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II Samuel
Chapter
18
{David
Organizes the Establishment Army}
1~~Then
David mustered/mobilized {paqad}
the
army/people who were with him
and
appointed over them commanders of thousands
{thousands would relate to general officers to command divisions
or brigades}
and
commanders over hundreds
{hundreds would relate to field grade officers to command
battalions}.
{Note: RBT says the book of 'Numbers' should be called 'Mobilization' or the book of 'universal military training. Paqad which is usually translated 'numbered' actually means to mobilize the army. David's pre-revolution army has been badly split up. He needs to reorganize it and appoint officers.}
2~~And
David placed 'the 1st corps'/'a third part' of the army/people
under
the command/hand of Joab,
and
'the 2nd corps'/'a third part'
under
the command/hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah,
Joab's
brother,
{Zeruiah was David's sister and Joab and Abishai are two of her
three sons that were great generals of David's army (the third son
was dead by this time)}
and
'the 3rd corps'/'a third part'
under
the command/hand of Ittai the Gittite.
Afterward,
the king 'announced a general order' to the army/people,
"Even
I myself will definitely march out with you."
{yatsa' yatsa' - doubling is very strong in the Hebrew - idiom
meaning he will personally take the overall command the 3 corps}
3a~~But
the army/people answered,
"You
{David} will not march out with us.
{Note: They know that David's military brains are the most important thing he can offer. They need to know he is in a secure place, leading the overall battle.}
3b~~Because
if we are forced to retreat,
they
{the officer's corps} will not take cognizance of our situation.
{idiom: 'they will not put us to heart'}
Furthermore,
if half of us should die,
they
{our officers} will take cognizance of the casualties.
{idiom: 'they will not put us to heart'}
Because you, compared with us, are worth ten thousand.
Now
therefore it is better that you support us
from
the city with the reserves.
{Note: David's men are indicating defeatism. They do not know their officers and in arrogance, they expect defeat and most of them will die, and they want David in the rear to take care of the remnant. They are telling David how to run the war. This officer corps of David will prove to be so great that Israel will be protected for the next 50 years.}
4a~~And
the king replied unto them {David acquiesces},
"Whatever
seems best 'to you'/'in your eyes', I will do.
4b~~Therefore
the king stood beside the gate
{on a reviewing stand},
while
the army marched out by battalions/hundreds
and
by divisions/thousands.
{Officer's
Call - David's last General Order - Into Emotional Arrogance for David}
5a~~And
the king 'issued a general order'/commanded
Joab,
Abishai and Ittai, saying,
"Deal
with the young man Absalom . . . gently . . . 'for my sake'."
5b~~Furthermore,
the entire army heard
when
the king issued orders to the corps commanders
concerning
Absalom.
{Note: David must have had a strong speaking voice. He boomed out this command and the word got around to everyone.}
{Verses
6-8: Battle of the Forest of Ephraim}
6~~So
the {establishment} army marched out/advanced
to
oppose Israel {revolutionary forces}
into
the field.
And
the battle occurred {was fought}
in
the forest/'forested terrain' of Ephraim.
{Note: Joab selected the battlefield. The one who selects the battlefield normally wins. And, Joab selected a battlefield that was rugged terrain where the individual characteristics of the soldier will win out over sheer numbers.}
7~~Therefore
the army/people of Israel {revolutionary army}
were
defeated by the soldiers of David,
and
there the casualties that day were great . . .
twenty
thousand men.
{Note: Joab apparently sent one corps into an open meadow where the Amasa's forces could see them. Amasa had dispersed his army and Joab now concentrated his. So, Amasa's men were marching in column to attack and Joab's 2 corps in hiding hit them in line and routed them. Because of the rugged terrain causalities were heavy. RBT says that the men who died were most likely the hard core revolutionists and that was their punishment. The other 230,000 or so men in the revolutionary army will be pardoned by David. So, in panic many ran off cliffs, fell into marshes/ quicksand, and finally wild animals could have taken some.}
8~~For
the battle was there
was
'scattered in fright' over the
'entire
terrain'/'face of all the country'.
{the revolutionary troops were routed and ran in fear}
And
the forest devoured more
people/'revolutionary
troops'
that
day than the sword consumed.
{Note: The people in front were frightened and they panicked. Many were killed in combat, but more were killed because of panic and the difficulty of the mountainous and wooded terrain.}
9~~And
Absalom {happened to} meet
the
soldiers of David.
And
Absalom fled {in panic} on a {royal} mule,
and
the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak tree,
and
his '{long hair on his} head'
got
caught in the {branches of the} oak tree,
{Absalom only went to a barber once a year and his hair here is
very long RBT says that long hair is usually the sign of a lack of
respect for authority}
with
the result that
he
was suspended between heaven and the earth
{he was hanging by his hair caught in the branch of a tree}
while
the mule he was riding 'kept on going'/'road away without him'.
{Note: A good military tactic is to send out a reconnaissance patrol behind enemy lines to locate their reserve troops. Apparently, Joab sent out such a patrol and they encountered Absalom who felt save enough to be riding alone and riding without a helmet.}
10~~When
a 'certain officer' saw him
{the patrol commander},
he
reported to Joab, and said,
"Behold,
I have seen Absalom suspended in an oak tree."
{Note: 'Echad means one, unique, or even a 'unique category' and that is what we have here. A 'unique category' of an 'iysh or man. This man was unique from the others in that he must have been the officer in charge. So apparently this officer left the patrol there to guard (and protect) Absalom while he went back and reported the situation to General Joab. He had heard David's command to not harm Absalom.}
11~~Then
Joab reprimanded the officer who had reported to him,
"Now
look here, you saw him,
why
didn't you strike him to the ground right then and there?
Furthermore,
I would have given/rewarded you with a decoration
{idiom: literally: 'ten pieces of silver' - which reward went with a
promotion},
and
a promotion."
{idiom: literally a 'belt' meaning a 'military belt that denotes rank'
(chagowr)}
{Integrity
of Patrol Leader}
12~~Then
that officer replied to Joab,
"Even
if 'you gave me the highest decoration' (medal of honor)
{idiom: literally: "Even if . . . I were weighing on my palm
one thousand pieces/shekels of silver'},
I
would not raise my hand against the king's son . . .
for
in our hearing the king commanded you
and
Abishai and Ittai, saying,
{this means this man truly was a junior commander and heard
David's command to the corps commanders}
'For
my sake . . . protect the young man Absalom.' "
{this is not a direct quote of what David said, but the young
officer's interpretation of what David ordered}
{Note: The integrity of this officer made him incorruptible. No matter the reward offered, he would not go against the direct order of his king. He was protecting the honor in his soul as comes out next.}
{Honor
of Patrol Leader}
13a~~Otherwise
I would have
"made/manufactured
'lies/deceit/falsehood"/'acted deceitfully'
in
my soul.
{Note: This is the internal honor code that convinced this great young officer to go with David and not join the revolution in the first place. Joab will come to understand it is against the army's best interests to TRY and get him to break his own honor code!}
13b~~Furthermore,
the entire matter
can
not be concealed from the king.
13c~~And you yourself would have taken a stand against me.
{Note: This is the CYA (cover your backside) principle that exists today. The young man most likely was aware of David's command to Joab to have Uriah the Hittite killed. And, Joab followed this immoral command. So, here if he had disobeyed David's order, Joab would not have backed him, but, hypocritically, reprimanded him and court-martialed him, but certainly would not have backed his action.}
14a~~Then
Joab retorted,
"Not
so {denying the truth} . . .
I
won't waste any more time here with you."
{Idiom: literally Not so . . .I may not delay thus with you."}
{Note: Looks like Joab might have retorted that the man was incorrect in what he said, but he knows that man is right in what he said! So, Joab halts the interrogation and realizes that it was wrong for this man to kill Absalom, but since Absalom was placed in his custody, he now realizes that it would also be wrong for he himself to NOT kill Absalom personally. If David were permitted to not punish Absalom, again there would be no law and order in the land, and the country would suffer. Joab know he has to act.}
14b~~So
he {Joab} grabbed three javelins
{and
carried them} in his hand,
and
he thrust them through the heart {region} of Absalom . . .
while
he was yet alive {hanging} in the heart/middle of the oak tree.
{Note: There is no record that the young officer took Joab to where Absalom was. But either he did, or one of the men of his patrol went back with him to report to Joab and he guided Joab to Absalom. Absalom put three javelins into the chest cavity of Absalom. Absalom probably was wearing a breast plate of some fashion - maybe thick leather with horn or metal sown in - the horn would deflect the javelin from his actual heart.}
15~~And
ten 'elect soldiers'/'young men'
who
bare Joab's armor {his body guards}
circled
about and 'hacked to pieces'/smote Absalom,
and
caused him to die.
{Note: Joab must have cut Absalom's hair and he fell from the tree. Then the 10 men of Joab's body guard went in for the kill of Absalom. So Absalom died slowly . . . with 3 javelins in his chest and now the hacking up. They were willing to be court-martialed and killed by David, if necessary, to protect Joab.}
16~~And
Joab 'sounded recall on the trumpet',
and
the army returned from pursuing after Israel . . .
for
Joab held back the army
{from killing all the revolutionary army now in retreat}.
{Note: Since Joab's army was victorious in this battle, when the trumpet was sounded, this would have been for recall. This demonstrates there was no personal vengeance in the killing of Absalom. He is going to permit the rest of the revolutionary army to escape death.}
{Criminal
Burial of Absalom}
17a~~And
they took {the corpse of} Absalom,
and
chucked/cast him into a great pit in the forest {of Ephraim},
and
laid a very great pile of rocks upon him.
{Note: In Israel, a criminal was thrown in a pit and rocks stacked on them. We saw this also in Joshua 7:26 the burial for Achan. This way the grave site of Absalom was unmarked and could not be used by malcontents for further revolution.}
17b~~And
all Israel {the surviving revolutionary army}
fled
every one to his home.
{Note: The important thing here is they did not try to reorganize. Instead they fled to their homes hoping their neighbors would not know they ever left - so they would not get the proper treatment for criminals - death.}
{Absalom's
Monument to Arrogance (Retrospective Exposition)}
18a~~But
Absalom, in his lifetime,
had
taken and erected a pillar/monument to himself
in
the king's valley.
{Note: The historian Josephus wrote that the king's valley is the valley of Kidron which is east of Jerusalem.}
18b~~For
he thought,
"I
have no son to perpetuate the memory of my name."
{apparently the three sons of II Samuel 14:27 had died in their
youth - and per the law of posterity - his name would be blotted
out (since he did not have a male heir)}
{Note: Absalom attempted to continue his name by a heap of stones. He got his wish, but not as he expected. It was the heap of stones over a criminal's grave.}
18c~~Therefore,
he named the monument after his own name
and
it is called unto this day, "Absalom's monument".
{idiom: literally 'Absalom's hand'}
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