First light at the plain stone gate of Mahanaim: the outer gateway stands open on an empty road, a stone bench in the passage, a stair to the flat gate roof and one small window in the room above, with the wooded hills of Gilead behind under a pale dawn sky.

The Book of

2 Samuel 18

The army goes out to fight Absalom. The king stays at the gate with one request: be gentle with my son.

33 verses≈ 8 min6 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–4King in HebronThe house of Saul falls
5–6JerusalemThe ark comes home
7–10A house foreverGod's promise to David
11–12David's sinBathsheba and Nathan
13–20The swordAmnon, Absalom and ShebaChapter 18
21–24Last wordsSongs, heroes and an altar

Absalom Killed

At first light outside the gate of Mahanaim, gray-bearded King David stands before his three commanders, Joab, Abishai and Ittai the Gittite, as companies of rough Israelite fighting men form up behind them.

Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds. He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite.

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David

And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”

David's men

But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now if you support us from the city.”

David

“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied.

So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.

Morning mist over the rough wooded hills of Gilead: dense old oaks and terebinths, ravines and boulders, and far below among the trees, small lines of soldiers threading their way through the forest.

So David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the whole countryside, and that day the forest devoured more people than the sword.

0:19

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Question

Quick question

Before the battle, David organized the men who had come to him at Mahanaim.

How did David send out his army?

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

The forest of Ephraim

The battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim, probably in the wooded hills of Gilead not far from Mahanaim; its site is uncertain. Ahimaaz ran back to the king “by way of the plain” of the Jordan. Absalom’s pillar stood in the King’s Valley near Jerusalem.

A forest path under great spreading oaks in dappled morning light: a riderless gray mule with a fine fringed red saddle-cloth walks on alone, away from the camera.

Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.

One of the men

When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”

Joab

“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt!”

One of the men

The man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels of silver were weighed out into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the son of the king. For we heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ If I had jeopardized my own life—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.”

But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree. And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.

Dusk in a clearing of the forest of Ephraim: a great mound of rough gray stones heaped among the oaks, and far off between the trees, small figures of soldiers walking away.

Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them. They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.

Afternoon in a valley below Jerusalem's narrow ridge: a single tall, roughly dressed standing stone set upright on a low stone base beside the valley path, with olive terraces and the small walled town above.

During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

Reflect

A pillar for his name

Absalom set up a pillar to keep his name alive, and ended under a heap of stones in a forest. What are you building your name on? What would it mean to leave your name, and your future, in God’s hands?

David Mourns for Absalom

Ahimaaz

Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”

Joab

But Joab replied, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”

So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.”

The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.

Ahimaaz

Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!”

Joab

“My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?”

Ahimaaz

“No matter what, I want to run!” he replied.

Joab

“Then run!” Joab told him.

So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.

Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone. So he called out and told the king. “If he is alone,” the king replied, “he bears good news.” As the first runner drew near,

the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king.

The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.”

Ahimaaz

Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”

David

The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?”

Ahimaaz

And Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.”

David

“Move aside,” said the king, “and stand here.”

So he stepped aside.

2 Samuel 18:33

Pray

For fathers who grieve

Pray for parents who grieve a child, and for those whose children have turned against them. Thank the Lord that He hears every cry of grief, even “O my son Absalom!” Ask for grace to keep loving, and to keep doing right, when love and duty pull in different directions.

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2 Samuel 18

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A verse to carry with you

O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!

2 Samuel 18:33

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