2 Samuel 13:26
in 2 Samuel 13“If not,” said Absalom, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.” “Why should he go with you?” the king asked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
KJV
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
This site's exposition
let my brother Amnon go
Absalom asks the king to let Amnon go with them if David himself will stay home. As the firstborn son, Amnon could stand in the king's place at the feast. The king asks why he should go.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
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.
Let Amnon - For the king designed (as the following words shew) to keep him at home with him, as being his eldest son, and heir of his kingdom: otherwise Absalom would never have made particular mention of him; which now he was forced to do.
Absalom had so effectually concealed his enmity to Amnon that David saw no reason to suspect any design upon him in that particular invitation: "Let my brother Amnon go;" but this would make the stroke more cutting to David that he was himself drawn in to consent to that which gave the opportunity for it, as before,
Then said Absalom, if not,....
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
Let my brother Amnon go - He urged this with the more plausibility, because Amnon was the first-born, and presumptive heir to the kingdom; and he had disguised his resentment so well before, that he was not suspected.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He mentions Amnon as being the king’s first-born. If he could not have the king’s company, let him at least have that of the heir apparent, and the king’s other sons.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| וָלֹ֕א | valo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵֽלֶךְ־ | yelekh- | let him go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נָ֥א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אִתָּ֖נוּ | ʾitanu | with us | H854 → | 929 times |
| אַמְנ֣וֹן | ʾamnon | Amnon | H550 → | 28 times |
| אָחִ֑י | ʾachi | brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לָ֥מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יֵלֵ֖ךְ | yelekh | will he go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַבְשָׁל֔וֹםAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
וָלֹ֕אand not
valo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵֽלֶךְ־let him go
yelekh-H1980 →1546 times
נָ֥אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אִתָּ֖נוּwith us
ʾitanuH854 →929 times
אַמְנ֣וֹןAmnon
ʾamnonH550 →28 times
אָחִ֑יbrother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לָ֥מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
יֵלֵ֖ךְwill he go
yelekhH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 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
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
- Proverbs 26:24–26
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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,
- 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.
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Proverbs 26:24–26
Through
2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:9–10
“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- 1 Kings 2:5
Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them…
- Deuteronomy 27:24
‘Cursed is he who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- 2 Samuel 20:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
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.