2 Samuel 18:9 BSB — MannaFest

2 Samuel 18:9

Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a 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 the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

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Commentary

3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

would seem that the two things which his vain-glory boasted in, the royal mule, and the magnificent head of hair by which he was caught in the “oak” (rather, terebinth or turpentine tree), both contributed to his untimely death.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Thus he that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit, and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare, Jer. xlviii. David is inclined to spare him, but divine justice passes sentence upon him as a traitor, and sees it executed--that he hang by the neck, be caught alive, be embowelled, and his body dispose of disgracefully. He is hanged by the neck.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

"It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [HARTLEY].

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

27 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּקָּרֵא֙	vai.yi.ka.Re'	and he was met	H7122 →
אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם	'av.sha.Lom	Absalom	H53 →
לִפְנֵ֖י	lif.Nei	<to> before	H6440 →
עַבְדֵ֣י	'av.Dei	[the] servants of	H5650 →
דָוִ֑ד	da.Vid	David	H1732 →
וְאַבְשָׁל֞וֹם	ve.'av.sha.Lom	and Absalom	H53 →
רֹכֵ֣ב	ro.Khev	[was] riding	H7392 →
עַל־	'al-	on	H5921 →
הַפֶּ֗רֶד	ha.Pe.red	the mule	H6505 →
וַיָּבֹ֣א	vai.ya.Vo'	and it went	H935 →
הַפֶּ֡רֶד	ha.Pe.red	the mule	H6505 →
תַּ֣חַת	Ta.chat	under	H8478 →
שׂוֹבֶךְ֩	soeKh	[the] branche[s] of	H7730 →
הָאֵלָ֨ה	ha.'e.Lah	the oak	H424 →
הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה	ha.ge.do.Lah	<the> great	H1419 →
וַיֶּחֱזַ֧ק	vai.ye.che.Zak	and it was firm	H2388 →
רֹאשׁ֣וֹ	ro.Sho	head his	H7218 →
בָאֵלָ֗ה	va.'e.Lah	in the oak	H424 →
וַיֻּתַּן֙	vai.yu.Tan	and he was put	H5414 →
בֵּ֤ין	bein	between	H996 →
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙	ha.sha.Ma.yim	the heavens	H8064 →
וּבֵ֣ין	u.Vein	and between	H996 →
הָאָ֔רֶץ	ha.'A.retz	the earth	H776 →
וְהַפֶּ֥רֶד	ve.ha.Pe.red	and the mule	H6505 →
אֲשֶׁר־	'a.Sher-	which	H834 →
תַּחְתָּ֖יו	tach.Tav	[was] under him	H8478 →
עָבָֽר׃	'a.Var	it passed on	H5674 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Proverbs 30:17
As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 21:18–21
  If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 30:11
  There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
- Proverbs 23:22
  Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
- 2 Samuel 18:14–17
  But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive…
- Leviticus 20:9
  If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
Through
Deuteronomy 27:16
‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
leads to
- Leviticus 19:3
  Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
- Exodus 21:17
  Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
Through
Job 31:3
Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
leads to
- Job 21:30
  Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through 2 Samuel 18

The Watchman

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About 2 Samuel

The Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

2 Samuel: the study guide →Read chapter 18 →The featured study →

PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.

Continue: 2 Samuel 18 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Samuel