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2 Samuel 14:7

in 2 Samuel 14

Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother whom he killed. Then we will cut off the heir as well!’ So they would extinguish my one remaining ember by not preserving my husband’s name or posterity on the earth.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thy handmaid, and they say, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew, and so destroy the heir also. Thus will they quench my coal which is left, and will leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the face of the earth.

KJV

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 14

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
The whole family ... - This indicates that all the king’s sons, and the whole court, were against Absalom, and that the knowledge of this was what hindered David from yielding to his affection and recalling him.

This site's exposition

they two strove together in the field

on 2 Samuel 14:6-7

The parable is a small courtroom: two sons strive in a field with no one to part them, one kills the other, and the family now demands the survivor's life under the law of blood for blood. Her plea widens the stakes past one death, for killing the surviving son quenches her last coal and erases her husband's name from the earth. Jamieson Fausset and Brown read the coal as the last spark of a house's continuance, the same image Scripture uses elsewhere for a king's own life and line.

This site's exposition

my one remaining ember

Adam Clarke explains that the family took up the office of avenger of blood, the nearest kin having the right to slay a killer, as Numbers 35:19 provides. Their words about the heir betray a motive of gain. Albert Barnes sees in the whole family the royal court, which stood against Absalom's return.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The king promised her his favour and a protection for her son. Observe how she improved the king's compassionate concessions. (1.) Upon the representation of her case he promised to consider of it and to give orders about it,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

To quench the light of Israel (2Sa 21:17) is to destroy the king's life; to ordain a lamp for any one (Ps 132:17) is to grant him posterity; to quench a coal signifies here the extinction of this woman's only remaining hope that the name and family of her husband would be preserved.

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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The whole family is risen - They took on them the part of the avenger of blood; the nearest akin to the murdered person having a right to slay the murderer. They shall quench my coal which is left - A man and his descendants or successors are often termed in Scripture a lamp or light. So, 2Sa 21:17, the men of David said, when they sware that he should no more go out with them to battle, That thou Quench not the Light of Israel. See also Psa 132:17. And to raise up a lamp to a person signifies his having a posterity to continue his name and family upon the earth: thus, quench my coal that is left means destroying all hope of posterity, and extinguishing the family from among the people. The heathens made use of the same similitude. The few persons who survived the deluge of Deucalion are termed ζωπυρα living coals, because by them the vital flame of the human race was to be rekindled on the earth.

The words behind it

33 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.

  • וְהִנֵּה֩and there!

    vehinehH2009 →843 times

  • קָ֨מָהit has risen up

    kamahH6965 →628 times

  • כָֽל־all

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַמִּשְׁפָּחָ֜הthe clan

    hamishpachahH4940 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • שִׁפְחָתֶ֗ךָmaidservant your

    shifchatekhaH8198 →63 times

  • וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙and they have said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • תְּנִ֣י׀deliver up

    teniH5414 →2011 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מַכֵּ֣ה[the] [one who] struck down

    makehH5221 →499 times

  • אָחִ֗יו<of> brother his

    ʾachivH251 →630 times

  • וּנְמִתֵ֙הוּ֙so we may put to death him

    unemitehuH4191 →839 times

  • בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁfor [the] life of

    benefeshH5315 →754 times

  • אָחִיו֙brother his

    ʾachivH251 →630 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • הָרָ֔גhe killed

    haragH2026 →167 times

  • וְנַשְׁמִ֖ידָהand let us destroy

    venashmidahH8045 →90 times

  • גַּ֣םalso

    gamH1571 →769 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַיּוֹרֵ֑שׁthe heir

    haiyoreshH3423 →

  • וְכִבּ֗וּand they will extinguish

    vekhibuH3518 →

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • גַּֽחַלְתִּי֙coal my

    gachaltiH1513 →18 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • נִשְׁאָ֔רָהit is left

    nisharahH7604 →

  • לְבִלְתִּ֧יto not

    leviltiH1115 →112 times

  • שִׂיםto establish

    som-H7760 →584 times

  • לְאִישִׁ֛יfor husband my

    leishiH376 →1663 times

  • שֵׁ֥םa name

    shemH8034 →864 times

  • וּשְׁאֵרִ֖יתand a remnant

    usheeritH7611 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ פthe ground

    haadamahH127 →225 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.

Numbers 35:19The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.4 worksMatthew 21:38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’3 worksNumbers 35:12You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.3 worksDeuteronomy 19:12–13the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.2 works2 Samuel 12:17The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.2 worksGenesis 27:45until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 4:14Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”2 worksDeuteronomy 25:6The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.2 works2 Samuel 21:17But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”2 worksLuke 7:12As He approached the town gate, He saw a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.2 worksDeuteronomy 19:6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.1 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

    Matthew 21:38

    But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’

    it leads to

    • Genesis 37:18–20

      Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.

    • Luke 20:14

      But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

    • Mark 12:7–8

      But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

    • Hebrews 1:2

      But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

    • John 11:47–53

      Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 12:17

    The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 3:35

      Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread…

    • 1 Samuel 28:23

      Saul refused, saying, “I will not eat.” But his servants joined the woman in urging him, and he heeded their voice. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

  • Through

    Numbers 35:19

    The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 35:21

      or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds…

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

Read on in 2 Samuel 14 →