2 Samuel 14:15

14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ¹  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ²  asks.

2 Samuel 14:33

14:33 So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king ³  summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom ⁴  bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him. ⁵ 

[14:15]  ¹ tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.

[14:15]  ² tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.

[14:33]  ³ tn Heb “he.” Joab, acting on behalf of the king, may be the implied subject.

[14:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “Absalom.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.