1-20:22, the story of Absalom's death (18:1-18) provides a counterpoise to that of Shimei's curse (16:5-14 . . .). Just as in the earlier narrative an adversary of David (Shimei) curses him (vv...
  • "In the overall structure of chapters 15-20 (more precisely 15:1-20:22), the literary unit describing the return of King David' (v. 11) to Jerusalem (vv. 9-43) parallels that depicting his flight (15:13-37) caused by Absalom'...
  • "The account of Sheba's rebellion against David serves as a counterpoise to the story of Absalom's conspiracy (15:1-12) in chapters 15-20, which constitute the major part of the narrative that comprises chapters 13-20 (more p...
  • "With Joab's return to the king in Jerusalem, the grand symphony known as the Court History of David reaches its conclusion for all practical purposes (at least as far as the books of Samuel are concerned . . .). The last fou...
  • Achtemeier, Paul J., and Elizabeth Achtemeier. The Old Testament Roots of Our Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.Ackerman, James S. "Knowing Good and Evil: A Literary Ananysis of the Court History in 2 Samuel 9-20 and ...
  • The first segment of the writer's story (1:1-2:12) continues the history of Israel's monarchy where 2 Samuel ended. It records the final events in David's reign that led to Solomon's succession to the throne. It answers the q...
  • Adonijah was David's fourth son (2 Sam. 3:4) and the eldest one living at this time. Evidently he believed it was more important that the eldest son succeed David, as was customary in the Near East, than that the king of Yahw...
  • David had warned Solomon to keep Shimei under close observation and to put him to death (vv. 8-9). Evidently David realized because of Shimei's past actions that it would only be a matter of time before he would do something ...
  • The writer's condemnation of Solomon in verses 1-2 rests on Deuteronomy 23:3-9 as well as Deuteronomy 7:3-4. The phraseology goes back to 23:3-9 and the motive to 7:3-4 (cf. Exod. 23:31-33; 34:15-16; Ezra 9:1; Neh. 13:26). So...
  • The title of this psalm identifies the writer as David. All but four of the psalms in Book 1 of the Psalter (Pss. 1-41) identify David as their writer, all except Psalms 1, 2, 10, and 33. The occasion of his writing this one ...
  • David began by lamenting his situation. Enemies surrounded him. As David grew older increasingly people in Israel turned away from him believing that God had abandoned him. Absalom had won the hearts and support of many in th...
  • 4:2 David's enemies stand in contrast to God; they were sinners, but He was righteous. If they were Absalom and his followers, or whoever they were, they were trying to turn David's honor as a godly king into a bad reputation...
  • 11:19 The full quality of life is in view (cf. John 10:10), not just the possession of life."Since life and death result from moral choices, righteousness must be pursued. . . . Life' and death' describe the vicissitudes of t...
  • This group of prophecies begins and ends with oracles concerning the kings' duties (21:11-12; 22:1-9). In the middle is an oracle against Jerusalem (21:13-14).21:11-12 Jeremiah was to tell the king of Judah and his administra...
  • This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
  • 38:7-8 A courtier in the palace, Ebed-melech (lit. "servant of the king"), heard about Jeremiah's plight. He happened to be an Ethiopian or Cushite (from modern-day southern Egypt, northeastern Sudan, and northern Ethiopia).4...
  • The priests and the kings in Israel were responsible for justice in the nation (cf. Deut. 17:9; 2 Sam. 15:2-3), though neither group could prevent wickedness from proliferating. The sixth and seventh visions deal with the rem...
  • 14:1 The Lord announced through His prophet that a day was coming, for His benefit primarily, when the nations that had plundered Israel victoriously would divide their spoil among themselves in Jerusalem. This would be the L...
  • This incident, appearing only in Luke's Gospel, illustrates the truth just expressed in verse 35. Here is a case in point of what Jesus had just described happening (v. 34). Jesus reached out to a sinner only to receive criti...
  • 22:47-48 All the synoptic evangelists noted the close connection between Jesus' praying and the arrival of the soldiers. It was very important that Jesus pray. Judas preceded the arresting mob (Gr. ochlos, crowd) as Jesus had...
  • 13:12 Jesus now returned to His role as the disciples' teacher, which His change of clothing and physical position indicated. He began to explain the significance of what He had done, though full comprehension would come to t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 2 Samuel 15:1-12There was little brightness in David's life after his great sin. Nathan had told him, even while announcing his forgiveness, that the sword should never depart from his house; and this revolt of Absalom's may ...
  • 2 Samuel 15:15We stand here at the darkest hour of King David's life. Bowed down by the consciousness of his past sin, and recognizing in the rebellion of his favorite son the divine chastisement, his early courage and buoyan...
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