2 Samuel 13:37
in 2 Samuel 13Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
KJV
But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut Absalom fled,.... As before related, but here repeated for the sake of what follows: and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur: his mother's father, see 2Sa 3:3, where he might hope for protection and safety: and David mourned for his son every day; or "all the days" (q), i.e. of the three years Absalom was in Geshur, about the end of which he was comforted concerning Amnon, as the following verses show. Some think it was for Absalom he mourned, but rather for Amnon.
This site's exposition
went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud
on 2 Samuel 13:37-39
Absalom flees to his mother's father Talmai, king of Geshur, a foreign court beyond David's reach and beyond any city of refuge, since this killing was planned rather than accidental. Three years pass there while David mourns Amnon daily, and by the chapter's last verse the mourning has turned into something else: a father's longing for the son who murdered his brother. That longing, left unresolved here, is the seam the next two chapters open, when Joab and a wise woman will have to talk David into calling Absalom home.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This is the first introduction of divine punishment; the first but not the only one. A long series of great tribulations followed, and an almost unending succession of misfortunes scarcely left his house. Tamar was corrupted by the madness of Amnon, and Amnon was slain …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), but, he being past recall, time wore off that grief: he was comforted concerning Amnon. It also wore off too much his detestation of Absalom's sin; instead of loathing him as a murderer, he longs to go forth to him,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Absalom fled - As he had committed wilful murder, he could not avail himself of a city of refuge, and was therefore obliged to leave the land of Israel, and take refuge with Talmai, king of Geshur, his grandfather by his mother’s side. See 2Sa 3:3.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Absalom fled, and went to Talmai--The law as to premeditated murder (Nu 35:21) gave him no hope of remaining with impunity in his own country. The cities of refuge could afford him no sanctuary, and he was compelled to leave the kingdom, taking refuge at the court of Geshur, with his maternal grandfather, who would, doubtless, approve of his conduct.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See the marginal reference. Ammihur (see the margin) is found as a Punic name.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַבְשָׁל֣וֹם | veavshalom | and Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| בָּרַ֔ח | barach | he fled | H1272 → | 63 times |
| וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תַּלְמַ֥י | talmai | Talmai | H8526 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמִּיה֖וּד | amichur | Ammihud | H5989 → | |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| גְּשׁ֑וּר | geshur | Geshur | H1650 → | 9 times |
| וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥ל | vaiyitabel | and he mourned | H56 → | 39 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּנ֖וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וְאַבְשָׁל֣וֹםand Absalom
veavshalomH53 →110 times
בָּרַ֔חhe fled
barachH1272 →63 times
וַיֵּ֛לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תַּלְמַ֥יTalmai
talmaiH8526 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
עַמִּיה֖וּדAmmihud
amichurH5989 →
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
גְּשׁ֑וּרGeshur
geshurH1650 →9 times
וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥לand he mourned
vaiyitabelH56 →39 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בְּנ֖וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִֽים׃the days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 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
2 Samuel 13:34Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man standing watch looked up, he saw many people coming down the road west of him, along the side of the hill. And the watchman went and…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 13:37–38
Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 13:37–38
Through
2 Samuel 3:3his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 27:8
Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
- 1 Chronicles 3:1
These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel;
- 1 Samuel 27:8
Through
2 Samuel 14:32“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 20:8
Therefore deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me…
- Exodus 14:12
Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in…
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- 1 Samuel 20:8
Through
1 Chronicles 3:2the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 19:4–10
But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- 2 Samuel 18:14
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…
- 2 Samuel 19:4–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 2.5.