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2 Samuel 14:4

in 2 Samuel 14

When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell facedown in homage and said, “Help me, O king!”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when the woman of Tekoa spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

KJV

And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 14

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king,.... Or after she had spoken to him, being introduced by Joab, as is probable; when she had saluted him with God save the king, or May the king live, or some such like expressions: she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance; to him as her king, in reverence of his majesty: and said, help, O king; signifying that she was in great distress, and came to him for assistance and deliverance.

This site's exposition

Help, O king

on 2 Samuel 14:4-5

She falls on her face and cries Help, O king, and a claim of a dead husband sets the widow's frame before Joab's real subject is ever spoken. Barnes reads the cry itself as the same word that stands behind Hosanna, a plea for present rescue rather than a formal complaint filed before a court. The king answers plainly, drawing her case out with a single question.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Spake - Seems to be an accidental error for came, which is found in many manuscipts and versions. Help - literally, save (see the margin). It is the same cry as Hosanna, i. e. save now Psa 118:25.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent.

The words behind it

13 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.

  • וַ֠תֹּאמֶרand she said

    vatomerH559 →5305 times

  • הָאִשָּׁ֤הthe woman

    haishahH802 →781 times

  • הַתְּקֹעִית֙<the> Tekoite

    hatekoitH8621 →7 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַתִּפֹּ֧לand she fell

    vatipolH5307 →435 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • אַפֶּ֛יהָface her

    ʾapeihaH639 →276 times

  • אַ֖רְצָה[the] ground towards

    ʾartzahH776 →2504 times

  • וַתִּשְׁתָּ֑חוּand she bowed down

    vatishtachuH7812 →172 times

  • וַתֹּ֖אמֶרand she said

    vatomerH559 →5305 times

  • הוֹשִׁ֥עָהsave !

    hoshiahH3467 →206 times

  • הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סO king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

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

Related verses

10 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.

2 Kings 6:26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”4 works1 Samuel 25:23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.3 works2 Samuel 1:2On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.3 works2 Samuel 18:28Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”3 works1 Samuel 20:41When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.2 worksLuke 18:3–5And there was a widow in that town who kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Job 29:12–14because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.2 works2 Kings 8:3At the end of seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to the king to appeal for her house and her land.2 works2 Samuel 16:4So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”2 worksGenesis 43:28“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.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

    2 Samuel 1:2

    On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 4:12

      That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

    • 2 Samuel 4:10

      when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

    • Joshua 7:6

      Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 25:23

    When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 20:41

      When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept…

    • Joshua 15:18

      One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”

    • Judges 1:14

      One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”

  • Through

    1 Samuel 20:41

    When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 29:11

      Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

    • 1 Samuel 18:3

      Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

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 14 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.

Read on in 2 Samuel 14 →