2 Samuel 15:17
in 2 Samuel 15So the king set out with all the people following him. He stopped at the last house,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king went forth, and all the people after him; and they tarried in Beth-merhak.
KJV
And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThose whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be: they will soon have enough of him. Christ enlists none but volunteers.
This site's exposition
Arise, and let us flee
on 2 Samuel 15:14-17
David's decision is instant and undefended, flight offered to spare the city rather than any counter-plot against his own son. His servants answer with plain readiness at verse 15, and the king leaves ten concubines behind to keep the house, a detail left unexplained here that returns with its full weight at 16:22. The exodus itself, king and household going out on foot while the city watches, is the moment the reigning king becomes for a season an exile among his own people again.
This site's exposition
He stopped at the last house
Adam Clarke thinks David waited there until all his friends were safely out of the city. John Gill adds that the repeated going forth shows the haste and fear of the departure. Verse 18 shows his people passing before him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hebron - This place he chose as being an eminent city, and next to Jerusalem, the chief of the tribe of Judah, and the place where his father began his kingdom, which he took for a good omen. And where it is probable he had secured many friends. It was also at a convenient distance from Jerusalem.
And the king went forth,.... From Jerusalem; which is repeated, that it might be observed in what a hurry and fright he was: and all the people after him; his family, court, and servants, and as many of the people of Jerusalem as chose to go with him: and tarried at a place that was afar off; when they had got at some distance from the city, they stopped and stayed a while; it could not be a great way from it, for they had not as yet passed over the brook Kidron, 2Sa 15:23.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And tarried in a place - He probably waited till he saw all his friends safely out of the city.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Far away. [Targum Yonasan translates:] "in a far away place."
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵ֥א | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בְּרַגְלָ֑יו | beraglav | at feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וַיַּעַמְד֖וּ | vaiyaamdu | and they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּרְחָֽק׃ | hamerchak | the distance | H4801 → |
וַיֵּצֵ֥אand he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בְּרַגְלָ֑יוat feet his
beraglavH7272 →247 times
וַיַּעַמְד֖וּand they stood
vaiyaamduH5975 →521 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּרְחָֽק׃the distance
hamerchakH4801 →
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 66:12You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us into abundance.
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Isaiah 51:23
I will place it in the hands of your tormentors, who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’ so that you made your back like the ground, like a street to…
- James 5:11
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
- Psalms 40:2–3
He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
- Acts 14:22
strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:7I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.
it leads to
- Proverbs 19:10
Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
- Esther 6:8
have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.
- Proverbs 30:22
a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food,
- Proverbs 19:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The Second Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).