2 Samuel 15:1

And it came to pass after this,.... After the reconciliation of David and Absalom, and the latter was admitted to court again: that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses; to make himself look

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. Prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him , [ raatsiym (H7323)] - running footmen.

2 SAMUEL CHAPTER 15 Absalom stealeth the hearts of Israel, . Under pretence of a vow obtaineth leave to go to Hebron: there with Ahithophel’ s aid he conspires to be king, . David fleeth from Jerusalem with all his men; leaveth ten of his concubines, . As being the king’ s eldest son, now Amnon was dead; for Chileab, who was his eldest brother, , was either dead, or manifestly incapable of the government. And this course he knew would draw the eyes and minds of people to him, and make them conclude that David intended him for his successor.

2 Samuel 15:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.Ver. 1. And it came to pass after this.] Two years after, saith Josephus: all which while, Absalom had been hammering and hatching this following insurrection; God raising up evil against David out of his own house, as he had threatened, 2 Samuel 12:11. That Absalom prepared him chariots and horses.] Pride buddeth, and ambition rideth without reins. Absalom will needs have a train and port like a prince and successor to the kingdom, so to dazzel the eyes of the common people, who are apt to judge of inward worth by outward gaiety, and to dote upon glittering shows, as they did upon Herod in his cloth of silver, and upon Agrippa with his Bernice, when they came to the tribunal with a great deal of pomp.

XV.(1) Prepared him chariots and horses.—As a preparation for his rebellion, it was necessary to impress the people with his wealth and splendour. (Comp. 1 Kings 1:5, where Adonijah does the same thing.) This was the first use in Israel of chariots and horses as a part of regal pomp.

CHAPTER XV Absalom conspires against his father, and uses various methods to seduce the people from their allegiance to their king, 14. Under pretence of paying a vow at Hebron, he obtains leave from David to go thither; and, by emissaries sent through the land, prepares the people for revolt, 7-11. He gains over Ahithophel, David's counsellor, 12. David is informed of the general defection of the people; on which he, and his life-guards and friends, leave the city, and go towards the wilderness, 13-18. The steadfast friendship of Ittai, the Gittite, 19-22. David's affecting departure from the city, 23. He sends Zadok and Abiathar with the ark back to Jerusalem, 24-29. He goes up Mount Olivet; prays that the counsel of Ahithophel may be turned into foolishness, 30-31. He desires Hushai to return to Jerusalem, and to send him word of all that occurs, 32-37. NOTES ON CHAP. XV Verse 1. Absalom prepared him chariots and horses] After all that has been said to prove that horses here mean horsemen, I think it most likely that the writer would have us to understand chariots drawn by horses; not by mules or such like cattle. Fifty men to run before him.] Affecting in every respect the regal state by this establishment. Of this man Calmet collects the following character: "He was a bold, violent, revengeful, haughty, enterprising, magnificent, eloquent, and popular prince; he was also rich, ambitious, and vain of his personal accomplishments: after the death of Amnon, and his reconciliation to his father, he saw no hindrance in his way to the throne. He despised Solomon because of the meanness of his birth, and his tender years. He was himself of the blood royal, not only by his father David, but also by his mother Maacah, daughter to Talmai, king of Geshur: and, doubtless, in his own apprehension, of sufficient age, authority, and wisdom, to sustain the weight of government. There was properly now no competitor in his way: Amnon, David's first-born, was dead. Of Chileab, his second son by Abigail, we hear nothing; and Absalom was the third: see 2 Samuel 3:2-5. He, therefore, seemed to stand nearest to the throne; but his sin was, that he sought it during his father's life, and endeavoured to dethrone him in order to sit in his stead."

Ch. 2 Samuel 15:1-6. Absalom ingratiates himself with the people 1. And it came to pass after this] To recall Absalom without granting him a full pardon was ill-judged: to readmit him to favour, after he had been irritated by two years of exclusion, without the slightest sign of repentance on his part, was fatal. The natural consequences of such treatment are recorded in the following chapters[100]. [100] Dryden has made use of the events of this period as the basis of his political poem on the court of Charles II., entitled “Absalom and Achithophel,” in which Absalom represents the Duke of Monmouth, and Achithophel his evil adviser Shaftesbury.chariots and horses, &c.] A chariot and horses. Absalom imitated the magnificence of foreign monarchs, in order to make an impression on the people. Cp. Adonijah’s practice (1 Kings 1:5), and see 1 Samuel 8:11.

And it came to pass ... - The working out of Nathan’s prophecy (marginal reference) is the clue to the course of the narrative. How long after Absalom’s return these events occurred we are not told.

1. Prepared him chariots and horses — Like Adonijah, who at a later period aspired to the throne. Many of these horses and chariots were probably those that David had captured in war.