2 Samuel 14:12
in 2 Samuel 14Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?” “Speak,” he replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
KJV
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThen the woman said, let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my Lord the king,.... Having gained her point, and gotten a decree from him confirmed by an oath, that her son though he had killed his brother should not die; she proceeds to accommodate the parable, and apply it to the case of Absalom, and improve it in his favour: and he said, say on; gave her leave to say what she had further to observe to him; see Luk 7:40.
This site's exposition
speak a word to my lord the king
on 2 Samuel 14:12-14
The woman asks leave to “speak a word to my lord the king”, then turns her story on him. If he will spare a son who killed his brother, he convicts himself, “since he has not brought back his own banished son”.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Having at last obtained what she wanted, the king’s oath that her son should not die, she proceeds to the case of Absalom. The meaning of 2Sa 14:13 may be paraphrased thus: “If you have done right as regards my son, how is it that you harbor such a purpose of vengeance against Absalom as to keep him, one of God’s people, an outcast in a pagan country, far from the worship of the God of Israel?
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Please remember Adonoy. God was stringent concerning the distance [necessary] to save lives. When a person kills accidently, he must go to a city of refuge. These cities should never be too distant from any potential fugitive who may need to go there.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Why did you think this. You suspected that a Jew could come to kill another [Jew] without witnesses and a warning.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| תְּדַבֶּר־ | tedaber- | let her speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| נָ֧א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| שִׁפְחָתְךָ֛ | shifchatekha | maidservant your | H8198 → | 63 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֥י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דָּבָ֑ר | davar | a word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דַּבֵּֽרִי׃ ס | daberi | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
הָֽאִשָּׁ֔הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
תְּדַבֶּר־let her speak
tedaber-H1696 →1141 times
נָ֧אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
שִׁפְחָתְךָ֛maidservant your
shifchatekhaH8198 →63 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲדֹנִ֥יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דָּבָ֑רa word
davarH1697 →1440 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דַּבֵּֽרִי׃ סspeak
daberiH1696 →1141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 18:32Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
it leads to
- James 5:15–17
And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
- Judges 6:39
Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the…
- Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- James 5:15–17
Through
Genesis 18:27Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
it leads to
- Isaiah 6:5
Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD…
- Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
- Luke 5:8
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”
- Isaiah 6:5
Through
Genesis 44:18Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
it leads to
- Exodus 32:22
“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.
- Exodus 32:22
Through
Acts 26:1Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:
it leads to
- Acts 9:15
“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
- Acts 9:15
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, Means for Restoring the Banished, Sermon No. 950; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.