2 Samuel 14:1-20

5. Absalom's Exile Ended, 2 Samuel 14:1-33.

Joab and the Woman of Tekoah. 2 Samuel 14:1-20

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.

2 And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:
3 And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
4 And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.
5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

7 And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name or remainder upon the earth.

8 And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house and I will give charge concerning thee.
9 And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.

10 And the king said, Whosoever said ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

11 Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

12 Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

15 Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

16 For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

17 Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.

18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee, And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
19 And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:

20 To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth,

1.

What was David's attitude towards Absalom? 2 Samuel 14:1

The first verse of this chapter is understood by the majority of commentators as signifying that David was favorably disposed towards Absalom. The Syriac translation as well as the Vulgate translated the passage to show that David was inclined towards Absalom. Keil and Delitzsch take the position that David was against Absalom and therefore Joab took action to bring him back where his case could be presented to the king. Joab's part in this is hard to understand.

2.

What was Joab's motive in bringing Absalom back? 2 Samuel 14:2

Joab could see that David was mourning for his son. This fact alone might have prompted Joab to effect Absalom's return. More than likely there was some hidden personal interest on Joab's part. David was able to see through the woman's story, for the whole thing sounded like something that Joab would plan. He did not believe the woman, and he asked whether or not Joab plotted it. Even though David did accede, a complete reconciliation was not effected at once. Absalom was not permitted to see the king.

3.

Where was Tekoah? 2 Samuel 14:4

Tekoah was a town in Judah some eight miles south of Bethlehem. This was the home of the prophet Amos (Amos 1:1), and has been identified as the modern Tekua. No significance was attached to the fact that the woman was a wise woman, so far as making her a prophetess, wizard, or necromancer is concerned. She was to pretend to be in mourning, wearing the proper clothing and giving every appearance of having been in grief for a long period of time.

4.

How could the woman have access to the king? 2 Samuel 14:5

Although a number of officers were appointed by David to take care of the affairs of state, many seemingly incidental matters were brought to his attention. His trying to care for all these judgments was a source of aggravation to some of the people, and Absalom capitalized on the king's inability to take care of some of their appeals (2 Kings 15:2-6). Moses had tried to sit in judgment on all the affairs of the Israelites in his day, but the staggering load of responsibility was too much for him. He appointed rulers of tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, to hear the minor cases; only the most important cases were brought to him (Exodus 18:26). Joab may have been able to bypass all these subordinate officers and bring the woman's case directly to the king.

5.

Why would the family want to kill her son? 2 Samuel 14:7

The woman pretended to have two sons, one of whom had killed the other. There was nobody to part them, since the father was said to have been dead. The rest of the family were asking that God's immutable law be followed. God had said that He would require the life of man at the hand of every man's brother (Genesis 9:5). Manslaughter was recognized as the unpremeditated killing of a man, and provision was made for the manslayer to flee to the cities of refuge (Numbers 35:1-34). The relatives had judged the surviving son to be worthy of death, and they were crying out for his execution, In the primitive society, the nearest relative of the slain man had the solemn responsibility of avenging the murder, Had the family carried out the law in this, they would have left this woman without any heirs. This is what she meant when she said that they would quench my coal, The candle of life would flicker and go out as far as she and her husband were concerned. They would have neither name nor remainder on the earth.

6.

What was David's decision? 2 Samuel 14:8

The woman was sent away with David's promise that he would pass judgment in the matter. She understood that to mean that he would prevent the family from avenging her son's death. Although this was an unusual sentence, the woman was grateful for it; and she assumed full responsibility for it, leaving the king and his throne guiltless for suspending the normal processes of law in this case. David indicated to her that those who objected to his decision should be brought to him. Should the woman suffer any persecution on account of the decision, the culprit was to answer to David. The matter was fully discussed and brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

7.

What was the woman's final request? 2 Samuel 14:13

Having received her initial request from David the woman went on to show the inconsistency of David's conduct. David also had a son who was being sought by those who were the avengers of blood. Some of his subjects must have been calling for him to execute Absalom; and although he had not done this as yet, he had rendered no judgment in the case. The woman showed David that he was sparing her fictitious son; she could not see any reason why he should not spare Absalom.

8.

What was the woman's view of life? 2 Samuel 14:14

The woman was very philosophical about life and death. She knew that death was inevitable. She regarded man's life as being very fragile, describing man as being as water spilt on the ground. Once it has been spilled, of course, it cannot be gathered up again. She also believed that God was not any respecter of persons, and she did not understand why it would be legitimate for David to spare her son and not spare his son.

9.

Why did the woman call David an angel of God? 2 Samuel 14:17

The Israelites had a very deep respect for their kings and all their national leaders. The fact that this woman and Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 19:27) gave this title to David was not an indication of their having an unholy respect for David. Neither was it an indication of their considering him as being the angel of the covenant, the mediator of the blessings of Divine grace to the people of Israel. God had said that He would send His angel before Moses, and His angel did lead them through the wilderness (Exodus 14:19). This woman was not identifying David with that angel but looking to him as God's messenger and servant. She thought that he did have unnatural and unusual grace and ability.

10.

Why did David suspect Joab? 2 Samuel 14:19

In some way Joab had learned the king's mind in the matter of Absalom's exile. From day to day, he had the opportunity for conversations with him; and in some of these exchanges he could have expressed his view which would have been similar to that which he prompted the woman to express. The woman was honest and affirmed that Joab had instigated the entire affair. Once again, she was impressed with David's wisdom and said that it was as the wisdom of the angel of God (2 Samuel 14:20).