2 Samuel 14
TSK
Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.
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:
And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.
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.
And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

I am indeed It is very possible that the principal incidents mentioned here were real; and that Joab found out a person whose circumstances both had near resemblance to that which he wished to represent. She did not make the similitude too plain and visible, lest the king should see her intention before she had obtained a grant of pardon; and thus her circumstances, her mournful take, her widow's dress, her aged person, (for Josephus says she was advanced in years,) and her impressive manner, all combined to make one united irresistible impression on the heart of the aged monarch.

2 Samuel 12:1-3 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to …

Judges 9:8-15 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they …

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.
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 nor remainder upon the earth.
And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.
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.
And the king said, Whosoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.
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.
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
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.
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.

we must

2 Samuel 11:25 Then David said to the messenger, Thus shall you say to Joab, Let …

Job 30:23 For I know that you will bring me to death, and to the house appointed …

Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust.

Psalm 90:3,10 You turn man to destruction; and say, Return, you children of men…

Ecclesiastes 3:19,20 For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing …

Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any …

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:

as water

Job 14:7-12,14 For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout …

Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my …

Psalm 79:3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and …

neither, etc. or, because God hath not taken away his life, he hath also devised means, etc.

God

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great …

Job 34:19 How much less to him that accepts not the persons of princes, nor …

Matthew 22:16 And they sent out to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, …

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that …

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges …

he devise

Exodus 21:13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; …

Leviticus 26:40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, …

Numbers 35:15,25,28 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, …

Isaiah 50:1,2 Thus said the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorce, whom …

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.
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.
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.

comfortable [heb] for rest
as an angel This is very much like the hyperbolical language which is addressed by the Hindoos to an European when they desire to obtain something from him: `Saheb,' they say, `can do every thing. No one can prevent the execution of Saheb's commands. Saheb is God.' Though the expression may be imputed to the hyperbolical genius of these countries, yet there was, perhaps, more of real persuasion than we are apt to suppose. Sir John Chardin states, that having found fault with the king of Persia's valuation of a rich trinket, the grand master told him that if a Persian had dared to have done such a thing, it would have been as much as his life was worth. `Know,' said he, `that the kings of Persia have a general and full knowledge of matters, as sure as it is extensive; and that, equally in the greatest and smallest things, there is nothing more just and sure than what they pronounce.'

2 Samuel 14:20 To fetch about this form of speech has your servant Joab done this …

2 Samuel 19:27 And he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord …

1 Samuel 29:9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that you are good in …

Proverbs 27:21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man …

Proverbs 29:5 A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

to discern [heb] to hear

1 Kings 3:9,28 Give therefore your servant an understanding heart to judge your …

Job 6:30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

1 Corinthians 2:14,15 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: …

Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age…

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.
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:
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.
And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.
And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.
So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.
But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.

when he polled

2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode on a mule, …

Isaiah 3:24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall …

1 Corinthians 11:14 Does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, …

two hundred shekels. If the shekel be allowed to mean the common shekel, the amount will be utterly incredible; for Josephus says that 'two hundred shekels make five mina, he says, 'weighs two pounds and a half; which calculation makes Absalom's hair weigh twelve pounds and a half! But it is probable that the king's shekel was that which Epiphanius and Hesychius say was the Fourth part of an ounce, half a stater, or two drachms; the whole amount, therefore, of the

Genesis 23:16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the …

Leviticus 19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall …

Ezekiel 45:9-14 Thus said the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: …

And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face.
Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge by R. A. Torrey [ca. 1880]
Expanded version courtesy INT Bible ©2013, Used by permission

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