Chapter Eighteen
Absalom is Defeated and Killed
18:1 Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.”
David gathered together the men that were with him and divided them into three groups that would be led by three army commanders. The first group would be commanded by Joab, the second by Abishai, Joab’s brother, and the third would be commanded by Ittai the Gittite (see 2 Samuel 15:18-22, click here to read about what it means to be a Gittite). Then David proclaimed, “I myself will also go out with you.”
We read that there would be commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, but no number of men is given, the historian Josephus records, “when David had numbered his followers, and found them to be about four thousand.”[1] While understanding that this number is not Scriptural, we can see that Absalom’s men certainly out numbered David’s men by a large margin.
18:3 But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” 4 The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
David’s men immediately respond to David’s proclamation, “You must not go!” (2 Samuel 18:3b, NLT) They explain, if they flee or if half of them die, they would not care, they want him, not them, therefore he is worth ten thousand of them, so they believe it would be best if he stayed there in the city and send help if they need it. David agreed, and stood by the city gate as the men marched out. David then ordered the commanders to “deal gently” with Absalom, an order that was heard by everyone including the men. Many speculate why David ordered his commanders to not kill his son, which include: 1) being overly-protective of his children; 2) that Absalom’s revolt was due to David not punishing Amnon for raping Tamar (see 2 Samuel 13:1-22); 3) due to being the king not giving his children time to nurture them; 4) still considered Absalom a “young man” (the Hebrew in verse five is nǎ’·ʿǎr, meaning young boy, but it is also used to refer to both, a new-born child, see Exodus 2:6; Judges 13:5, 7; 1 Samuel 4:21; as well as of a young man of about twenty, see Genesis 34:19; 41:12); and the list goes on. However, it is likely that he understood that Absalom’s behavior was the direct result of his sins against God regarding Bathsheba and Uriah. Nathan had told him, “From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. “This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” (2 Samuel 12:10-12, NLT)
18:6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.
David’s army heads out to fight against Israel, they meet in the forest of Ephraim. There is some debate as the where that forest is located. It is not likely that the men crossed back over the Jordan River to fight in the highlands of Ephraim’s territory. This forest is believed to have been named the forest of Ephraim due to some Ephraimites settling there years earlier, while others believe that this was the location of the slaughter of the 42,000 Ephaimites as recorded in Judges 12:1-7.
The men of Israel were defeated by David’s men, the loss was significant that day, twenty thousand men died. The author records that the thick forest, “devoured more people that day than the sword,” meaning that the terrain of the forest struck down more men than by those fighting with swords. Some believe that the text was referring to wild animals devouring people, however, there is no mention of any wild beasts in the forest. Regardless of animal, tree, or other terrain hazards, it was God who provided the actual victory.
18:9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
David’s men find Absalom, but he was stuck in a large oak tree. He was riding on his mule when it went under some thick branches, and his head got caught, but his mule continued on, leaving Absalom hanging by his neck in the tree completely helpless. For those who remember this event often remember that he was caught by his enormous hair, which is possible (see 2 Samuel 14:25-26), but there is no reference in Scripture that he was caught by his hair, that information came from Josephus, see below.
18:10 And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11 Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
An unidentified man goes to his commander Joab and reports that he saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree. Joab exclaimed, “What, you saw him!” He then asks the man why he didn’t kill him there, as he would have given that man ten pieces of silver and a special commemorative belt that would have identified him as a war hero. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word translated here as ‘hanging’ (tā·lûy’) is found in only one other location regarding a hanging man, and that is Deuteronomy 21:23, “his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” (ESV)
18:12 But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’ 13 On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.”
The man replied, that even if the reward would have been a thousand pieces of silver he would not have killed Absalom, as he heard when the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, that for his sake, protect Absalom. The man then accuses Joab that if he did kill Abslom, and the king found out it was him, then he would be the one killed, as Joab would likely abandon him and let him die.
18:14 Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak. 15 And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.
Apparently now at the location where Absalom was hanging in the tree, Joab took three javelins in his hand and thrusted them into Absalom. Three javelins would seem to be overkill, perhaps Joab’s reaction to the unidentified man’s comment made him angrily thrust three instead of just one. Joab’s armor-bearers followed Joab’s lead and also struck Absalom, most assuredly killing him.
18:16 Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them. 17 And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home.
With Absalom now dead, the uprising was now dead too. Joab proceeds to blow the shofar calling his men to stop pursuing the men of Israel. They then join Joab to bury Absalom, just as the Torah required (see the Deuteronomy passage above).
18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument to this day.
In contrast to Absalom’s unmarked grave as described in verse seventeen, the author calls our attention to a special monument that Absalom had erected as a memorial to himself. Something that he hoped that people would remember him by, as the monument reportedly said that he had no sons, a curious statement as we were informed in 2 Samuel 14:27 that he had three sons. Were they now dead? Josephus tells us that they were all killed:
Now Absalom had erected for himself a marble pillar in the king’s dale, two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, which he named Absalom’s Hand, saying, that if his children were killed, his name would remain by that pillar; for he had three sons and one daughter named Tamar, as we said before.[2]
The author says that this monument was in existence at the time of writing. There are some who believe this pillar (or monument) can still be seen today.
In the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east of Jerusalem, is a tomb or cenotaph, said to be this “pillar” or monument: it is twenty-four feet square, dome-topped, and reaches forty feet in height. This may occupy the spot, but cannot itself be the work of Absalom, as it evidently bears the style of a later architecture.[3]
Considerations
Josephus’ Rendition of this Event
The following is the translated text of Josephus’ account of this event as recorded in his voluminous book titled, the “Antiquities of the Jews”:
Then did Joab put his army in battle array over against the enemy in the Great Plain, where he had a wood behind him. Absalom also brought his army into the field to oppose him. Upon the joining of the battle, both sides showed great actions with their hands and their boldness; the one side exposing themselves to the greatest hazards, and using their utmost alacrity, that David might recover his kingdom; and the other being no way deficient, either in doing or suffering, that Absalom might not be deprived of that kingdom, and be brought to punishment by his father, for his impudent attempt against him. Those also that were the most numerous were solicitous that they might not be conquered by those few that were with Joab, and with the other commanders, because that would be the greatest disgrace to them; while David’s soldiers strove greatly to overcome so many ten thousands as the enemy had with them. Now David’s men were conquerors, as superior in strength and skill in war; so they followed the others as they fled away through the forests and valleys; some they took prisoners, and many they slew, and more in the flight than in the battle, for there fell about twenty thousand that day. But all David’s men ran violently upon Absalom, for he was easily known by his beauty and tallness. He was himself also afraid lest his enemies should seize on him, so he got upon the king’s mule and fled; but as he was carried with violence, and noise, and a great motion, as being himself light, he entangled his hair greatly in the large boughs of a knotty tree that spread a great way, and there he hung, after a surprising manner; and as for the beast it went on farther, and that swiftly, as if his master had been still upon his back; but he hanging in the air upon the boughs, was taken by his enemies. Now when one of David’s soldiers saw this, he informed Joab of it; and when the general said, That if he had shot at and killed Absalom, he would have given him fifty shekels,—he replied, “I would not have killed my master’s son if thou wouldst have given me a thousand shekels, especially when he desired that the young man might be spared, in the hearing of us all.” But Joab bade him show him where it was he saw Absalom hang; whereupon he shot him to the heart, and slew him, and Joab’s armor bearers stood round the tree, and pulled down his dead body, and cast it into a great chasm that was out of sight, and laid a heap of stones upon him, till the cavity was filled up, and had both the appearance and the bigness of a grave. Then Joab sounded a retreat, and recalled his own soldiers from pursuing the enemy’s army, in order to spare their countrymen.[4]
What is a Worthy Life?
This self-promoting monument in the “King’s Valley” (a location that has been attributed to several valleys near Jerusalem by many commentators but remains uncertain), is exactly what one might expect from a self-centered and prideful individual. However, the contrast the author seems to be pointing out is not about the futility of seeking recognition from the world, but that of living for and following God. If you seek only that what the world offers, your history, your accomplishments, and any recognition, that will end when the world ends. But if one chooses to live and follow God, believing that Jesus died for their sins, and repents of their sins, they will live forever.
Runners Sent to Bring News to David
18:19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and carry news to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the hand of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You are not to carry news today. You may carry news another day, but today you shall carry no news, because the king’s son is dead.”
Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok the priest, asked Joab to allow him to run to Mahanaim to carry the news of their victory to the king. But Joab told him that he would not carry this news to David, but that he could carry the news another day. Joab did not want Ahimaaz to deliver bad news to David, as Ahimaaz was highly regarded by David, and Joab wanted to spare Ahimaaz from that unpleasant duty (especially since David has a history of not responding well to bad news, see 2 Samuel 1:4-16; 4:8-12).
18:21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran.
Joab selects a man from Ethiopia (Cush) to go and inform the king what he has seen there, that they won the battle and that his son Absalom was dead. The man bowed before Joab and left, running back to Mahanaim.
18:22 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the news?” 23 “Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran the Cushite.
Ahimaaz once again approaches Joab and says, “Whatever happens, please let me go, too.” (NLT) Joab asks him why since there would not be any reward for him. Ahimaaz acknowledges that, but wants to run anyway, so Joab relinquishes and tells him to go and run (probably thinking that the Cushite will arrive first and relay the bad news before Ahimaaz). But Ahimaaz leaves and runs past the Cushite!
18:24 Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he lifted up his eyes and looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he drew nearer and nearer.
Returning to the scene at Mahanaim, the author tells us that David is waiting for news sitting between the two gates of the city, while the watchman was on the roof of the gate. The watchman sees a single runner approaching and notifies the king. David surmises that since he is alone (not with several fleeing from a battle) that he is coming to bring him news.
18:26 The watchman saw another man running. And the watchman called to the gate and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also brings news.” 27 The watchman said, “I think 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.”
The watchman can now see that there is another person running alone, and David again believes that he is bringing news. The watchman now can see that the first runner is Ahimaaz. Knowing Ahimaaz, David proclaims that he is a “good man” and therefore he must have “good news.”
18:28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed before the king with his face to the earth and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29 And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, your servant, I saw a great commotion, but I do not know what it was.” 30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still.
Ahimaaz arrives and tells the king that all is well, and bowed before David saying that YHWH has delivered up the men who rebelled against the king. But David was only interested in knowing about the fate of Absalom. Ahimaaz either truly did not know or was trying to avoid telling David his son was dead, Ahimaaz says that he saw a great commotion, but did not know what it was about. David tells him to stand aside and wait for the second runner to arrive.
David Hears of Absalom’s Death
18:31 And behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Good news for my lord the king! For the LORD has delivered you this day from the hand of all who rose up against you.”
The Cushite recites the same message Ahimaaz proclaimed just minutes before. That YHWH had delivered the king from the hand that of all those that rose up against him.
18:32 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 like that young man.”
But again David asks about Absalom. The runner, in a succinct, but polite way, tells David that his son is dead. He simply pronounces a blessing that all of the enemies of David and any who rise up against him, will be like that young man. The only true ‘blessing’ that refers to one’s enemies, would be one of destruction, David immediately understood.
18:33 And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
At that time David entered a chamber that was located above the gate and wept, mourning his son. He repeatedly said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son!” And that he would have been willing to die in his place instead.
The king was already at the gate complex when he heard of the victory and Absalom’s death. The nearest place where he could be alone in his grief was the upper room over the gate complex. Feeling overcome by the news of Absalom’s death, he sought out such a private place. But unfortunately, the returning troops would all pass through that gateway on their way home to their families to rejoice in the victory that Yahweh had given them. And as they passed through, they could not avoid hearing the king’s loud, wrenching weeping.[5]
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[1] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (p. 198). Hendrickson. Antiquities of the Jews, book vii, chapter x, section 1 (233)
[2] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (pp. 198–199). Hendrickson. Antiquities of the Jews, book vii, chapter x, section 2 (243)
[3] Jamieson, R. (n.d.). A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Joshua–Esther: Vol. II (p. 261). William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited.
[4] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (pp. 198–199). Hendrickson. Antiquities of the Jews, book vii, chapter x, section 2 (236-242)
[5] Hoffner, H. A., Jr. (2015). 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 2, pp. 706–707). Lexham Press.