2 Samuel 14
14
David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem
1 Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see#tn Heb “the heart of the king was upon.” The Syriac Peshitta adds the verb ’ethre’i (“was reconciled”). Absalom. 2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning#tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action. and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time.#tn Heb “these many days.” 3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say.#tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).
4 So the Tekoan woman went#tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַתַּבֹא (vattavo’, “and she went”) rather than the MT וַתֹּאמֶר (vatto’mer, “and she said”). The MT reading shows confusion with וַתֹּאמֶר later in the verse. The emendation suggested here is supported by the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, some mss of the Targum, and Vulgate. to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me,#tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate. O king!” 5 The king replied to her, “What do you want?”#tn Heb “What to you?” She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 Your servant#tn Here and elsewhere (vv. 7, 12, 15a, 17, 19) the woman uses a term which suggests a lower level female servant. She uses the term to express her humility before the king. However, she uses a different term in vv. 15b-16. See the note at v. 15 for a discussion of the rhetorical purpose of this switch in terminology. has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, ‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death#tn Heb “in exchange for the life.” The Hebrew preposition בְּ (bÿ, “in”) here is the so-called bet pretii, or bet (בְּ) of price, defining the value attached to someone or something. of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal,#sn My remaining coal is here metaphorical language, describing the one remaining son as her only source of lingering hope for continuing the family line. leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.”
8 Then the king told the woman, “Go to your home. I will give instructions concerning your situation.”#tn Heb “concerning you.” 9 The Tekoan woman said to the king, “My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father. But let the king and his throne be innocent!”
10 The king said, “Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won’t bother you again!” 11 She replied, “In that case,#tn The words “in that case” are not in the Hebrew text, but may be inferred from the context. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification. let the king invoke the name of#tn Heb “let the king remember.” the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill! Then they will not destroy my son!” He replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of your son’s head#tn Heb “of your son.” will fall to the ground.”
12 Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.” 13 The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished. 14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.#tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.” 15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful.#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. But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant#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. asks. 16 Yes!#tn Or “for.” The king may#tn Or “will.” The imperfect verbal form can have either an indicative or modal nuance. The use of “perhaps” in v. 15b suggests the latter here. listen and deliver his female servant#tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.” from the hand of the man who seeks to remove#tn Heb “destroy.” both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’#tn Heb “from the inheritance of God.” The expression refers to the property that was granted to her family line in the division of the land authorized by God. 17 So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”
18 Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak!” 19 The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?”#tn Heb “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth. 20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.”#tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”
21 Then the king said to Joab, “All right! I#tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “you” rather than “I.” will do this thing! Go and bring back the young man Absalom! 22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked#tn Heb “blessed.” the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your#tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.” servant!”
23 So Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 24 But the king said, “Let him go over#tn Heb “turn aside.” to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over#tn Heb “turned aside.” to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.
25 Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom.#tn Heb “Like Absalom there was not a handsome man in all Israel to boast exceedingly.” From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance.#tn Heb “there was not in him a blemish.” 26 When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long#tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.” and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds#tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg). according to the king’s weight. 27 Absalom had#tn Heb “and there were born.” three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a very attractive woman.#tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And she became a wife to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bore to him Abia.”
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come. 30 So he said to his servants, “Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire.”#tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And the servants of Absalom burned them up. And the servants of Joab came to him, rending their garments. They said….” So Absalom’s servants set Joab’s#tn The word “Joab’s” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. portion of the field on fire.
31 Then Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?” 32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent a message to you saying, ‘Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message:#tn Heb “saying.” “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.”’ Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!”
33 So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king#tn Heb “he.” Joab, acting on behalf of the king, may be the implied subject. summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity. bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him.#tn Heb “Absalom.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
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2 Samuel 14
14
Joab Plots to Reconcile David with Absalom
1Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king was on Absalom. 2So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, “Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself with oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for a long time.#Literally “many days” 3Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word.” Thus Joab put the words in her mouth.
4So the Tekoite woman spoke to the king, and she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance. She said, “Help me, O king!” 5Then the king asked her, “What do you want?”#Literally “What is for you” And she said, “Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead. 6Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there was no one to part them.#Literally “to save between them” One struck the other and killed him. 7And look, all of the family has risen up against your servant, and they said, ‘Give up the one who struck his brother, that we may kill him in exchange for the life of his brother whom he murdered. We will also wipe out the heir,’ and so they would put out my embers which remain, by not preserving for my husband a name and a remnant on the face of the earth.”
8Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house, and I myself will give the command concerning you.” 9The Tekoite woman said to the king, “On me, my lord the king, is the guilt, and on the house of my father, but the king on#Hebrew “and” his throne is innocent.” 10The king said, “Whoever has spoken to you, bring him to me, and he will not touch you again.” 11Then she said, “Please may the king remember Yahweh your God, to prevent the increase of blood avengers who kill,#Literally “from making numerous the avenger of blood to kill” so that they not wipe out my son.” He said, “As Yahweh lives,#Literally “The life of Yahweh” surely not one hair shall fall from your son to the ground.” 12The woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.” 13The woman said, “But why have you plotted like this against the people of God? By speaking this word, he is guilty not to bring back his banished one. 14For we must certainly die,#Literally “dying we must die” and we are as the waters spilled to the ground which cannot be gathered. God will not take a life but devises plans for a banished person not to be cast out from him. 15Now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king, perhaps the king will grant#Hebrew “do/make” the request of his servant. 16For the king will listen, to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who seeks to destroy me and my son together from the inheritance of God.’ 17Your servant also thought, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring rest,#Literally “become a rest” for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king, to sense what is good and what is bad.’#Literally “to hear the good and the bad” May Yahweh your God be with you.” 18The king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not withhold from me a thing which I am about to ask you.” The woman said, “Please let my lord the king speak.” 19The king asked, “Was the hand of Joab with you in all of this?” The woman answered and said, “As your soul lives,#Literally “The life of your soul” my lord the king, surely one cannot go to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. Yes, your servant Joab himself commanded me, and he put all of these words in the mouth of your servant. 20In order to change the situation,#Literally “to turn the face of the thing” your servant Joab did this thing. But my lord has wisdom, as the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is on the earth.” 21Then the king said to Joab, “Look, please, I will grant this thing. Go and bring back the young man Absalom.” 22Joab fell with his face to the ground and did obeisance. And he blessed the king, and he#Hebrew “Joab” said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, in that the king has granted the request of his servant.”
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
23Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24The king said, “Let him go over to his house, and he may not see my face.” So Absalom went over to his house, and did not see the face of the king. 25As far as Absalom, there was not a more handsome man in all of Israel to admire so much; from the sole of his foot up to his crown, there was no physical defect on him. 26When he shaved his head, it would happen every year,#Literally “from the end of days for the days” which he did because it was heavy on him, he would shave it off and weigh the hair of his head: two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.#Literally “by the stone of the king” 27Three sons were born to Absalom and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a woman beautiful of appearance. 28Absalom lived in Jerusalem two full years,#Literally “two years of days” but he did not see the face of the king. 29So Absalom sent for Joab, in order that he send him to the king, but he was not willing to go to him. He sent again a second time, but he was not willing to go. 30So he said to his servants, “Look at the tract of land of Joab next to mine,#Literally “toward my hand” for he has barley plants there. Go, set it ablaze with fire.” So the servants of Absalom set the tract of land ablaze with fire. 31Then Joab got up and went to Absalom, to the house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my tract of land ablaze with fire?” 32Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I have sent to you, saying, ‘Come here that I may send you to the king to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.” ’ So then, let me see the face of the king; if there is guilt in me, then let him kill me.” 33So Joab went to the king and he told him. Then he summoned Absalom, and he came to the king, and he bowed down to him with his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed Absalom.
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