077. LIV. Absalom’s Rebellion
§ LIV. ABSALOM’S REBELLION 2 Samuel 15:1 to 2 Samuel 20:22
1. Absalom’s intrigues. Now later Absalom prepared a chariot and horses and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way which led to the gate, and every man, who had a suit to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to himself and say, Of what city are you? And when he replied, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel, Absalom said to him, Evidently your claims are good and right; but there is no man appointed by the king to hear you. Absalom said moreover, O that some one would make me judge in the land, that to me might come every man who has any suit or cause, and I would give him justice! And whenever a man came near to do obeisance, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. And in this way Absalom did to all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
2. The conspiracy. At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, I would like to go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to Jehovah, in Hebron. For your servant vowed the following vow while I abode at Geshur in Aram: ‘If Jehovah shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, I will serve Jehovah in Hebron.’ Then the king said to him, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent emissaries into all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron.’ And with Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, who were invited and went in their innocence and knew nothing at all. And Absalom sent and called Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people with Absalom kept increasing.
3. David’s flight from Jerusalem. And when a messenger came to David, saying, The heart of the men of Israel has gone after Absalom, David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, Up, let us flee; for otherwise there will be for us no escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he quickly overtake us and bring down evil upon us and put the city to the edge of the sword. Then the king’s servants said to the king, Just as our lord the king decides, we are your servants. So the king went out, and all his household with him. And the king left behind ten concubines to keep the palace. And the king and all the people who followed him went out and stood at the last house, while all his officers passed beside him, and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites and all the men of Ittai the Gittite, six hundred who had followed him from Gath, passed on before the king.
4. Loyalty of Ittai the Gittite. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Why will you also go with us? Return and stay with the king; for you are a foreigner and an exile from your own land. Yesterday you came, and to-day shall I make you wander with us, while I go whither I may? Return, and take your fellow countrymen back with you; and Jehovah will show you kindness and faithfulness. But Ittai answered the king, and said, As Jehovah liveth and as my lord the king liveth, wherever my lord the king shall be—whether for death or for life—there will your servant be. And David said to Ittai, Well then, go, and pass on. So Ittai, the Gittite, passed on with all his men and all the little ones that were with him.
5. David’s directions to the priests. And all the inhabitants of the land were weeping loudly as all the people passed on. While the king stood in the Kidron valley, the people were passing by before him toward the olive tree in the wilderness. And there was Zadok and Abiathar with him, bearing the ark of God, until all the people had all passed out of the city. And the king said to Zadok and Abiathar, Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me back, and show me both it and his dwelling. But if he say, ‘I have no delight in thee’; then here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good to him. The king also said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Behold, return to the city in peace and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I am going to delay at the fords of the wilderness, until word comes from you to inform me. Therefore Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
6. To his friend Husha. But David went up the ascent to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and with his head covered and his feet bare. All the people who were with him also covered each his head, and also went up, weeping as they went. And when David was told, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom, David said, O Jehovah, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness. And when David came to the summit, where one worships God, there came to meet him Hushai the Archite with his garment rent and earth upon his head. And David said to him, If you go on with me you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘Your brothers have gone away and the king your father has gone away after them, I will be thy servant, O king; I have been your father’s servant in the past, so now I will be your servant,’ thus you can defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? Everything that you hear from the king’s palace tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. See, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send to me everything that you shall hear. So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, when Absalom came to Jerusalem.
7. Ziba’s protestations of loyalty. And David was a little past the summit, when Ziba the servant of Meribaal met him with a pair of asses saddled, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred cakes of preserved fruits, and a skin of wine. And the king said to Ziba, Why do you have these? And Ziba answered, The asses are for the king’s household to ride on, and the bread and the preserved fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, that those who are faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba answered the king, He remains there at Jerusalem, for he thinks, ‘To-day will the house of Israel give me back my father’s kingdom.’ Then said the king to Ziba, All is now yours that belongs to Meribaal. And Ziba said, I do obeisance. Let me find further favor in your sight, my lord, the king.
8. Shimei’s curses. And when King David came to Bahurim, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, constantly cursing as he came. And he cast stones at David and all the officers of King David and at all the people and all the mighty warriors at his right hand and at his left. And thus Shimei said as he cursed, Begone, begone, bloody and vile scoundrel! Jehovah has brought back upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and Jehovah hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son; and behold now you are in your misfortune, for you are a bloody man!
9. David’s humility. Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and take off his head. But the king said, What have I in common with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses when Jehovah hath said to him, ‘Curse David!’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ And David said to Abishai and to all his officers, See, my son who came from my bowels seeks my life; how much more this Benjamite! Let him curse, for Jehovah hath bidden him. Perhaps Jehovah will look on my affliction and repay me good instead of this cursing that he hath sent to-day. So David and his men went along the way; but Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him, cursing as he went, and threw stones and continually cast dust at him. Then the king and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan and he refreshed himself there.
10. Hushai’s protestations of loyalty to Absalom. And Absalom with all the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. Now when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, May the king live, may the king live! But Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your love for your friend? Why did you not go with your friend? Then Hushai answered Absalom, No! for whom Jehovah and his people and all the men of Israel have chosen, to him will I belong, and with him will I remain. And in the second place, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so will I serve you.
11. Absalom’s formal usurpation of his father’s rights. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, Give your counsel as to what we shall do. And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in unto your father’s concubines whom he has left to keep the palace; and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself abhorrent to your father, and the hands of all who are on your side will be strengthened. So they pitched for Absalom the tent on the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was regarded as if one inquired of the word of God—so was all the counsel of Ahithophel regarded by David and Absalom.
12. Ahithephel’s advice. Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David to-night; thus I will come upon him when he is tired and weak and will storm him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee; and I will smite the king alone, and I will bring back all the people to you as the bride returns to her husband. You seek only the life of one man, and all the people shall be at peace. And the advice pleased Absalom, and all the elders of Israel.
13. Hu shai advice. Then Absalom said, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he has to say. And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, Thus Ahithophel has spoken; shall we act upon his advice? If not, you give advice. Then Hushai said to Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel has given this time is not good. Hushai said moreover, You know your father and his men, that they are mighty warriors and of angry temper, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Furthermore your father is a man of war and will not remain at night with the people. Even now he has hidden himself in one of the caves or in some other place. And in case some of the people fall at the first, whoever hears it will say, ‘There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ Then even he that is valiant, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will completely lose courage; for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior, and they who are with him are valiant men. But I counsel, Let all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as many as the sand that is by the sea, with you yourself marching in the midst of them. So shall we come upon him in some place where he has been discovered, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him there shall not be left even one. But if he has withdrawn into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it to the valley, until not even a small stone is found there. And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For Jehovah had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, in order that Jehovah might bring evil upon Absalom.
14. His secret message to David. Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled. Now therefore send quickly and tell David, saying, Do not spend this night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over, lest the king and all the people with him be swallowed up. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at Enrogel; and a maid-servant was to go and bring them news, and they were to go and tell King David, for they must not be seen to come into the city. But a lad saw them, and told Absalom. Then they both went away quickly and entered into the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court into which they descended. And the woman took and spread the covering over the mouth of the well, and strewed dried fruit upon it, so that nothing was known. And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house and said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? the woman answered them, They are gone over the water brook. And when they had sought and could find nothing, they returned to Jerusalem. But as soon as they had gone away, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the well, and went and told King David and said to David, Arise, cross quickly over the water, for thus has Ahithophel counselled in regard to you. Then David and all the people who were with him arose and they crossed over the Jordan. By daybreak there was not one left behind who had not gone over the Jordan.
15. Suicide of Ahithophel. But when Ahithophel saw that his counsel had not been carried out, he saddled his ass and arose, and went to his house, to his city. And when he had given command concerning his house, he strangled himself, and he died and was buried in his father’s sepulchre.
16. David’s reception at Mahanaim. Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over the Jordan, together with all the men of Israel. And Absalom set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of an Ishmaelite by the name of Jether, who had come in marriage to Jesse’s daughter Abigail, the sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. But when David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of the Ammonite Rabbah, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, brought couches, rugs, bowls, and earthen vessels, and wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, sheep, and calves for David, and for the people who were with him, to eat; for they thought, The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.
17. The battle. Then David mustered the people who were with him, and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And David divided the people into three divisions, one third was under the command of Joab, another third under Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and another third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I also will surely go out with you. But the people said, You shall not go out; for if we flee away, no one will care for us, or if half of us die, no one will care for us, for you are equal to ten thousand of us. Also it is now better for you to be ready to help us from the city. And the king said to them, I will do what you think best! So the king stood by the side of the gate, while all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Absalom! And all the people heard when the king gave all the commanders the order regarding Absalom. So the people went out into the field against Israel. And the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, so that the slaughter on that day was great—twenty thousand men. And the battle was spread out over the whole country; and the forest devoured more that day than the sword.
18. Absalom’s death. And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was hung between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. And when a certain man saw it, he told Joab and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. Then Joab said to the man who told him, So you saw him! Why did you not smite him there to the ground? And my part would have been to give you ten shekels of silver and a girdle. But the man said to Joab, If I were to feel the weight of a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not put forth my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Take care of the young man Absalom.’ Or if I had treacherously taken his life, nothing would have been hidden from the king, and you yourself would have stood aloof. Then Joab answered, I will not tarry thus with you. And he took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into Absalom’s heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men who bore Joab’s armor gathered about and smote Absalom and put him to death.
19. Burial of Absalom. Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel; for Joab held back the people. And they took Absalom and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a heap of stones. And all Israel fled each to his home. But Absalom had already in his lifetime taken and reared up for himself the pillar which is in the King’s Dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance; and he named the pillar after his own name. Therefore it is called ‘Absalom’s Monument,’ to this day.
20. Ahimaaz’s eagerness to bear the news. But when Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, Let me now run and bring the news to the king that Jehovah hath pronounced judgment for him against his enemies, Joab said to him, You are not the man to bring news to-day. On another day you may bring news, but not to-day, for the king’s son is dead. Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen. And the Cushite bowed before Joab and ran off. But Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, However it may be, I would like also to run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why is it that you would run, my son, seeing that no reward will be paid out? And he said, However it may be, I would like to run. So he said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain of the Jordan and outran the Cushite.
21. David’s reception of the news. Now David was sitting between the two gates; and the watchman had gone up to the roof of the gate by the wall. And when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw there a man running alone. Then the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, good news are in his mouth. And he kept coming and was drawing near, when the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called toward the gate, and said, See, another man running alone! And the king said, He also is bringing good news. And the watchman said, I see that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man and comes with good news. Then Ahimaaz drew near and said to the king, All is well. And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be Jehovah your God, who hath delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not learn what it was. And the king said, Turn aside and stand here, and he turned aside and stood still. And, just then, the Cushite said, Let my lord the king receive the good news that Jehovah hath pronounced judgment for you this day upon all those who rose up against you. And the king said to the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answered, may the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be as that young man!
22. David’s sorrow for Absalom. Then the king was greatly moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And thus he said, as he kept on weeping, My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! O that I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son! And it was told Joab, The king is weeping and lamenting for Absalom. So for all the people the victory that day was turned to mourning, since the people heard that day, The king is grieving for his son. Therefore the people stole away into the city, as people who are ashamed when they have fled in battle steal away. But the king covered his face, and cried aloud, My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!
23. Joab’s rebuke. Then Joab came to the king in the palace and said, You have to-day shamed the face of all your servants, who have saved your life and the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines, by loving them who hate you and hating them who love you. For you declared today that princes and brave officers are nothing to you, for now I know if Absalom had lived and all of us had died to-day, then you would be pleased. Now therefore come, go forth, and reassure your followers; for I swear by Jehovah, if you do not go forth, not a man will remain to you, and that will be worse for you than all the evil that has befallen you from your youth until now. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And the rumor spread among all the people, See the king is sitting in the gate; and all the people came before the king.
24. Uncertainty of the people. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent. And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has fallen in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back? And the word of all Israel came to the king.
25. David’s liberal overtures to the elders of Judah. Then King David commanded Zadok and Abiathar the priests, Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his palace? You are my bone and my flesh; why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do to me whatever he will if you shall not henceforth be commander of the army before me in the place of Joab.’ And he turned the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent to the king saying, Return with all your servants. So the king returned, and arrived at the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring him across the Jordan.
26. His pardon of Shimei. And Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hastened down with the men of Judah to meet King David, with a thousand men of Benjamin; and with him was Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants; and they dashed into the Jordan before the king. And they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household and to do what would please him. Meanwhile Shimei the son of Gera prostrated himself before the king, when he was about to cross the Jordan. And he said to the king, Let not my lord consider me guilty nor remember what your servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to heart. For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore, see, I have come down first of all the house of Joseph to meet my lord the king. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah spoke and said, Should not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed Jehovah’s anointed? But David said, What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day oppose me? Should anyone be put to death to-day in Israel? And the king said to Shimei, You shall not die. And the king swore it to him.
27. Concessions to Meribaal. And Meribaal the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came home safe and sound. And so when he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, Why did you not go out with me, Meribaal? And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for your servant said, ‘Saddle me an ass, on which I may ride and accompany the king, because your servant is lame.’ But he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. My lord the king is as a Messenger of God; do therefore what seems good to you. For though all my father’s house were only deserving of death before my lord, the king set your servant among those who eat at your table. What right have I now, that I should continue to cry to the king? And the king said to him, Why do you continue to speak? I say, You and Ziba divide the land. And Meribaal said to the king, Rather let him take all, inasmuch as my lord the king has come home safe and sound.
28. Parting with the aged Barzillai. Then Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and he went over the Jordan with the king to bid him good-by at the Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old, and he had provided the king with food while he remained at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man. And the king had said to Barzillai, Come over with me, and I will support you during your old age with me in Jerusalem. But Barzillai said to the king, How many years have I still to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish good from evil? Can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? Why then should your servant be a burden to my lord the king? Your servant would merely go over the Jordan with the king, and why should the king give me this recompense? Only let your servant return, I pray you, that I may die in my own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But there is your servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and treat him as shall seem good to you. And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him as you would desire; and whatever you shall request of me, that will I do for you. Then all the people went over the Jordan. The king also went over after he had kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; so he returned to his home.
29. Strife between Israel and Judah. And the king passed by Gilgal, Chimham being with him; and all the people of Judah were escorting the king, and also half the people of Israel. Therefore all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, Why have our clansmen, the men of Judah, stolen you away, and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, when all of David’s men are his people? Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us. Why are you angry at this thing? Have we eaten anything at the king’s cost? or has he been carried away by us? And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, I have ten shares in the king, furthermore I am the first-born rather than you; why then did you despise me? And was not our advice first to bring back the king? But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.
30. Rebellion of the northern tribes. Now there chanced to be there a vile scoundrel, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew on a trumpet and cried, We have no share in David, And we have no claim in the son of Jesse!
Each to his tents, O Israel! So all the men of Israel ceased to follow David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah remained loyal to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
31. Fate of David’s concubines. And when David came to his palace at Jerusalem, he took care of his ten concubines, whom he had left to take charge of the palace, and put them in a guarded house and supported them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut in until the day of their death, living as widows.
32. Reinstatement of Joab. Then the king said to Amasa, Summon in my name the men of Judah within three days, and also be present yourself. So Amasa went to summon Judah. But when he delayed longer than the time which David had appointed him, David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom; take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he find for himself fortified cities and escape out of our sight. So there went out after Abishai, Joab and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty heroes. They set out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
33. The death of Amasa. And while they were at a great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girt with a sword under his warrior’s cloak, and also over it was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab’s hand; so he smote him with it in the body, and shed his bowels to the ground, and he did not strike a second blow; but he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. And one of Joab’s young men stood by him and said, Whoever favors Joab and is for David, let him follow Joab. But Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, inasmuch as he saw that every one who came to him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
34. Pursuit of Sheba. But he passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah. And all the Bichrites gathered together, and entered also after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel-beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood even with the wall; and all the people with Joab were devising how to throw down the wall.
35. Counsel of the wise woman of Abel. Then a wise woman out of the city, cried, Hear, hear! Say, I pray, to Joab, ‘Come near that I may speak with you.’ And he came near her; and the woman said, are you Joab? and he answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of your maid-servant. And he said, I am listening. Then she spoke, saying, They used to say formerly, ‘Let them ask in Abel and Dan whether what the faithful in Israel have established has ceased to be.’ I am of those who are peaceful and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel; why will you consume the inheritance of Jehovah?
36. Death of Sheba and the end of the rebellion. And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should consume or destroy. That is not at all our errand. But a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; only deliver him, and I will leave the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold his head shall be thrown to you over the wall. Then the woman went and advised all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, each to his home. And Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem.
I. Absalom’s Intrigues. In his endeavor to place himself on the throne of Israel, Absalom showed himself an adept in the use of the methods of a demagogue. His appeal was to selfish individual interests. David’s astonishing ignorance of the trend of events indicates how completely he had withdrawn from public life and cut himself off even from his faithful advisers. Later events, however, show that the hearts of the great majority of the nation were still loyal to David. By a crafty deception Absalom succeeded in implicating the majority of the royal court in his conspiracy. In raising the standard of rebellion at the old capital of Hebron he bid strongly for the support of the Judahites. Strangely enough, most of his supporters appear to have come from David’s own tribe; while the king’s support came from his body-guard and immediate followers, and the militia of the northern and eastern tribes.
II. David’s Flight. Absalom’s rebellion had gained such headway before it was discovered by David that the king was obliged to flee from Jerusalem before he had time to arouse the loyal elements in his kingdom. The prominent men in his court remained faithful: Joab, the priests Zadok and Abiathar, Hushai, his able adviser, and his Philistine friend Ittai. In the face of the great danger David’s early energy and skill as a leader reasserted themselves. His piety forbade him, even at this great crisis, to carry away with him in his flight the sacred ark of Jehovah, He wisely provided for a method of communication whereby he might learn of Absalom’s movements. With that shrewd diplomacy which had ever characterized him, he sent back Hushai to undermine the counsel of the acute Ahithophel, who for the time had the ear of Absalom. Through Hushai’s diplomacy, the danger that the rebel would strike an immediate blow before David could rally his forces was averted. The sullen resentment and hatred of the Benjamites, who still remained loyal to the house of Saul, found expression in the revilings of a certain Shimei. David’s characteristic moderation was again revealed. He seemed to have also hoped that the magnitude of his misery would influence Jehovah to interpose in his behalf. At the Jordan, however, his friends rallied about him and brought ample provisions for the rapidly increasing body of his followers.
III. The Decisive Battle. The decisive battle was fought east of the Jordan. David divided his forces into three divisions, placing them under the command of Abishai, Joab and Ittai. With the trained body guard, the experienced commanders and a large army on David’s side, it was not surprising that the rebels, inspired by no exalted patriotism, were quickly put to flight.
Joab, as often before, disregarded David’s personal wishes and acted in accordance with his own personal conviction. In his eyes Absalom was a rebel and a menace to the integrity of the empire; therefore he was put to death. David’s sorrow and lamentations over the death of his rebellious son are indeed pathetic, but they are doubly sad because the great calamity was but one of the many indirect fruits of the king’s own sin and weakness.
IV. David’s Return to Jerusalem. David’s failure to recognize the loyalty of his subjects, who appear to have sympathized with the act of Joab, nearly led to a disruption of his kingdom at the moment of victory. The words of the people reveal their appreciation of the fact that the David of the later years was very different from the valiant champion who had successfully led them in their early struggles for freedom. His appeal, however, to the dissatisfied men of Judah quickly won their support. A universal amnesty was granted to all the rebels. Even Shimei the Benjamite was spared. The tribes of the north and the south vied with each other in their zeal to escort the king back to his capital.
V. Sheba’s Rebellion. David’s personal feelings again overruled his kingly sense of justice. In his desire to free himself from the iron hand of Joab, he made the serious mistake of appointing Amasa, an Ishmaelite, who had led Absalom’s rebellious army, commander-in-chief of the forces of Israel. It was inevitable that this rebel leader should make no headway in suppressing the remnants of Absalom’s rebellion in the north. A certain Benjamite by the name of Sheba, with his clansmen, had fled to the town of Abel-beth-maacah. Joab, as David might well have anticipated, improved the first opportunity to put his rival out of the way. Then rallying the forces of Israel, he marched against the rebels. Through the intercession of a wise woman the city was saved and the rebellion quickly suppressed. Having put down two rebellions, Joab returned to Jerusalem, to continue the grim, invincible power behind the throne,
These rebellions reveal the deep-seated jealousy between the tribes of the north and south, and show how weak were the bonds which bound the Hebrews together. The old danger of Philistine attack had passed away. Even the prestige of David was dimmed. The ancient tribal and sectional interests were beginning to assert themselves. Only the sense of common race and religion, and the iron hand of Joab, kept the empire intact.