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2 Samuel 13:23

in 2 Samuel 13

Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

KJV

And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal–hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 13

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim--A sheep-shearing feast is a grand occasion in the East. Absalom proposed to give such an entertainment at his estate in Baal-hazor, about eight miles northeast of Jerusalem near a town called Ephraim (Jos 11:10).

This site's exposition

after two full years

on 2 Samuel 13:23-27

Two full years is the narrator's own measure of Absalom's patience, long enough that both Amnon and David let their guard down completely. Absalom invites the king first, knowing he will decline a costly outing for his whole court, then asks specifically for Amnon once the king has already refused to come himself, so the one request that matters looks like an afterthought. David presses him no further and lets his firstborn go, never suspecting a plot two years in the making.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Two years - This circumstance of time is noted, as an aggravation of Absalom's malice, which was so implacable: and as an act of policy, that both Amnon and David might more securely comply with his desires.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Withhold - This she spoke, because she thought her royal father would dispense with it, upon this extraordinary occasion, to save his first-born son's life: 15. Hated her - By the just judgment of God both upon Amnon and David, that so the sin might be made publick, and way for the succeeding tragedies.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Those who have no other care about their estates in the country than how to spend them in the town take a ready way to see the end of them. When Absalom had sheep-shearers he would himself be with them. (2.) To this feast he invites the king his father, and all the princes of the blood (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And it came to pass after two full years,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Amnon's character, we have reason to think, was bad in other things; if he had not forsaken God, he would never have been given up to these vile affections. Godly parents have often been afflicted with wicked children; grace does not run in the blood, but corruption does.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Absalom had sheep-shearers - These were times in which feasts were made, to which the neighbors and relatives of the family were invited.
Sheepshearing was always a time of feasting (marginal references). Baal-hazor is not known.

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַֽיְהִי֙and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • לִשְׁנָתַ֣יִםto two years

    lishnatayimH8141 →877 times

  • יָמִ֔יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • וַיִּהְי֤וּand they belonged

    vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times

  • גֹֽזְזִים֙shearers

    gozezimH1494 →

  • לְאַבְשָׁל֔וֹםto Absalom

    leavshalomH53 →110 times

  • בְּבַ֥עַלat Baal

    bevaalH1178 →

  • חָצ֖וֹרHazor

    chatzorH1178 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עִם־[is] near

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • אֶפְרָ֑יִםEphraim

    ʾefrayimH669 →180 times

  • וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he invited

    vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times

  • אַבְשָׁל֖וֹםAbsalom

    ʾavshalomH53 →110 times

  • לְכָל־<to> all

    lekholH3605 →5413 times

  • בְּנֵ֥י[the] sons of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

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

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 25:36When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.4 works1 Samuel 25:4While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.3 worksGenesis 38:12–13After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.3 works1 Kings 1:25For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’2 works1 Samuel 25:2Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.2 works2 Kings 3:4Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 25:7Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel.2 works2 Chronicles 26:10Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.2 works1 Kings 1:9And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened calves near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah who were servants of the king.2 works1 Kings 1:19And he has sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the other sons of the king, as well as Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon.2 worksJohn 11:54As a result, Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but He withdrew to a town called Ephraim in an area near the wilderness. And He stayed there with the disciples.2 works

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

    1 Samuel 25:2

    Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 38:13

      When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Genesis 13:2

      And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Joshua 15:55

      Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

    • 1 Samuel 23:24

      So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,

    • Luke 16:19–25

      Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

  • Through

    1 Kings 1:25

    For today he has gone down and sacrificed an abundance of oxen, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest.…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 10:24

      Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

  • Through

    2 Kings 3:4

    Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 8:2

      David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one…

    • Genesis 26:13–14

      and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

Where this verse is studied

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 13 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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