2 Samuel 15:5
in 2 Samuel 15Also, when anyone approached to bow down to him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, that, when any man came nigh to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.
KJV
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
appoint me judge in the land
on 2 Samuel 15:4-6
Absalom offers himself as the remedy for the grievance he has stirred: “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land”. When a man comes to bow, Absalom takes hold of him and kisses him. Verse 6 names the result: “he stole the hearts of the men of Israel”.
This site's exposition
take hold of him
Absalom declines the bow owed to a prince and gives a kiss, the same gesture his father gave him at 14:33. John Gill notes the petitioners bowed to him as the king's son and supposed heir. The familiarity won them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For nothing is so necessary for the proper conduct of affairs as prudence; and there is no greater hindrance to prudence than wickedness, and malice, and hollowness. Look at bilious persons, how unsightly they are, with all their bloom withered away. How weak they are, and puny, and unfit for anything. So also are souls of this nature. What else is wickedness, but a jaundice of the soul? Wickedness then has no strength in it, indeed it has not. Have ye a mind that I again make what I am saying plain to you by an instance, by setting before you the portraits of a treacherous and a guileless man? Absalom was a treacherous man, and "stole all men's hearts." And observe how great was his treachery. "He went about," it saith, "and said, 'Hast thou no judgment?'" wishing to conciliate every one to himself. But David was guileless. What then? Look at the end of them both, look, how full of utter madness was the former! For inasmuch as he looked solely to the hurt of his father, in all other things he was blinded. But not so David. For "he that walketh uprightly, walketh surely"; and reasonably; he is one that manages nothing over-subtilely, the man who devises no evil.
Moreover, due measure befits even our words and instructions, that it may not seem as though there was either too great mildness or too much harshness. Many prefer to be too mild, so as to appear to be good. But it is certain that nothing feigned or false can bear the form of true virtue; no, it cannot even last.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance,.... To pay his respects, and bow to him, as being the king's son, a prince of the blood, and heir to the crown, as was supposed: he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him; he put out his hand and shook hands with him, or took him about the neck and kissed him, and by this free, familiar, affable, and courteous manner, strangely won upon and gained the affections of the people, as follows.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This dissatisfaction was artfully fomented by Absalom, who addressed himself to the various suitors; and after briefly hearing their tale, he gratified everyone with a favorable opinion of his case.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּקְרָב־ | bikrov- | when drew near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֖ת | lehishtachavot | to bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וְשָׁלַ֧ח | veshalach | and he stretched out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָד֛וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְהֶחֱזִ֥יק | vehechezik | and he took hold of | H2388 → | 291 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | <to> <the> him | ||
| וְנָ֥שַׁק | venashak | and he kissed | H5401 → | 35 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | <to> <the> him |
וְהָיָה֙and it was
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בִּקְרָב־when drew near
bikrov-H7126 →280 times
אִ֔ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֖תto bow down
lehishtachavotH7812 →172 times
ל֑וֹto <the> him
lo
וְשָׁלַ֧חand he stretched out
veshalachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָד֛וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
וְהֶחֱזִ֥יקand he took hold of
vehechezikH2388 →291 times
ל֖וֹ<to> <the> him
lo
וְנָ֥שַׁקand he kissed
venashakH5401 →35 times
לֽוֹ׃<to> <the> him
lo
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
Proverbs 26:25When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
it leads to
- Proverbs 6:16–19
There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 12:6
Even your brothers—your own father’s household—even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
- Jeremiah 9:2–8
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
- Matthew 24:23
At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.
- Proverbs 6:16–19
Through
Psalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Psalms 57:4
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 2.22.112-14; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS 15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.