Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 15

Prepared him chariots and horses. — As a preparation for his rebellion, it was necessary to impress the people with his wealth and splendor. (Compare to 1 Kings 1:5, where Adonijah does the same thing.) This was the first use in Israel of chariots and horses as a part of regal pomp.

There is no man deputed of the king. —There is no official hearer appointed. It was impossible for the king to hear every case in detail; certain persons were therefore appointed to hear cases and report the facts to the king, who then pronounced his judgment. Absalom uses the same tactics which have been used by the demagogue in all ages. He does not accuse the king himself of wrong, but insinuates that the system of government is defective, and expresses his own earnest wish to set things right.

After forty years. —The reading is certainly incorrect. Absalom was born after David began his reign in Hebron, and his whole reign was only forty years. Absalom therefore was not yet forty at his death. The reading found in the Syriac and most manuscripts of the Vulgate, and adopted by Josephus, four years, is probably correct. It remains uncertain from what point this four years is to be reckoned; probably it is from Absalom’s return to Jerusalem.

Pay my vow ... in Hebron. —We have no means of knowing whether this vow was real or fictitious; certainly Absalom now uses it as a pretext, and yet there is nothing improbable in his having actually made such a vow during his exile. Hebron was the place of his birth and childhood, as well as a holy city from very ancient times, and was thus a suitable place for the performance of his vow; it was also at a convenient distance from Jerusalem, and had been the royal city of David for the first seven years of his reign.

Hebron was thus well adapted to be the starting place of Absalom’s rebellion, and it is not unlikely, moreover, that the men of Hebron may have resented the transfer of the capital to Jerusalem, and therefore have lent a willing ear to Absalom. Like many other culprits, Absalom veils his crime under the cloak of religion, pretending submission to his father, and receiving his blessing at the very moment when he is striking at his crown and his life.

Sent spies. —These were agents who were to sound out the people in various parts of the land, and undoubtedly to communicate the conspiracy only secretly, and to those whom they found favorably disposed. They started from Jerusalem, perhaps at the same time as Absalom, or possibly had been sent out quietly, a few at a time, beforehand. The signal for the uprising was to be a messenger with a trumpet.

Went in their simplicity. —The two hundred guests whom Absalom had invited to take part with him in his sacrifices, were doubtless prominent and influential citizens of Jerusalem. That they were entirely ignorant of Absalom’s purposes shows the extreme secrecy with which the affair was managed. Absalom, no doubt, hoped when he once had them at Hebron, to secure them for his side, or, failing this, forcibly to prevent their opposition. In any case it would appear to the people that they were with him, and he would thus secure additional prestige.