A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES. A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i—xIx. a being deserted by the other soldiers, who had private | this state he continued without any molestation, or aporders to retire when the onset began, a fell immediately prehension of having done wrong, for the space of several by the enemy's sword. months, till at length God sent Nathan the prophet to rouse him out of his adulterous lethargy, and, by fan does not expressly forbid them, yet we may not thence infer that they were permitted among the Jews. For these reasons some have thought that this marriage of David and Bathsheba was null and invalid; but others, upon better grounds, have supposed that though there were many criminal circumstances attending it, yet these did not vacate its effect, and in short, though it ought not to have been done, yet being done, the marriage was good, and the children, which were afterwards born, were legitimate.-Calmet's and Patrick's Commentaries. b e We learn little more of this great man in the sacred writings, As soon as Uriah was dead, Joab sent an express thereof to the king, who returned him orders to carry on the siege with more vigour, until he had made himself master of it; and then to raze it even to the ground, and to put all the inhabitants to the sword, without sparing so much as one man. Upon this order Joab advanced his approaches, and renewed his assaults every day, until he had got possession of the water works which supplied the town; and then sent a courier to acquaint the king, that the city was reduced to the utmost extremity; was in no condition to hold out much longer, and there-but that he was David's prophet, intimate counsellor, and hisfore he desired him to come in person, that he might have the honour of taking it. The king, according to his general's desire, went with a strong reinforcement, took the place by storm, gave the plunder of it to his soldiers, but reserved to himself what belonged to the king, among which was the crown of inestimable value. Having thus wasted the city and divided the spoil, he put the men who had held it out against him, to the most exquisite torments; and other places that would not immediately surrender, he treated with the same severity. Upon the death of Uriah, his wife Bathsheba pretended to mourn for him; but it was not long before David sent for her, d and declared her his wife and in a The fate and fall of the gallant Uriah is thus related by Josephus:-"Joab put Uriah upon a desperate forlorn, and to cover his design, gave him several brave men to back him, with a promise to support him with the whole army, in case there was any possibility of entering the town; and at the same time recommended it earnestly to him, to maintain the reputation he had already acquired with the king and the army, by acquitting himself gallantly upon this occasion. Uriah with great cheerfulness undertook the post, while Joab gave his companions private orders to withdraw, and leave him, as soon as they found themselves in danger. The Hebrews pressed hard upon the wall, and put the Ammonites under a dreadful apprehension, that they would force the town; whereupon the besieged threw open their gates, and made a desperate sally, which was as good as a signal to those that were with Uriah, to abandon him; which accordingly they did, and left him to be cut to pieces. He did all the execution that was possible to be done by one single man against numbers, and after several wounds received, fell like a man of honour, with his face to the enemy."-Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 7. toriographer. Josephus says of him, that he was a polite and a prudent man, one who knew how to temper the severity of wis Manius Lepidus, of whom Tacitus says that he had a talent of And Grotius compares him to turning away Tiberius's mind from those cruel purposes, to which the vile flattery of others inclined him, and was, at the same time, in equal favour and authority with him. Nathan certainly knew offence. So far from that, he grew in his prince's favour and the art of reproving kings with authority, and yet without giving estimation, as long as he lived; insomuch, that David, as tradition tells us, called one son after his name, and committed another, even his beloved Solomon, to his care and tuition.-The History of the Life of King David, vol. 3. dom with sweetness of manners. of the style fit for philosophic writing, which suits so well with this There is a passage of Seneca, (Epist. 59.) where he treats parable of Nathan's, that I choose to give it in his own words, as a fit preamble to the short comment which follows it:-“I find,” says he, "images, which if any one forbids us to use, and deems that they ought to be allowed to poets only, yet it is my opinion, that none of the ancients ever read them who was not captivated with the beautiful diction. Those who spoke in a simple manner, and with the view of proving something, made great use of parables, which I think necessary, not for the same reason that poets use them, but that they might be of assistance to our weakness, and further both teacher and listener to the point in hand." For parables, like histories, wherein we have no concern, are heard with more attention, and are so contrived, as to give no offence, even though they provoke the man to whom they are addressed, to condemn himself. "There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor; and the rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds;' as David had many wives and concubines, with whom he might have been well satisfied, without violating another man's bed; but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up.' Bathsheba, very likely, was the only wife that Uriah had, with whom he was highly pleased and delighted, and she very probably with him, till David's temptations, had perverted her mind. And it grew up together with him and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. Nathan, in his resemblance, cannot be said to have surpassed the truth, cosidering how fond many persons were anciently, not only of lambs, but of several other creatures, which they suffered to eat with them at their tables, and lie with them in their beds; and that even at this day it is a custom in Arabia, which is contigu Some learned men are of opinion, that this royal city of Rabbah was likewise called the city of waters,' either because it stood upon a river, or was encompassed with water both for its defence and delight. But Junius renders it, that "he cut off the waters which supplied the town;" which translation not only Josephus seems to favour by telling us, that Joab seized on all the aqueducts which led into the city; but Polybius (b. 5.) likewise, speak-ous to Judea, to have one of the finest lambs in the flock brought ing of the siege of this same place by Antiochus, relates the story, how a certain deserter discovered to that prince a subterraneous passage through which the besieged came to draw water, which Antiochus stopped up, and by reason of their thirst compelled them to surrender.-Poole's Annotations, and Calmet's Commentary. c How long widows were to mourn for their husbands, there is no express precept in the law; but the usual time for common mourners was no more than seven days; and we cannot suppose that Bathsheba was much longer, considering the reason we have to apply to her the words of Lucan: "Unwilling she shed the trickling tears, and from a heart of joy heaved forth groans." d According to the Jewish doctors it was utterly unlawful for any to marry another man's wife in case he had defiled her beThe canonical law declares such marriages null and void, as are contracted between an adulterous man, and a woman that was partner with him in the crime; and though the law of Moses fore. up in the house, and fed with the children. And there came a traveller to the rich man;' this denotes David's straggling appetite, which he suffered to wander from his own home, and to covet another man's wife: and of this appetite the Jewish doctors have this observation, that "in the beginning it is but a traveller, but in time it becomes a guest, and in conclusion is the master of the house." And he spared to take of his own flock, and his own herds,' wherewith he might have satisfied his appetite, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the wayfaring man that was come to him.' Most commentators here take notice, that Nathan did not go so far in the parable, as to say any thing of the rich man's killing the poor man. This certainly would have made the resemblance more complete, but it is therefore omitted, that David might not so readily apprehend Nathan's meaning, and so be induced unawares to pronounce a seutence of condemnation upon himself; whereupon the prophet A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A.M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix. elegant parable, to represent the baseness and wicked- | therefore the son, for by this time Bathsheba was brought ness of what he had done, and to make him pronounce to bed of a son, begotten in this adulterous congress, sentence against his guilty self. should not live; that several of his family should come David accordingly condemns himself, and confesses to an untimely death; that some one of his sons should his guilt, and humbly begs pardon for what he had done: rise up in rebellion against him; and his own wives be Whereupon Nathan was sent again to inform him, that a defiled publicly, and in the sight of all the world, beGod had pardoned his transgression, namely, the eternal cause he had given such scandal to his own people, punishment due to his transgression God had remitted, and such occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme. but the temporal should be inflicted on him. That Nor was it long before part of this sentence began to be executed upon him. For the child, which he had by Bathsheba, was taken sick and died. While it was sick, David fasted and prayed, if possibly he might appease the divine wrath, and intercede for its life; but when it was dead, he acknowledged the justice of God, and, cheerfully submitting to his will, made his ardent supplications to him, that the remainder of his afflictions night be mixed with mercy. had a fair opportunity to show him, that if the rich man, who took away the poor man's lamb, deserved death, according to his own judgment, how much more did he deserve it, who had not only taken another man's wife, but caused him to be slain like wise by the enemies of Israel.-Patrick's Commentary. a It may very well be asked, how God so readily came to forgive David, when he acknowledged his transgression, and yet did not forgive Saul, though he made the like confession. I have sinned.' But the answer is obvious, that, be the form of expression what it will, unless it proceeds from the sincerity of the heart, the great Searcher of hearts will not regard it. The true reason, therefore, why Saul could not obtain a revocation of his sentence of rejection, was, because his repentance was not sincere; it did not proceed from an humble and contrite spirit. At the same time that he acknowledged his sin, he desired Samuel to honour him before the people,' and persisted in his disobedience ever after. Whereas David, on the contrary, humbled himself, wept and lamented for his sin, and of his penitence has left us a perpetual and eternal monument in Psalm li. Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies, do away mine offences; wash me thoroughly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my sin,' &c. 6 In the threats, which God orders Nathan to denounce against David, the expressions are, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun; for thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun;' (2 Sam. xii. 11-12.) Where the words, I will raise up, I will take, I will do,' do not denote any positive actions of God, as if he prompted wicked men to do the same things, wherewith he threatens David, insomuch that, without such prompting, they would not have done them, but by it were necessitated to do them. Such a construction as this is injurious to the divine attributes, and makes God the author of evil. But the true meaning is, that God, at that time, saw the perverse disposition of one of his sons, and the crafty wiliness of one of his counsellors, which, without restraining them, would not fail to create David no small uneasiness. And therefore, because David had violated his law, and, to gratify his lust, had committed both adultery and murder, God would not interpose, but suffered the tempers of these two wicked persons to follow their own course, and have their natural swing; whereupon the one, being ambitious of a crown, endeavours to depose his father, and the other, willing to make the breach irreparable, advised the most detested thing he could think of. This indeed was the very thing that God had foretold, but, without any imputation upon his attributes, we may say, that God can so dispose and guide a train of circumstances, that the wickedness of any action shall happen in this manner rather than another, though he do not infuse into any man the will to do wickedly. "To the torrent of iniquity, if I may so speak," for I give you the commentator's own words, because there is something very accurate in them, " he adds no strength, but prevents its outbreaking to one side rather to another, and all the circumstances (which have no vice in themselves) he so directs and regulates that they may attain to some certain issue. But there are innumerable circumstances of such a nature, having no real evil in themselves, but in which however the events are varied according to the will of God, and the Almighty hath many methods by which he overrules all things without any diminution of his glory, and all in such a manner as to leave to men the liberty either of breaking or obeying his commandments." So that from such scripture phrases as these, we may not infer, that God either does, or can do evil, but only, that he permits that evil to be done, which he foreknew would be done, but might have prevented had he pleased; or, in other d This in some measure was done; for, in a proper space of time, he had another son e terms, that he suffers men, naturally wicked, to follow the bent of their tempers, without any interposition of his providence to restrain them.-Le Clerc's Commentary. c David's crime, which at first was secret, was in time discovered, and the report of it carried to the neighbouring nations. The Syrians, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Philistines, people whom he had subdued, and who, out of pure malice, had always a jealous eye upon his conduct, would not fail upon this occasion to murmur, and say, "How could God thus favour an adulterer and murderer ? Where is his justice and his providence? Is this the God who is said to be so equitable in his dealings with men, and so severe an avenger of iniquity, and yet makes choice of such a monster as this to govern his people! This is the David, the man after God's own heart, whom he preferred before Saul, on whom he hath poured down innumerable blessings, and for whom he hath many rich promises in reserve; and yet did Saul ever commit such horrid enormities as this man has done, and still continues to be the favourite of God?" Such reflections we may reasonably imagine would David's transgressions have occasioned among strangers and enemies, who might thence be induced to despise a religion they were acquainted with, and which he, who should have been its main support, so little regarded.-Calmet's Commentary. d David's acts of humiliation for his sins are thus described by Sylvian, On the Government of God." He put off his purple, threw away his royal ornaments, laid down his diadem, wholly stripped himself of his kingship, and appeared as a penitent, in a squalid, rueful garb, fasting, lying on the ground, confessing, mourning, repenting, deprecating, &c., and yet, with all his humiliation and compunction, he could not obtain a revocation of this punishment." But why should the death of this child, who, had he lived, would have been a perpetual monument of guilt, and a brand of infamy upon his parents, be accounted by David so great a punishment? The true way to account for this, is to ascribe it to David's excess of passion for Bathsheba, which so strongly attached him to every offspring of hers, and made him forget every thing in this child, but that motive of endearment. Besides this, there is something in human nature, which prompts us to rate things after a manner seemingly unaccountable; and to estimate them, not according to their real worth, but according to the expense or trouble, or even the distress they cost us. Nor should it be forgot, that this excessive mourning did not proceed simply from the fear of the loss of the child, but from a deep sense of his sin, and of the divine displeasure manifested in the child's sickness, and particularly from a just apprehension of the injury which he had done the infant by his sin, and which he thought himself bound in justice, by prayer and intercession, as much as he was able, to repair.-Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations. e It is very observable, that in the whole compass of this story, there is not a word said either of Bathsheba's guilt or punishment; but this might be, because, as to the matter of her husband's death, she was innocent: to the adultery which she committed, she was enticed by the offers of a powerful king: and in the calamities which befell him, she, no doubt, had her share, and felt her punishment.-Patrick's Commentary. A. M. 2919. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix. pas by Bathsheba, who was named a Solomon, in confidence | notwithstanding all her entreaties and expostulations of the promise which God had made, that his reign with him, he first ravished her, and when his brutish should be crowned with peace but this did not hinder sion was satisfied, in a sullen humour ƒ bid her begone; the divine justice from being true to its threats, as well and when she remonstrated the ill usage, had her turned as its promises. out by main force. David had several sons, but only one daughter, that we read of, whose name was Tamar, sister to Absalom, by Maacha, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, ' a princess of excellent beauty, and with whom Amnon, his eldest son by another queen, fell desperately in love, and pined away with a hopeless desire of obtaining her, till at length, by the advice and contrivance of Jonadab, his intimate friend, and d cousin-german, he found means to decoy her into his apartment, where, e a The word Solomon is properly derived from Scholam, which signifies peace, intimating that his reign should be peaceable; but, by God's appointment, Nathan gave him another name, viz. Jedidiah, that is, the Beloved of God. The Scripture, however, never calls him by this name, but only by that of Solomon, for what reason we cannot tell, unless we may suppose, that the people being long harassed in war during his father's reign, might be pleased with this name, and use it rather than the other, to intimate their hopes and longing desire of peace. And for this reason (among others) it may be inferred, that Solomon was born after the conclusion of the Ammonitish war, though the sacred history takes occasion, from the death of Bathsheba's first-born, to relate that event first. Not long after this, David had another son by Bathsheba, (2 Sam. v. 14. and 1 Chron. iii. 5.) whom he called Nathan, after the name of the prophet; and of these two Christ was born, though in different lines: for Joseph, his supposed father, came from Solomon, as Matthew (chap. i. ver. 6, 7. relates it:) and Mary, his real mother, came from Nathan, as it is in Saint Luke, chap. iii. ver. 34.- Le Clerc's Commentary; and Bedford's Scripture Chronology, b. 5. c. 4. The borders of the Geshurites and Maachathites (as we read Josh. xiii. 11, 13.) were given by Moses to the Israelites that seated themselves on the east of Jordan; nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites and Maachathites, but they dwell among the Israelites unto this day:' from whence it is evident, that the cities of Geshur and Maacha, the two capitals of two small kingdoms, lay within the borders of the land of Israel: and though it does not appear how they were situated in respect of each other, yet it is certain that they both lay on the south side of Mount Libanus, in the north part of the half tribe of Manasseh, and on the east side of the river Jordan.-Wells' Geography of the Old Testament, vol. 3. e Virgins of the blood royal were kept secluse in apartments, separate from the commerce of men, into which not only strangers, but even their own fathers, were not permitted to enter. Amnon, however, at some time or other, had seen the beautiful Tamar, or otherwise he could not have conceived so strong a passion for her. Upon some certain ceremonial occasions, indeed, it was customary for the young women to walk out, and show themselves; but, considering their close confinement at other times, it was hardly possible for Amnon to find an opportunity of declaring his passion, much more of gratifying it; and therefore, out of pure despair, he pined himself into a consumption. Calmet's Commentary. d Jonadab was the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. e There is something so moving, and the arguments are so strong in Tamar's speech to Amnon, that one would almost wonder why it did not prevail with him to desist. Nay, my brother, do not force me.' Here she reminds him of his relation to her, for which she hoped he would have such a reverence as not to meddle with her, though she herself were willing, much less to offer violence to her, which it was abominable to do even to a stranger, much more to one of the same blood. For no such thing ought to be done in Israel.' Whatever other nations did, who had not the knowledge of God's laws, she begs of him to consider, that they both belonged to a nation which was God's peculiar people, had been instructed better, and therefore should act otherwise. Do not thou this folly.' She prays him, besides the scandal it would give, to reflect with himself on the heinousness of the crime, and how highly offensive it would be to the g In this mournful and distracted condition, Tamiar repairs to her brother Absalom, and tells him the whole transaction of her rape but her brother, though naturally a man of a high spirit, advised her to be silent in point of prudence, because her ravisher was heir-apparent to the crown; and himself so artfully concealed divine Majesty. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go?' She beseeches him, besides the sin against God,' to consider the disgrace it would be to her, who, after such a foul act, must be ashamed to look any one in the face. And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel.'. Lastly, she puts him in mind of his own reputation, which so vile an action would tarnish for ever, and make him be looked upon as a man void of all sense, religion, honour, and humanity. "Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.' It is a common opinion among the Jewish doctors, that in the war which king David had with the king of Geshur, he took Maacha his daughter captive, and, as they fancy their law allows, (Deut. xxi. 11.) lay with her for once only, and then begat this daughter; but that, upon her becoming a proselyte to the Jewish religion, he married her, and afterwards had Absalom. Tamar, therefore, being born while her mother was a Gentile, they suppose that she was not David's legal child, and that Amnon consequently might marry her: but all this is mere talk, without any shadow of proof. The most probable opinion is, that she was neither ignorant of the law (Lev. xviii. 11.) which prehibited such incestuous marriages, nor thought her father's power so great, as that he might dispense with the law upon this occasion, but merely that she said any thing which she thought would please him, to stop his solicitations, and rude attempts, and to escape for the present out of his hands.-Patrick's Com mentary; and Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 8. f Interpreters seem to be at a great loss to find out the reason, why Amnon's love to his sister should so soon be converted into such an hatred, as to make him act so rudely, so brutally towards her; but it is no uncommon thing for men of violent and irregular passions, to pass from one extreme to another. The shame, which accompanies every base action, the remorse and repentance, and many bad consequences, that immediately pur sue it, make a recoil in every man's temper; and therefore it is no wonder, that a libidinous young man, who woud not spare so much as his own sister, should after fruition, and when the ardour of his lust was satisfied, be seized with a contrary passion, and hate the object he loved so much before, when he came coolly to compare the pleasure and the sin to gether, the shortness of the one, and the heinousness of the other. He hated his sister, when he should have hated himself; and as this outrageous treatment of her made it impossible for his gult to be concealed, so God seems to have abandoned him to the tumult of his intemperate mind, on purpose to make this punishment of David's adultery more flagrant, and the prophet's prediction of raising up evil to him out of his own house,' (2 Sam. xii. 11.) more conspicuous.-Calmet's and Le Clerc's Commektaries; and The History of the Life of King David. 9 The manner of Tamar's signifying her vexation for the injury and disgrace which her brother had put upon her, is expressed by her putting ashes upon her head, (2 Sam. xiii. 19.) And that this was an ancient custom, whereby to denote one's grief and concern for any great loss or calamity, is evident from that passage of the prophet concerning the people of Tyre: 'They shall cry bitterly, cast dirt upon their heads, and wallow themselves in the ashes,' (Ezek. xxvi. 30.) from Achilles's behaviour upon the death of Patroclus, as we have it in Homer:-" With both his hands he grasped the burning sand, pouring on his head and defiling his fair face." (Iliad 18.) And from what Mezentius did upon the death of his Lausus, according to Virgil:"With filthy dust he pollutes his hair, and to the heaven high stretches out both his hands."-Eneid, 10. h By this means Amnon was lulled asleep into a belief that Ab salom would not trouble him for what he had done, because he A. M. 2949. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SAM. i-xix. his own resentment that every one believed he had taken no notice of it. But about two years after, under the pretence of a sheep-shearing entertainment, which in those countries used to be attended with great mirth and jollity, he invited his friends and relations, and with the king's consent, though himself declined going, all the princes of the blood, and more especially his brother Amnon, to his country seat at Hazor; where while they were engaged in feasting and drinking, his servants, by his direction, and through the promise of an impunity, fell upon Ammon, as Absalom gave the signal, and immediately despatched him. This put the rest of the princes into such a consternation, that they made the best of their way from the house, as expecting the like fate, and the king, when he heard the first news of the thing, supposing that Absalom had killed all the rest of his brothers, was thrown into the utmost grief and despair, till, by the information of Jonadab, who seems to have been privy to the design, and the safe arrival of the other princes, he was certified that Amnon only was dead; but his death alone was matter of sorrow and lamentation enough. Absalom, who knew very well how highly his father would resent this treacherous and barbarous murder, a fled to his mother's relations, and was entertained by his grandfather, Talmai, at Geshur, for three years. But, length of time having worn out David's grief, and Joab perceiving that he had a secret desire to see Absalom again, if he could but find out a handsome excuse for such a purpose, procured a good artful woman from Tekoah, who e in a speech, which he had contrived for did not threaten, nor so much as expostulate with him, or take any notice of what had passed, though, in reason he ought to have been more afraid that he was meditating a terrible revenge: according to the lesson which the mouse gave her young one, when she perceived her affrighted at the noise of the crowing cock, but regardless of the sly approaches of the cat, namely, "That there was no danger to be feared from the fluttering cock, but from the silent cat present death."-Patrick's Commentary. a her, was to convince the king, that in some cases the life of a murderer might be saved. The woman Joab introduced; and when she had told her tale, so as to induce the king to a compliance with her feigned petition, she gave him at length to know, that the case she had been stating was Absalom's: and that if, in a private man, the king was disposed to be merciful, there was much more reason for his pardoning his own son, whose absence the people lamented, and for whom they had so general an affection. The king, being apprized that Joab had put the woman upon this artifice, ordered him to recall Absalom, but confined him to live in his own house, and, as yet, would not seem so far reconciled to him, as to admit him into his presence. But, at the end of two years, Absalom prevailed with Joab to intercede further for a full pardon, and to introduce him to the king, who, upon his humbling himself and begging pardon, took him up from the ground, where he lay prostrate, and gave him a kiss, as a token of his forgiveness and royal favour. Absalom was certainly one of the most comely persons in all Israel, without the least blemish from top to toe, and with a head of hair, which in those days was thought a great beauty, prodigiously long and thick, so that his person drew every one's eye to him, as soon as he was restored to favour at court. But as Amnon, his eldest brother, was slain, and Chileah, his second, by this time dead, he began to look upon himself as presumptive heir to the crown, and thereupon to affect a state and equipage greater than usual. He provided himself with chariots and horses, and had a guard of fifty men to attend his person: but, notwithstanding this, he would be e so obsequious and humble, as to stoop to the meanest brother whom he slew, and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal that is left,' that is, deprive me of the little comfort of my life which remains, and is, as it were, a coal buried in the ashes, and leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth,' (2 Sam. xiv. 4, &c.) Now In the case of wilful murder, the law is, That the avenger the scope of all this speech was to frame a case as like to David's of blood shall slay the murderer; when he meeteth him he shall as she could devise, that, by prevailing with him to determine it slay him,' (Num. xxxv. 21.) from whence it seems to follow, that in her favour, he might be convinced, how much more reasonit was not in any man's power to protect the wilful murderer, be-able it was to preserve Absalom. But, how plausible soever the cause the avenger of blood, that is, the nearest relation of the per-likeness might be, there was a wide difference between her case son murdered, might, with impunity, wherever he met him, kill and his: for her son, as she pretended, was slain in a scuffle with him. As Absalom therefore had committed a designed murder, his brother; whereas Amnon was taken off by a premeditated his own life was every moment in danger; and as there were no murder: he was slain in the field, where there were no witnesses, cities of refuge in his own country, that, in this case, would whether the fact was wilfully done or no; whereas, all the king's yield him protection, he was forced to fly out of the kingdom to his sons, saw Amnon barbarously murdered by his brother: and, mother's father.-Patrick's Commentary. lastly, he was her only son, by whom alone she could hope to have 6 Tekoah was a city in the tribe of Judah, which lay south of her husband's name perpetuated; whereas David's family was in Jerusalem, and about twelve miles distant from it. And herein no danger of being extinct, even although he had given up Abdoes Joab's cunning appear not a little, that he made choice of a salom to justice. But there was a great deal of policy in not woman rather than a man, because women can more easily ex-making the similitude too close and visible, lest the king should press their passions, and sooner gain pity in their miseries; a perceive the drift of the woman's petition, before she had obtainwidow, which was a condition of life proper to move compassion; ed a grant of pardon for her son, and came to make the applicaa grave woman, as Josephus calls her, which made her better tion to the king: and though, upon her making the application, fitted for addressing the king; and a woman not known at Jeru- the king might have argued the disparity of the two cases, yet he salem, but living at some distance in the country, that the case thought proper to wave this, and admit her reasoning to be good, which she was to represent, might not too readily be inquired because he was as desirous to have Absalom recalled as were into.-Poole's Annotations. any of his subjects.-Patrick's Commentary. c The art and contrivance of this widow of Tekoah's speech is very remarkable. 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 to her, What aileth thee? And she said, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead, and thy handmaid had two sons, and the 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 thy handmaid, and they say, deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his d This small severity to Absalom, small in comparison of the heinousness of his crime, David might think necessary, not only to put upon him a sincere humiliation and repentance for what he had done, when he found that the king, indulgent as he was, had not fully pardoned him, but to convince the people likewise, how detestable his crime was in the king's esteem, and how averse he would be to pass by the like in another person, who could not endure the sight of a son, whose hand was defiled with a brother's blood.-Patrick's Commentary. e It is an observation of Plato, that when any one intends to A. M. 2919. A. C. 1055; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4341. A. C. 1070. 2 SA M. i-xix. people that had any thing to say to him; would offer | The king, little suspecting his hidden design, and being his service to solicit every one's cause that had any business at court; and, upon proper occasions, not fail to iustil into the people's minds a bad opinion of the present administration, as if the public affairs were neglected, but that, if he were at the helm, things should be conducted at an other-guise rate. desirous that all religious services should be punctually performed, gave him free leave to go, and wished him a good journey. Hebron was the place of his own nativity, and where the royal seat had been, in the beginning of David's reign; and therefore he thought it the properest for his wicked enterprise. And no sooner a By these arts and insinuations, which were advanta- was he settled there, but he sent his emissaries about geously seconded by the comeliness of his person, as to sound the inclinations of the several tribes, and to we said, and the familiarity of his address, he gained to exhort those whom they should gain over to his party, himself the affections of the people, and insensibly to be ready to take up arms as soon as they should alienated them from David. When therefore he ima-hear that he was proclaimed king. gined that matters were ripe for his purpose, he desired leave of his father to go to Hebron, pretending that he had vowed a vow, in his exile, that whenever it should please God to bring him back to Jerusalem, he would offer in that place a solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving. make himself a tyrant in a popular state, he no sooner enters on the government, but he smiles upon, and kindly salutes, all sorts of people, wherever he meets them;" avowing that he hates tyranny, promising great things both in private and public, "and making as if he would be mild, and gentle, and fatherly to all;" even as Tacitus relates of Otho," that he used to kiss, and shake hands with any one, court and adore the mob, and do every little servile thing, to get possession of the government."-Plato de Republica, b. 8; and Tacitus's History, b. 1. a It is an observation of Aristotle, in his Politics, (h. 5. c. 4.) that all changes and revolutions in government are made by one of these two ways, "either by force and violence, or else by deceit and craft." Nor ever was there a man better formed by nature to manage matters in this latter way, than was Absalom, who was a person of courage and gallantry, of civility and courtesy, young, and wonderfully beautiful, descended from kings, both by father's and mother's side, and prodigal enough of large and magnificent promises, if ever he came to be king; a character not unlike that of Turnus in Virgil: "The well formed shape influences one, royal ancestry another, and chivalry another."Eneid, b. 7. b This is said in the text to have been after forty years,' (2 Sam. xv. 7.) but where to date the beginning of the forty years has occasioned much disagreement among commentators. Some compute them from the time that the Israelites demanded a king of Samuel; others, from the first time that David was anointed king; others, from the first commencement of his reign over Judali; and others again, from the time that he took possession of the whole kingdom. The two latter of these opinions are insupportable, because David reigned but forty years in all, and was now so hale and hearty, as to be able to walk on foot; whereas in the latter end of his life he was very infirm and bed-rid. The learned Usher indeed makes these forty years to commence from the time of David's first unction; and therefore he was threescore years old when this rebellion broke out, and lived ten years after it. But with all due deference to so great authority, both this and the other opinion, that computes from the time that a demand of a king was made, are forced and unnatural; have no affinity to the text, nor do they suggest any reason why the sacred historian should begin his account of this unnatural rebellion with an and it came to pass, that after forty years;' whereas, if we consider the account of what went before, how Absalom, by all the arts of popularity, a splendid equipage, condescensive behaviour, large promises, and flattering speeches, had alienated the hearts of the people from his father, we cannot but be tempted to think that there is an error crept into the text; that instead of arbaim, forty, as our copies have it, the word should be arba, four only, that is, four years after that Absalom was re-established in Jerusalem, and had used all his alluring arts to gain the nation's affections, the first step that he took, was to go to Hebron. This makes the sense easy and entire, and is confirmed by the authority of the Syriac and Arabic versions, the judgment of several able critics, and the testimony of Josephus himself, whose words are, that "four years after his father was reconciled to him, this conspiracy broke out."-Calmet's Commentary, Howell's History in the notes; and Josephus' Jewish Antiquities, b. 7. c. 8. This occasioned a general insurrection. Absalom was the nation's darling; and, upon this summons, people flocked to him from every part: so that David, who had intelligence of all this, thought it not safe for him to continue any longer in Jerusalem, but leaving the c The expression in the text is, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet,' (2 Sam. xv. 10.) which looks as if Absalom had planted trumpeters at proper distances to take the sound from one another, and disperse it over all the kingdom, that so they, who were lovers of his cause, might instantly resort to his as sistance and support; to which they were encouraged, no doubt, by the suggestions of his emissaries, who might persuade the people, that all this was done by the king's consent and approbetion, who, being aged and infirm himself, was willing to resign his kingdom to his eldest and most noble son, who was descended from a king by both parents.-Le Clerc's Commentary, and Poole's Annotations. d It would really make one wonder, how any people could so easily abandon a prince, so brave, so happy, and successful as David had been; how they could forget his excellent qualities, or be unmindful of the services he had done the nation; but for this there may be some reasons assigned. In every nation there are always some turbulent and discontented spirits, who are uneasy with the present state of things, and promise themselves some benefit from a change. Saul's party was not as yet entirely extinct, and Joab, who was David's prime minister, behaved with an insufferable pride and insolence. His crimes, which were very black, and which the king durst not punish, redounded upon him; and the king himself had given his enemies umbrage enough against him, in living with Bathsheba, after he had mor dered her husband. But, what gave the fairest pretence of all, was the obstruction of justice in the civil administration: for had there not been something of this, Absalom could have had no grounds for making such loud complaints. These were some of the causes of so general a revolt in the people. And yet, after all, there might be something in what Abarbinel imagines, namely, that neither Absalom, nor the elders of Israel, nor the rest of the people who were misled by them, had any intention to divest David of his crown and dignity, much less to take away his life; but only to substitute Absalom, as coadjutor to him, for the execution of the royal authority during his lifetime, and to be his successor after his death. For, as it would have been monstrously wicked in Absalom to have designed the destruction of so kind a father, so it is hard to conceive, how he could have gained to his party such a multitude of abettors in so villanous an enterprise. This however we may observe, that David looked upon their proceedings, (2 Sam. xv. 14. and xvi. 11.) as an attempt upon his life; and that, whatever their first intentions were, they came at last to a resolution to have him killed, to make way for their own better security. Which may be a sufficient warning to all men, never to begin anything that is wrong, for fear that it should lead them to the commission of that, which they at first abhorred, when they find they cannot be safe in one wickedness without perpetrating a greater.-Calmet's and Patrick's Commentaries. e Though the fort of Zion was very strong and impregnable, yet there are several reasons, which might induce David to quit Jerusalem. He had not laid in provisions for a long siege, nor was Jerusalem, in every part of it, defensible; and if Absalom had once taken it, as it was the capital, he would soon have beent master of the whole kingdom. There was some reason to suspect likewise, that the inhabitants were faulty, and so much addicted |