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2 Samuel 14:29

in 2 Samuel 14

Then he sent for Joab to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So Absalom sent a second time, but Joab still would not come.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again a second time, but he would not come.

KJV

Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 14

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
YOU REMEMBER the historical narrative. Absalom had fled from Jerusalem under fear of David’s anger. He was after a time permitted to return; but he was not admitted into the presence of the king. Earnestly desiring to be restored to his former posts of honor and favor, he besought Joab to come to him, intending to request him to act as mediator. Joab, having lost much of his liking for the young prince, refused to come; and, though he was sent for repeatedly, he declined to attend at his desire.

This site's exposition

two years without seeing the face of the king

on 2 Samuel 14:28-30

Absalom “lived in Jerusalem two years without seeing the face of the king”, the terms of verse 24 still in force. He sends for Joab twice, and twice Joab will not come. So Absalom has his servants set Joab's barley field on fire, forcing the meeting he could not get.

This site's exposition

Joab refused to come to him

Charles Spurgeon notes that Joab had lost much of his liking for the young prince by this time. The general who arranged the return now keeps his distance. Absalom had wanted him to act as mediator with the king.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

YOU REMEMBER the historical narrative. Absalom had fled from Jerusalem under fear of David’s anger. He was after a time permitted to return; but he was not admitted into the presence of the king. Earnestly desiring to be restored to his former posts of honor and favor, he besought Joab to come to him, intending to request him to act as mediator. Joab, having lost much of his liking for the young prince, refused to come; and, though he was sent for repeatedly, he declined to attend at his desire. Absalom therefore thought of a most wicked, but most effective plan of bringing Joab into his company. He bade his servants set Joab’s field of barley on fire. This brought Joab down in high wrath to ask the question, “Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?” This was all that Absalom wanted; he wished an interview, and he was not scrupulous as to the method by which he obtained it. The burning of the barley-field brought Joab into his presence, and Absalom’s ends were accomplished. Omitting the sin of the deed, we have here a picture of what is often done by our gracious God, with the wisest and best design. Often he sendeth for us, not for his profit, but for ours. He would have us come near to him and receive a blessing at his hands; but we are foolish and cold-hearted and wicked, and we will not come. He, knowing that we will not come by any other means, sendeth a serious trial: he sets our barley-field on fire; which he has a right to do, seeing our barley-fields are far more his than they are ours. In Absalom’s case it was wrong; in God’s case he has a right to do as he wills with his own.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֨חand he sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • אַבְשָׁל֜וֹםAbsalom

    ʾavshalomH53 →110 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יוֹאָ֗בJoab

    yoavH3097 →144 times

  • לִשְׁלֹ֤חַto send

    lishloachH7971 →845 times

  • אֹתוֹ֙<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • אָבָ֖הhe was willing

    ʾavahH14 →54 times

  • לָב֣וֹאto come

    lavo'H935 →2568 times

  • אֵלָ֑יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חand he sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • עוֹד֙again

    ʾodH5750 →490 times

  • שֵׁנִ֔יתa second [time]

    shenitH8145 →156 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • אָבָ֖הhe was willing

    ʾavahH14 →54 times

  • לָבֽוֹא׃to come

    lavo'H935 →2568 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

4 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Esther 1:12

    Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 19:12

      A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

    • 1 Peter 3:1

      Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives

    • Proverbs 20:2

      The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

  • Through

    Matthew 22:3

    He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 22:17

      The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

    • John 5:40

      yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

    • Luke 14:15–17

      When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

    • Romans 10:21

      But as for Israel he says: “All day long I have held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

    • Psalms 81:10–12

      I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 14 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 563: “The Barley Field on Fire” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 14 →