2 Samuel 18:11

_AND JOAB SAID UNTO THE MAN THAT TOLD HIM, AND, BEHOLD, THOU SAWEST HIM, AND WHY DIDST THOU NOT SMITE HIM THERE TO THE GROUND? AND I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEE TEN SHEKELS OF SILVER, AND A GIRDLE._ I would have given thee ten shekels of silver and a girdle - i:e., would have raised him from the ranks to the status of a commissioned officer. Besides a sum of money, a girdle, curiously and richly done, was among the ancient Hebrews a mark of honour, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of military merit. This soldier, however, who may be taken as a fair sample of David's faithful subjects, had so great a respect for the king's will, that no prospect of reward would have tempted him to lay violent hands on Absalom. But Joab's stern sense of public duty, which satisfied him that there could be neither safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, nor security to him and other loyal subjects, so lo...

9-18 Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God....

Verse 2 Samuel 18:11. _AND A GIRDLE._] The military belt was the chief ornament of a soldier, and was highly prized in all ancient nations; it was also a rich present from one chieftain to another. _Jonathan_ gave his to _David_, as the highest pledge of his esteem and perpetual friendship, 1 Samuel 18:4. And _Ajax_ gave his to _Hector_, as a token of the highest respect. - _Hom_. Il. vii., ver. 305....

TEN SHEKELS - (About 25 shillings.) The word “shekel” is understood, as in Genesis 20:16; Genesis 37:28. See the Exodus 38:24 note. A GIRDLE - Girdles were costly articles of Hebrew dress used to put money in Matthew 10:9, and given as presents 1 Samuel 18:4....

EXPOSITION 2 SAMUEL 18:1 AND DAVID NUMBERED. The verb really means that he organized his army, and arranged it in companies and divisions. As Absalom gathered all Israel to him, there would be some delay; and David, like a wise general, made use of it for training the brave but undisciplined men who had joined him, chiefly from Gilead. Besides these, he had with him numerous veterans, whose skill and experience would be invaluable in such service. The result was that when the rebels came to close quarters, they had a vast body of men, but David a disciplined force, which, under skilful generalship, scattered Absalom's raw levies with ease. The arrangement into thousands and hundreds was in accordance with the civil divisions (Exodus 18:25), both being,

AND JOAB SAID UNTO THE MAN THAT TOLD HIM,.... That gave the above account of him: AND, BEHOLD, THOU SAWEST [HIM]; in reality; or, "didst thou see him?" is it a fact? AND WHY DIDST THOU NOT SMITE HIM THERE TO THE GROUND; kill him on the spot, that he might have dropped from the tree to the ground: AND I WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEE TEN [SHEKELS] OF SILVER; on the news of it, for doing it, which was near twenty four shillings of our money; Josephus says i fifty shekels; the Arabic version has it ten thousand talents of silver, too great a sum by far: AND A GIRDLE? which was a mark of great honour, and a token of a commission under him, and of investing: him with a military office; see 1 Samuel 18:4; it used to be given as an honorary reward to soldiers that behaved well, as on the contrary it was reckoned a r

8. THE CIVIL WAR AND ABSALOM'S DEATH CHAPTER 18 _ 1. The battle in the forest of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:1)_ 2. The death of Absalom (2 Samuel 18:9) 3. The tidings of his death and David's grief (2 Samuel 18:19) And now everything is ready for the battle and the victory. The army of David consisted of three divisions, Joab, Abishai and the faithful Ittai had the command. David was ready to go forth with his warriors, but the people refused to let him go. What a testimony they gave concerning him! “Thou art worth ten thousand of us. But of Him, who according to the flesh is the Son of David, we say, “He alone is worthy.” The king then stood by the gate of Mahanaim to see the d

1 SAMUEL 18:1 TO 1 SAMUEL 19:8. DEFEAT AND DEATH OF ABSALOM. DAVID'S GRIEF (J). 2 SAMUEL 18:1. Absalom's followers are defeated with great slaughter. Nothing is known as to the battle-field, the Forest of Ephraim, beyond what may be gathered from this story. Many fugitives lost their lives by falling headlong in the broken, rocky country; some perhaps, especially the wounded died of hunger and exhaustion in these inhospitable tracts, with which they were not familiar. Forest here, as often in England, _e.g._ Ashdown Forest, denotes the kind of country described above, and not a continuous mass of trees (_cf._ Budde)....

GIRDLE. A common present, made of silk, linen, or leather, and worked sometimes in gold. Used for fastening up loose garments....

Absalom's Death 9. _And Absalom_, &c. AND ABSALOM HAPPENED TO FIND HIMSELF IN THE PRESENCE OF DAVID'S SERVANTS: NOW ABSALOM WAS RIDING UPON HIS MULE, AND THE MULE, &c. In the course of the flight, Absalom found himself among enemies: he turned to escape into the denser part of the forest. The mule which he rode perhaps David's own was a mark of royalty (1 Kings 1:33; 1 Kings 1:38). _a great oak_ THE GREAT TEREBINTH; the article seems to shew that the tree was well known in after times. The Heb. _êlah_is generally said to denote the terebinth or turpentine tree, which is not unlike the oak in general appearance: but in the forests on the E. of Jordan, oaks are far more common than terebinths, and some kind of oak may be meant. his head caught hold of th