the king's dale In Genesis 14:17 "the king's dale" is given as an alternative name for "the valley of Shaveh" in which the king of Sodom met Abram. But its situation is uncertain. Josephus (Antiq.VII. 10. 3) says that Absalom's monument was two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, and in accordance with this statement the Tomb of Absalom is shewn in the valley of the Kidron. But this building is of Roman work; and it cannot even mark the site of Absalom's monument, for the "king's dale" was a broad open valley (Heb. êmek), not a narrow ravine like the Kidron (Heb. nachal).

I have no son His three sons (ch. 2 Samuel 14:27) must have all died young.

Absalom's place Lit. Absalom's hand, i.e. monument. Cp. 1 Samuel 15:12. The historian evidently intends to mark the contrast between this splendid cenotaph, and the heap of stones which marked the rebel's grave in the forest of Ephraim.

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