Summary: David collects his men to fight (v.1). The men tell him to stay back because he is more valuable than the other men (v.3). He asks that the men would be gentle with Absalom (v.5). David’s men win the battle, killing 20,000 men (v.7).
Absalom’s hair was caught in a tree, as his mule ran through the branches (v.9). Joab killed Absalom because he was a sitting duck (v.14). The runners (news-carriers) run to David to tell him what happened. David is convinced that they were bringing good news (v.27). The Cushite news-carrier tells him that Absalom died (v.32). This shakes David deeply, and causes him to weep (vv.32-33).
(18:1-2) David gathers the troops, places them under good leadership, and tells them that he will lead in the battle with them. The words “I myself” are emphatic in the Hebrew.[]
(18:3-4) The men tell David not to fight with them. After all, David is the central leader of the nation. If he dies, then the army would collapse. This is a total reversal of Hushai’s advice to Absalom (2 Sam. 17:11).
(18:5) David may have wanted to go fight in person in order to protect his son. He tells the commanders (in earshot of the entire army) to be “gentle” with Absalom. Even after all of Absalom’s treachery, David was still Absalom’s father and this man was his son. He couldn’t bring himself to have the man killed. Youngblood comments, “David’s reference to his son as ‘the young man’ (cf. also vv.12, 29, 32) indicates, together with his words ‘for my sake,’ something of his paternal affection in spite of Absalom’s destructive ambition, arrogance, and treachery.”[]
(18:6-7) David’s men are victorious. 20,000 men died.
(18:8) Why would the forest kill so many men? This could refer to the fact that the armies were spread out, far and wide, and David’s men were more skilled at using guerrilla warfare in the forests.[]
(18:9) Absalom flees from the battle through the forest. As he rides his mule, his long, thick hair gets caught in a tree. “Hair” and “head” are used together in 2 Samuel 14:26. Remember, Absalom’s hair was a sign of his vanity (cf. 2 Sam. 14:26). This was his undoing in battle.
(18:10-13) One of Joab’s men reports what happened. Joab tells the man that he would’ve rewarded him for killing the man (ten pieces of silver = four ounces).[] However, the messenger knows that David had told them not to harm Absalom.
(18:14) Joab stabbed Absalom with three “spears” (NASB) or “javelins” (NIV) or “daggers” (NLT), and Absalom still didn’t die (!!).
(18:15) Ten of Joab’s men surrounded and killed Absalom.
(18:16-17) Since Absalom was dead, the war was effectively over. Joab had Absalom buried in the forest.
(18:18) Why does the text interject with this statement about Absalom’s Monument? Since Absalom didn’t have a son to carry on his name (perhaps they all died? 2 Sam. 14:27), he settled for a monument.
(18:19-21) Joab won’t let one of his men bring the (bad) news to David. Instead, he sends one of the foreigners—an Ethiopian man.
(18:22-23) Ahimaaz persists in wanting to bring the news to David, and Joab allows him to go.
(18:24-27) David expected the messengers to bring good news.
(18:28-30) Ahimaaz thinks that he is bringing good news (v.28), but Ahimaaz lies and doesn’t tell David that Absalom died (v.29).
(18:31-32) The Ethiopian tells David that Absalom is dead.
(18:33) This is the third son that David lost after his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba. There is hardly a more touching and emotional verse in the entire Bible. There is so much betrayal and treachery here, but so much love as well.
The “I” is emphatic in the Hebrew (“If only I had died instead of you!” NIV).[] David cries, “My son…” five times in this one verse.
The messengers brought news about the corporate battle, but David only wants to hear what happened to his son (v.29, 32). David’s son meant more to him than the entire battle.
David cared deeply for his son (vv.32-33), but he wasn’t willing to discipline or lead him. David was a brave soldier, but a weak father.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 1017.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 1018.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 1019.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 1020.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 1027.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
