2 Samuel 14:7 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Samuel 14:7
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.
a family · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
risen
קָ֨מָהKa.mah
H6965
to rise (in various applications · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
handmaid
שִׁפְחָתֶ֗ךָshif.cha.Te.kha
H8198
a female slave (as a member of the household) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
said
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙vai.yo.me.Ru
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Deliver
תְּנִ֣יte.Ni
H5414
to give · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
smote
מַכֵּ֣הma.Keh
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Numbers 35:19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
Matthew 21:38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritanc…
Genesis 4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagab…
Genesis 27:45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence:…
Deuteronomy 19:12-13 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
Deuteronomy 25:6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out o…
2 Samuel 12:17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 14:1-20
Here is, I. Joab's design to get Absalom recalled out of banishment, his crime pardoned, and his attainder reversed, Sa2 14:1. Joab made himself very busy in this affair. 1. As a courtier that was studious, by all ways possible, to ingratiate himself with his prince and improve his interest in his favour: He perceived that the king's heart was towards Absalom, and that, the heat of his displeasure being over, he still retained his old affection for him, and only wanted a friend to court him to be reconciled, and to contrive for him how he might do it without impeaching the honour of his justice. Joab, finding how David stood affected, undertook this good office. 2. As a friend to Absalom, fo…
they shall quench my coal which is left--The life of man is compared in Scripture to a light. To quench the light of Israel (Sa2 21:17) is to destroy the king's life; to ordain a lamp for any one (Psa 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. The figure is a beautiful one; a coal live, but lying under a heap of embers--all that she had to rekindle her fire--to light her lamp in Israel.
Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 14:7
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, Sa2 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…
Avenger of blood — (Heb. goel, from verb gaal, “to be near of kin,” “to redeem”), the nearest relative of a murdered person. It was his right and duty to slay the murderer (2 Sam. 14:7, 11) if he found him outside of a…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Joab — Jehovah is his father. (1.) One of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and “captain of the host” during the whole of David’s reign (2 Sam. 2:13; 10:7; 11:1; 1 Kings 11:15). His father’s name…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Murder — Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide, and was invariably visited with capital punishment (Num. 35:16, 18, 21, 31; Lev. 24:17). This law in its principle is founded on the fact of…
Tamar — Palm. (1.) A place mentioned by Ezekiel (47:19; 48:28), on the southeastern border of Palestine. Some suppose this was “Tadmor” (q.v.). (2.) The daughter-in-law of Judah, to whose eldest son, Er, she…
Absalom · Is permitted by David to return to — Is permitted by David to return to
Avenger Of Blood · Law concerning, set asi — Law concerning, set asi
Coal · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Dishonesty · .Joab’s guile in securing Absalom’s return — .Joab’s guile in securing Absalom’s return
Intercession · .Joab for Absalom
brother
אָחִ֗יו'a.Chiv
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
kill
וּנְמִתֵ֙הוּ֙u.ne.mi.Te.hu
H4191
to die (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, hiphil, 1st person common plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
life
בְּנֶ֤פֶשׁbe.Ne.fesh
H5315
properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
brother
אָחִיו֙'a.Chiv
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
slew
הָרָ֔גha.Rag
H2026
to smite with deadly intent · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
destroy
וְנַשְׁמִ֖ידָהve.nash.Mi.dah
H8045
to desolate · conjunction + verb, hiphil infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
heir
הַיּוֹרֵ֑שׁhai.yo.Resh
H3423
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
quench
וְכִבּ֗וּve.khi.Bu
H3518
to expire or (causatively) to extinguish (fire · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
coal
גַּֽחַלְתִּי֙ga.chal.Ti
H1513
an ember · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
left
שִׂיםsom-
H7760
to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal infinitive construct
leave
נִשְׁאָ֔רָהnish.'A.rah
H7604
properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
husband
לְאִישִׁ֛יle.'i.Shi
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
name
שֵׁ֥םshem
H8034
an appellation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
remainder
וּשְׁאֵרִ֖יתu.she.'e.Rit
H7611
a remainder or residual (surviving · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
upon
פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
earth
הָאֲדָמָֽהha.'a.da.Mah
H127
soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
John Gill on 2 Samuel 14:7
And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid,.... Who had sheltered her son, that slew his brother, from the avenger of blood; and not only the next akin, the avenger of blood, but even all the kindred and relations of the deceased, those of her husband's family rose up as one man, demanding justice:
and they said, deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the life of his brother whom he slew; pretending great regard to the deceased, and a zeal for justice, when the main thing aimed at was to get the inheritance into their own hands, as appears by what follows:
and we will destroy the heir also; and hereby she would insinuate to the king, that the reason…
When Joab perceived that the king's heart was against Absalom, he sent for a cunning woman from Tekoah, to work upon the king and change his mind, so that he might grant forgiveness to Absalom. Sa2 14:1 is understood by the majority of commentators, in accordance with the Syriac and Vulgate, as signifying that Joab learned that the king's heart was inclined towards Absalom, was well disposed towards him again. But this explanation is neither philologically sustained, nor in accordance with the context. לב, written with על and without any verb, so that היה has to be supplied, only occurs again in Dan 11:28, where the preposition has the meaning "against." It is no argument against this meanin…
Joab · .Procures the return of Absalom to — .Procures the return of Absalom to
Kindness · .Joab to Absalom — .Joab to Absalom
Obsequiousness · .The woman of Tekoah — .The woman of Tekoah
Parables · Of the woman of Tekoa — Of the woman of Tekoa
Tact · Joab’ s trick in obtaining David’ s consent to the return of Absalom — Joab’ s trick in obtaining David’ s consent to the return of Absalom
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
