2 Samuel 18:9

And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Absalom	אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם 'av.sha.Lom	H53	Abshalom · proper noun, a man's name
met	וַיִּקָּרֵא֙ vai.yi.ka.Re'	H7122	to encounter · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
servants	לִפְנֵ֖י lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
David	דָוִ֑ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
Absalom	וְאַבְשָׁל֞וֹם ve.'av.sha.Lom	H53	Abshalom · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
rode	רֹכֵ֣ב ro.Khev	H7392	to ride (on an animal or in a vehicle) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
mule	הַפֶּ֗רֶד ha.Pe.red	H6505	a mule (perhaps from his lonely habits) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
mule	הַפֶּ֡רֶד ha.Pe.red	H6505	a mule (perhaps from his lonely habits) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
went	וַיָּבֹ֣א vai.ya.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
boughs	שׂוֹבֶךְ֩ soeKh	H7730	a thicket · noun, common masculine singular construct
great	הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה ha.ge.do.Lah	H1419	great (in any sense) · definite article + adjective, feminine singular absolute
oak	הָאֵלָ֨ה ha.'e.Lah	H424	an oak or other strong tree · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
head	רֹאשׁ֣וֹ ro.Sho	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hold	וַיֶּחֱזַ֧ק vai.ye.che.Zak	H2388	to fasten upon · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
oak	בָאֵלָ֗ה va.'e.Lah	H424	an oak or other strong tree · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
up	וַיֻּתַּן֙ vai.yu.Tan	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, hophal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heaven	הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ ha.sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
earth	הָאָ֔רֶץ ha.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
mule	וְהַפֶּ֥רֶד ve.ha.Pe.red	H6505	a mule (perhaps from his lonely habits) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
away	עָבָֽר 'a.Var	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

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

2 Samuel 14:26 And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:)…
Job 31:3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall…
Deuteronomy 21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;)…
Deuteronomy 27:16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Deuteronomy 27:20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
2 Samuel 17:23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and pu…
2 Samuel 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 18:9-18

Here is Absalom quite at a loss, at his wit's end first, and then at his life's end. He that began the fight, big with the expectation of triumphing over David himself, with whom, if he had had him in his power, he would not have dealt gently, is now in the greatest consternation, when he meets the servants of David, Sa2 18:9. Though they were forbidden to meddle with him, he durst not look them in the face; but, finding they were near him, he clapped spurs to his mule and made the best of his way, through thick and thin, and so rode headlong upon his own destruction. Thus he that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit, and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 18:9

Absalom met the servants of David--or was overtaken. "It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [HARTLEY]. Some, however, think that the sacred historian points not so much to the hair, as to the head of Absalom, which, being caught while running between two branches, was enclosed so firmly that he could not disengage himself from the hold, nor make use of his hands. the mule that was under him went awa…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 18:9

And his head caught hold of the oak - It has been supposed that Absalom was caught by the hair, but no such thing is intimated in the text. Probably his neck was caught in the fork of a strong bough, and he was nearly dead when Joab found him; for it is said, Sa2 18:14, he was yet alive, an expression which intimates he was nearly dead.

John Gill on 2 Samuel 18:9

And Absalom met the servants of David,.... When his army was routed, he was in such a fright that he knew not which way to flee, and instead of flying from David's men, he fled in the way of them; but none of them attempted to slay him, nor even to stop him, but let him pass by them, knowing David's charge concerning him: and Absalom rode upon a mule; as was common for great personages to do in those days, 2 Samuel 13:29, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak; and running full speed, Absalom could not guide him, nor stop, nor divert him from going under it: and his head caught hold of the oak; either the hair of his head was twisted and entangled in the thick boughs of t…

The Church Fathers

When Absalom was cruelly attacking his father David, the speed of his mule caused him to collide with a thick oak tree, and the branches wound round his neck so that he was suspended high in the air. This was a prefiguration of the Lord's betrayer. Just as Judas ended his life in the knot of a noose, so also David's persecutor breathed his last through the pressure on his throat.
— Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 3.1

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Mule — (Heb. pered), so called from the quick step of the animal or its power of carrying loads. It is not probable that the Hebrews bred mules, as this was strictly forbidden in the law (Lev. 19:19),…
Oak — There are six Hebrew words rendered “oak.” (1.) ‘El occurs only in the word El-paran (Gen. 14:6). The LXX. renders by “terebinth.” In the plural form this word occurs in Isa. 1:29; 57:5 (A.V. marg.…
Absalom · General references — General references
Death Of The Wicked, The · Exemplified: Absalom — Exemplified: Absalom
Gilead · .Absalom — .Absalom
Mule · .For royal ri — .For royal ri
Mule, The · Used for: Riding, by persons of distinction — Used for: Riding, by persons of distinction
Oak · Absalom hung in the boughs of — Absalom hung in the boughs of
Oak Tree, The · Described as: Thick spreading — Described as: Thick spreading

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).

2 Samuel 18:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 18:9-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 18:9

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 18:9

John Gill on 2 Samuel 18:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 18:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 18:9-18

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 18:9

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 18:9

John Gill on 2 Samuel 18:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 18:9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 18:9

Rashi on 2 Samuel 18:9