Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Samuel 18
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Samuel 18
Albert Barnes Commentary
2 Samuel 18
"And David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab`s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also." — 2 Samuel 18:2 (ASV)
A third part - This seems to have been a favorite division with the Hebrew commanders (Judges 9:43; 1 Samuel 11:11; 2 Kings 11:5–6) and also with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13:17).
"But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city." — 2 Samuel 18:3 (ASV)
Succour us out of the city - David, with a reserve force, would hold the city, and either support the troops in case of need, or receive them within the walls should they be compelled to flee.
"So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim." — 2 Samuel 18:6 (ASV)
Against Israel - This implies that the revolt was largely that of the ten tribes, Saul’s party, against the kingdom.
The wood of Ephraim - This location would naturally be sought west of the Jordan (as noted in the marginal reference). However, it seems certain that the scene of this battle was east of the Jordan.
Therefore, it is necessary to conclude that some portion of the thick wood of oaks and terebinths, which still runs down to the Jordan on the east side, was called “the wood of Ephraim” for a particular reason. This name could have arisen either because it was a continuation of the great Ephraimite forests on the west, or because of a past event that took place there involving the tribe of Ephraim, such as the slaughter of the Midianites (Judges 7:24–25) or their own slaughter (Judges 12:6).
"For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured." — 2 Samuel 18:8 (ASV)
The battle was scattered - Probably Absalom’s forces were far more numerous than David’s; but, most likely by Joab’s skillful generalship, the field of battle was such that numbers did not tell, and David’s veteran troops were able to destroy Absalom’s rabble in detail. The wood entangled them, and was perhaps full of pits, precipices, and morasses (2 Samuel 18:17).
"And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on." — 2 Samuel 18:9 (ASV)
It would seem that the two things in which his vainglory boasted—the royal mule and the magnificent head of hair by which he was caught in the “oak” (or rather, a terebinth or turpentine tree)—both contributed to his untimely death.
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