2 Samuel 18:14

_THEN SAID JOAB, I MAY NOT TARRY THUS WITH THEE. AND HE TOOK THREE DARTS IN HIS HAND, AND THRUST THEM THROUGH THE HEART OF ABSALOM, WHILE HE WAS YET ALIVE IN THE MIDST OF THE OAK._ He took three darts, х_ SHªBAATIYM_ (H7626)] - small rods with iron points; lances. AND THRUST THEM THROUGH THE HEART OF ABSALOM. The deed, partially done by Joab, was completed by his body-guard. Being a violation of the expressed wish, as well as of all the fond paternal feelings of David, it must have been deeply offensive to the king, nor was it ever forgotten (1 Kings 2:5); and yet there is the strongest reason for believing that Joab, in doing it, was actuated by a sincere regard to the interests of David, both as a man and a monarch....

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 18:14. _I MAY NOT TARRY THUS WITH THEE_] He had nothing to say in vindication of the purpose he had formed. _THRUST THEM THROUGH THE HEART OF ABSALOM_] He was determined to make sure work, and therefore he pierced his _heart_. Joab should have obeyed the king's commandment: and yet the safety of the state required the sacrifice of Absalom. But independently of this, his life was quadruply forfeited to the law: - 1. In having murdered his brother Amnon. 2. In having excited an insurrection in the state. 3. In having taken up arms against his own father, Deuteronomy 21:18; Deuteronomy 21:21. 4. In hav

I MAY NOT TARRY ... - i. e., lose time in such discourse....

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,

THEN SAID JOAB, I MAY NOT TARRY THUS WITH THEE,.... It is not worth while to talk with thee any longer, nor must I lose time, and neglect my opportunity; I do not desire you to go and smite him, I will go and do it myself: AND HE TOOK THREE DARTS IN HIS HAND; or three rods, which were either all iron, or however the tops of them were iron spikes: AND THRUST THEM THROUGH THE HEART OF ABSALOM; or through the midst of his body; for if he had thrust through his heart, properly speaking, he must have died instantly, whereas he seems to have lived after this: WHILE HE [WAS] YET ALIVE; Joab found him alive when he came to him, and so he was when he thrust his darts through him; and so he was afterward; for the words may be rendered, "being yet alive", even after the darts were fixed in him, and even so deeply as to pierce through his body: IN THE MIDST, or "heart", OF THE OAK; into wh

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)....

DARTS. clubs. Hebrew. _shebet,_. club _with a_ long spike at the end. Still used in Palestine....

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