Poole on 2 Samuel 14:12-20: The Widow Unmasked

Verse 12:[1]  Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king.  And he said, Say on.

[Let thine handmaid speak, etc.]  She now approaches nearer the case, with an opportunity for speaking asked of the king (Sanchez).

Let thine handmaid…speak, etc.:  Having obliged the king by his oath in her supposed case, she now throws off the veil, and begins to apply this parable to the king’s and kingdom’s present case.

Verse 13:[2]  And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against (Judg. 20:2) the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again (2 Sam. 13:37, 38) his banished.

[Wherefore hast thou thought, etc.? ‎וְלָ֧מָּה חָשַׁ֛בְתָּה כָּזֹ֖את עַל־עַ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֑ים]  And wherefore hast thou thought a similar thing (such a thing [Septuagint, Strigelius, similarly the Syriac, Munster, Junius and Tremellius]; like, or according to, this [Jonathan, Montanus]) against the people of God? (Pagnine, Tigurinus); that is, either, 1.  against Absalom (and those that fled with him as agents of the murder [Martyr]), who, unless they be recalled, are going to become idolaters, unto the hurt and disgrace of the people of God (Menochius, similarly Martyr).  If thou art willing to save my son, although a parricide, with how much more reason oughtest thou to save so many? (Mariana).  Or, 2.  against the Israelites; for they would wish Absalom restored (Martyr).  Why pursuest thou Absalom, to whom the eyes of the whole people are turned as their coal, as thy successor?  Hence it is gathered that Chileab was dead[3] (Junius).  Against the wishes of all, and the good of the whole kingdom; seeing that Absalom, as we shall see later, attracted the devotion and hears of many to himself, who might bring him back by arms (Tirinus nearly out of Sanchez).  Thou shalt launch thy people into civil war, if, with another designated as successor to thyself, Absalom should proceed to uphold his right with auxiliaries from Geshur (certain interpreters in Malvenda).  She indicates that his return would be for the good of the people, so that he might at length succeed his father (Piscator).  The people would not judge well of the King, if he would thus obstinately pursue Absalom, who, agitated by just resentment, had killed Amnon (Sanchez).  Or thus:  How dost thou think that thy people think or wish to do such things, namely, so impious and inhuman, that they would wish to kill thy son?  Certainly this is not plausible concerning a just and prudent people.  Why then dost thou do that very thing? (Malvenda out of Vatablus). 

Against the people of God:  If thou wouldst not permit the avengers of blood to molest me, or to destroy my son, who are but two persons; how unreasonable is it that thou shouldst proceed in thy endeavours to avenge Amnon’s blood upon Absalom, whose death would be highly injurious and grievous to the whole commonwealth of Israel, all whose eyes are upon him as the heir of the crown, and a wise, and valiant, and amiable person, unhappy only in this one act of killing Amnon, which was done upon a high and heinous provocation, and whereof thou thyself didst give the occasion, by permitting Amnon to go unpunished!

[The king hath spoke the word, that he might sin, ‎וּמִדַּבֵּ֙ר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ הַדָּבָ֤ר הַזֶּה֙ כְּאָשֵׁ֔ם]  For the king speaks this word as one foolish (Pagnine, Vatablus), as one guilty (Syriac, similarly Jonathan), as one that is faulty (Munster), so that he becomes guilty (Strigelius).  Wherefore thou hath spoken that word, that is, which next follows, that thou art not going to bring Absalom back, that thou mightest sin; Hebrew, as a sinner, or as sinners are wont to do, who do not remit offenses (Mariana).  Does not the king offend when he speaks such a word, that he will not bring his banished back? (Tigurinus).  The king appears to speak this word, namely, that they should not kill my son, as one imprudent; because the King does not recall his son; that is to say, Thou dost not take heed against condemning thyself, who refusest to recall Absalom (Vatablus).  For from this, that the king speaketh this very matter; as if he is guilty (Piscator, Junius and Tremellius), namely, of unjust judgment:  as one that would render dissimilar sentences in equivalent cases (Piscator).  She employs a dilemma.  The King judged either well or ill:  if ill, he is unworthy of the royal office:  if rightly, let him stand to the things judged.  But actually the argument was weak; the cases were dissimilar (Martyr).  One of the widow’s sons killed the other in a field without premeditation, where there were no witnesses.  But Absalom contemplated that murder for two years, and perpetrated it at midday before the sons of the king.  The woman’s coal was not to be extinguished, so that her stock might not be able to be propagated.  But David had more wives and children.  There is no one who would not see the difference, but the king was unwilling to rebut her (Martyr on the beginning of the chapter).  But that woman appeared to have spoken without danger, because the king had sworn.  Response:  1.  He had sworn concerning her son, not concerning her.  Oaths are void, the matter of which is unjust.  Isidore expresses it beautifully:  In an evil cause rescind faith:  in an indecent vow change the determination:  Impious is the promise that is fulfilled by sin (Martyr).

[And not bring back his cast away, ‎לְבִלְתִּ֛י הָשִׁ֥יב הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֶֽת־נִדְּחֽוֹ׃]  In this, that he doth not recall (or, since he recalleth not [Junius and Tremellius], that he doth not bring back [Munster, Jonathan]) his banished (Pagnine, Munster, similarly Piscator); for it is a reciprocal speech (Piscator).  His dispersed (Jonathan); the banished of that, namely, of the people, who have endured his three years’ banishment, thus in verse 14 (Malvenda out of Junius).  And why wilt thou not bring back the wanderer? (Arabic).  That thou mightest be made guilty, and not bring the exile back (Strigelius).  [Tigurinus also connects it with when comes before, as mentioned in the prior member.]  The king hath spoken that word, that he might sin; Hebrew, as if sin, even so that he might not bring back his chosen, namely, Absalom (Osiander).

The king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty; by thy word, and promise, and oath given to me for thy son, thou condemnest thyself for not allowing the same equity towards thy own son.  His banished, to wit, Absalom, from that heathenish country, where he is in evident danger of being infected with their idolatry and other vices; which is likely to be a great and public mischief to all thy people, if he come to reign in thy stead, which he is very likely to do.  It is true, there was a considerable disparity between her son’s and Absalom’s case, the one being a rash and sudden action, the other a deliberate and premeditated murder; but that may seem to be balanced in some measure, partly by Amnon’s great and lasting provocation, and principally by the vast difference between a private injury, which was her case, and in a public calamity and grievance, which she affirmed, and the king easily believed, was Absalom’s case:  and what David said in the case of Joab’s murder of Abner, that he could not revenge it, because the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him, 2 Samuel 3:39; the like peradventure might have been said in this case, where the people’s hearts may seem to have been universally and vehemently set upon Absalom, and the rather, because his long banishment moved their pity, and his absence made him more desirable, as it frequently happens among people; and therefore it might really be out of the king’s power to punish him; and so he might seem to be obliged to spare him for the common safety of his whole kingdom.

Verse 14:[4]  For we (Job 34:15; Heb. 9:27) must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person:  yet doth he (Num. 35:15, 25, 28) devise means (or, because God hath not taken away his life, he hath also devised means,[5] etc.), that his banished be not expelled from him.

[We all die]  Hebrew:  for in dying we die[6] (Vatablus, Glassius).  A Hebraism:  all shall die shortly (Vatablus).  We are mortal and are drawing near to death.  Thus in Genesis 2:17, in dying thou shalt die;[7] that is, thou shalt be liable to a certainly coming death:  in Exodus 4:14, in speaking he shall speak;[8] that is, he is strong in the ability to speak (Glassius’ “Grammar” 289).  [They explain it in a variety of ways, 1.  Concerning Absalom, yet not in one way:]  For we all are going to die, we Israelites; that is, unless Absalom be restored to us (Piscator); without him life is unwelcome to us, and it appears that the state of the kingdom is going to fade, in such a way that it is not able thereafter to be renewed (Junius).  Why dost thou not give Absalom to the people desiring him, as thou dost my son to me?  Who shall succeed thee if not Absalom?  Thou wilt say, that thou art going to have others:  But what if thou shouldest die first? for we are mortal:  all the more is care to be taken that we propagate our stock (Castalio).  [Others thus:]  Do not, I pray, hasten the death of Absalom:  for he will die soon enough (Vatablus, similarly Sanchez, Lapide, Tigurinus).  There is no reason why thou shouldest so pursue him, whom infirmity of nature itself pursues closely enough (Sanchez).  [2.  Others understand this concerning Amnon (thus a great many interpreters in Sanchez):]  And what advantage is it to Amnon, this vengeance sought for his sake, since he cannot be recalled to life? (Tirinus out of Sanchez, similarly Menochius).  What has been done is not able to be undone.  Why then should we add evil to evil, and not rather study to repair that forgiveness and forbearance (Menochius).  It is right that Kings, who are set up for the public good, should rather repel evil, than invite it.  The evil of death threatens us all, and so that hour is not to be drawn forward.  Thou mournest Amnon, who ought  to have died:  but thou art unwilling to reconcile to thyself Absalom, who will not survive long (Martyr).

We must needs die; Hebrew, in dying we shall die, that is, we shall certainly and suddenly die all of us; both thou, O king, who therefore art obliged to take due care of thy successor, who is Absalom; and Absalom, who, if he do not die by the hand of justice, must shortly die by the necessity of nature; and Amnon too must have died in the common way of all flesh, if Absalom had not cut him off.  Therefore, O king, be not implacable towards Absalom for nipping a flower a little before its time of fading, and restore him to us all before he die in a strange land.

[And we as waters are dispersed into the earth, which are not returned,וְכַמַּ֙יִם֙ הַנִּגָּרִ֣ים אַ֔רְצָה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֣א יֵאָסֵ֑פוּ]  And (understanding, we are [Pagnine], or, are going to be [Junius and Tremellius]) as waters poured out (like waters flow away [Munster, Strigelius]) upon the ground, which shall not be gathered up again (Montanus, similarly Pagnine, Septuagint, Jonathan, Syriac, Arabic, Tigurinus, Castalio, Vatablus, Martyr, Piscator), that is, which are not able to be gathered up again, more specifically, into some vessel (Piscator).  As water always flows on a slope, until it infuses itself into the waves of the sea; so the life of mortals hastens to death (Sanchez).  Rather he understands here the waters, not of a river, but of rain, which the earth absorbs, so that nothing remains of them that is able to be gathered (Lapide).  Our bodies are to be absorbed by the earth, no differently than water (Munster).  Our soul will soon go forth from us, and shall not be returned to the body before the resurrection (Vatablus).  It is not able to be gathered up again, namely, in a natural way:  she prescribes nothing here to the power of God (Martyr, similarly Lapide).

Spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; which is quickly drunk up and buried in the earth, and cannot be recovered.

[And God doth not wish the soul to perish, ‎וְלֹֽא־יִשָּׂ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ נֶ֔פֶשׁ]  [They take it in a variety of ways:]  And God shall not destroy (remove [Syriac, Tigurinus, Mariana]) the soul (Montanus).  God does not delight in the destruction of man, but intends to save those that otherwise are wretched enough before men, so that they, pressed by that, might not fall, and utterly perish.  Now, she tacitly reminds David, that God forgave him of adultery and murder, and did not order him to be led to punishment (Osiander); that is to say, if God had been as severe with thee on account of the murder of Uriah, as thou art with thy son, thou would have certainly perished; but God prefers to forbear punishments, rather than to buffet the guilty; and how that is able to be done, He contemplates continually (Castalio).  The argument is drawn from the mercy of God (Lapide, similarly Sanchez).  [Others thus:]  Because God did not take away the life of that one, that is, Absalom, whom his brothers were able to kill, unless God by His providence had preserved his life (Piscator nearly out of Junius).  [Others thus:]  God will not accept the soul (Pagnine, Vatablus), that is, the person, or face, of anyone, in such a way that he will not die (Vatablus).  Neither does God spare any soul from dying (Munster, Vatablus).  Neither doth God respect any person (English).  Thou also, O King, art liable to death; if thou shouldest die tomorrow, thy son shall agitate war; therefore, recall the exile (certain interpreters in Martyr).  Moreover, this argument is not firm; for, if it were, when would the magistrate exact punishment from the guilty? (Martyr).

Neither doth God respect any person, to wit, so far as to exempt him from this common law of dying.  But this version seems not to agree with the Scripture phrase; for the accepting of a person is never to my knowledge expressed in Hebrew by נֶפֶשׁ נָשָׂא, nasa nephesh, which is the phrase here, but by פָּנִים נָשָׂא, nasa panim, every where.  The words therefore may be rendered either thus, yet God will not take away, or doth not use to take away, (the future tense oft noting a continued act, as Hebricians observe,) the soul, or souls, or lives of men, to wit, by violence.  God doth not severely and instantly cut off offenders, but suffers them to live till they die by the course of nature; and therefore so shouldst thou do too.  Or rather thus yet God hath not taken away his soul or life; the pronoun his being understood here as it is in many other places, and as being easily supplied out of the context.  So the sense is, God hath hitherto spared him, and did not suffer his brethren to kill him, as in reason might have been expected; nor hath God himself yet cut him off for his murder, as he oft doth with persons who are out of the magistrate’s reach; but hath hitherto preserved him even in a heathenish land; all which are intimations that God would have him spared.

[But he retracts, intending that he who was cast away might not completely perish, ‎וְחָשַׁב֙ מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֛י יִדַּ֥ח מִמֶּ֖נּוּ נִדָּֽח׃]  [They take it variously:]  And he was thinking thoughts, that he might not expel from him the expelled (Montanus).  Let him then think thoughts, that he might not reject from himself him who was rejected.  Thou shalt consider, therefore, that thou reject not from thee any one who is to be rejected, or who is already rejected; but rather take thou care that he be recalled (Munster).  Others thus:  God thinks thoughts, how He might kill men in various ways, so that there might not be anyone that is able to escape His hands, however much he be cast away by men, or escape their hands.  For, to be cast away here is taken for to escape (Rabbi Levi in Munster).  Others thus:  Because he did not take away the life of that way, that is, Absalom, he also entered into contemplations, how he might not remain exiled from him (from that [Piscator], that is, the people [Junius, Piscator]), he who is exiled, namely, Absalom:  so that the sense might be, Dost thou suppose that this pursuit is only human? and not rather that God, who by His providence hath hitherto preserved him in life, excited that in the people, that in that manner Absalom might be recalled from exile (Junius).  Because God did not take away his life, He deliberated, and also procured means, that his exile might not be expelled from him (English Margin).  Others thus:  no one is going to evade death, but he shall think thoughts, etc., that is, even that one, namely, the King, will find and procure means, that after his death the kingdom might not be taken from his successor; in such a way that he expels not the expelled, namely, Absalom, from him, so that he might not be recalled to the people of God (certain interpreters in the Dutch).  Others thus:  She draws her rationale from the goodness of God, who does not kill willingly, and receives the penitent (Mariana).  At the prayers of sinners God often recalls the sentence of death pronounced against them (Lapide).  God recalls His threats, and puts on a paternal disposition to him, against whom He had previously imbibed hostile spirits, when He discerns him to be sorry for his sin.  An example of which was David himself, etc. (Sanchez).  God intends to preserve those that otherwise are wretched enough, etc. (Osiander).  [See the rest on the preceding member of the verse.]  God is not wont to snatch away life, but He continually thinks of not alienating from Himself those that are alienated (Castalio).  God is unwilling to take away life, but deliberates within Himself to prevent the perishing of one that is cast away (Strigelius).  Others thus:  but He thought thoughts, that He might not expel from Himself the expelled (Pagnine, Vatablus).  A Hebraism:  He enacted a law, that the repelled and exiled He shall not repel from Himself; that is, He recalls to Himself the exiled, and those that live in exile for a time because of some crime, as it is also in the Law (Vatablus).  This ought to be referred to the cities of refuge (Vatablus, thus Martyr).  God thinks thoughts; that is, He issued judgments, that the murderer be not expelled (certain interpreters in Munster).  Therefore, God is to be imitated.  Think thou then how thou mightest recall thine exile.  But the case is dissimilar.  For, 1.  Absalom killed his brother on purpose.  2.  A murderer was not able to return, until the death of the Priest[9] (Martyr).

Yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him; or, but hath devised means, etc., that is, hath given laws to this purpose, that the manslayer who is banished should not always continue in banishment, but upon the high priest’s death return to his own city; whereby he hath showed his pleasure that the avenger of blood should not implacably persist in seeking revenge, and that the manslayer should be spared.  Or rather thus, but thinketh thoughts, or, but hath designed, or, therefore he intendeth that he who is banished (to wit, Absalom) be not (always) expelled or banished from him, that is, from God and from his people, and from the place of his worship, but that he should return home to him.  So the sense is, that God, by sparing Absalom’s life in the midst of dangers, did sufficiently intimate that he would in due time bring him back to his land and people.

Verse 15:[10]  Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid:  and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

[Now therefore have I come that I might speak…this word,וְ֠עַתָּה אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֜אתִי לְדַבֵּ֙ר אֶל־הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲדֹנִי֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה]  But now that I have come to speak, etc.  Understanding either, it is the cause (Pagnine) [similarly a great many], or I came (Junius and Tremellius).

[With the people being present]  Thus he translates ‎כִּ֥י יֵֽרְאֻ֖נִי הָעָ֑ם, for the people have made me afraid,[11] as it it were from רָאָה, to see (Mariana).  Because the people shall behold me (Septuagint).  I determined to say these things with the people present, so that all might know the sentence of the King absolving my son (Menochius out of Tostatus and Theodoret).  The Temanite woman determined, or rather Joab, that many of the people be present as witnesses to the oath of the king (Sanchez).  [But the rest render the words otherwise:]  Because the people terrified me (Jonathan, Pagnine, Vatablus, Munster, Montanus, similarly the Syriac, Arabic, Junius and Tremellius, Piscator, Castalio, Strigelius, Osiander, Dutch).  [Yet they do not explain it in the same manner:]  They terrified me, that is, because I am not able to speak with thee without offending thee (Munster).  The people terrified me, understanding, who were saying, that, if I should openly declare the matter to thee, it would happen that thou wouldest burst into rage.  Therefore, I will speak a word, that is, a parable, or my counsel; I will set forth to him the history concerning my two sons (Vatablus).  It renders this passage difficult, that she confounds the deliverance of her son with the restoration of Absalom (Mariana).  And so I have come, etc., although certain of the people have terrified me (Tigurinus); all said that I labor in vain, but I have maintained a good hope; it is suitable then, that I not be frustrated in my hope.  This argument has great force in overpowering the mind the of judge:  all desire a good expectation to be had from them.  Hence flatterers are pleasing to us, because they appear to attribute much to us; but this is not a valid reason; for a king ought not to absolve the guilty, in order to protect his reputation (Martyr).  [Others thus:]  The people terrified me; that is to say, I saw that the people were going to be endangered, unless they helped by the restoration of Absalom (Junius).  I saw the people sad on account of Absalom’s exile (Menochius).  The people do not cease to urge me, that, while I entreat for my son, I also at the same time intercede for thine (Osiander).

It is because the people have made me afraid; the truth is, I was even forced to this bold address to thee by the disposition and condition of thy people, who are discontented at Absalom’s perpetual banishment, and full of fears; either lest, upon thy death, which none knoweth how soon it may happen, they should be involved in a civil war about thy successor; or lest, in the mean time, if Absalom by his father-in-law’s assistance invade the land, and endeavour by force to regain and secure his right to the succession, the people, who have a great opinion of him, and kindness for him, and think he is very hardly used, should take up arms for him; or lest he who is thy heir and successor should by continual and familiar conversation with heathens be ensnared in their errors, or alienated from the true religion, and from God’s worship, from which he is now utterly excluded.  And thy handmaid said, or, therefore thy handmaid said; either within myself, that is, I intended; or to the people, to quiet them.

Verse 16:[12]  For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

[And the King hath heard, ‎כִּ֚י יִשְׁמַ֣ע הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ]  Because (or for [Piscator, thus Pagnine], certainly [Mariana]) the King will hear (understanding, me [Piscator]) (Montanus, thus the Septuagint, Jonathan, Tigurinus).  It is the continuation of the mimesis[13] established in the preceding verse, in which that woman began to recite her own words concerning her intention in addressing the king (Piscator).  Since the king heeded by rescuing, etc. (Junius and Tremellius).

For the king will hear, etc.:  For I know the king is so wise and just, that I assure myself of audience and acceptation; which expectation of hers is cunningly insinuated here, that the king might conceive himself obliged to answer it, and not to disappoint her hope, nor to forfeit that good opinion which his subjects now had of him.

[So that he might deliver his handmaid, ‎לְהַצִּיל]  To remove (Montanus); so that he might free (Pagnine, Tigurinus), remove (Septuagint); and he will remove (Theodoret and the Complutensian in Nobilius); by rescuing his handmaid, etc. (Junius and Tremellius).

To deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man; to grant my request concerning my son, and consequently the people’s petition concerning Absalom.

[From the hand of all that were wanting to destroy me, ‎מִכַּ֣ף הָאִ֑ישׁ לְהַשְׁמִ֙יד אֹתִ֤י]  From the palm, or hand, of the man to destroy me (Montanus).  Understanding, wishing (Pagnine, Mariana), seeking (Jonathan, Vatablus, Septuagint), intending (Dutch).  She says to destroy me, either because she was not able to outlive her son (Vatablus, similarly Malvenda, Junius):  or because the mother because of her son and with her son was enjoying his father’s goods; should he be killed by relatives, that whole inheritance of his father would pass to his relatives:  or because she, bereaved of this son, would not be put in the census of the children of Israel (Sanchez).  From the hand of the man about to destroy me, unless thine authority intervene (Junius).  From the hands of men, that they might not destroy me, etc. (Syriac).

Me and my son; implying that her life was bound up in the life of her son, and that she could not outlive his death; (and supposing, it is like, that it might be David’s case also, and would therefore touch him in a tender part, though it were not proper to say it expressly;) and thereby suggesting that the tranquillity, safety, and comfort of the people of Israel depended upon Absalom’s restitution, and the settlement of the succession in him.

[From the inheritance of God (thus the Syriac, Montanus, Pagnine)]  That is, from the paternal/ancestral possession, which is called the inheritance of God; because it was distributed by God through Joshua, in such a way that it came to her son through long succession; or the inheritance of God is the land of promise and the house of Israel, from which her son would thus be erased, etc. (Sanchez).  From the inheritance of the people of the Lord (Jonathan).  From (or, out of [Piscator]) the possession of God (Junius and Tremellius, Piscator), that is, from the people of God.  It is a Metaphor (Piscator).  She touches upon the danger of idolatry threatening Absalom; that is to say, those that are unwilling that Absalom be recalled drive him from the worship of God.  Thus the honor of God is in peril, and eternal death threatens him.  But the rule abides, that evils are not to be done so that good might come[14] (Martyr).

Out of the inheritance of God, that is, out of that inheritance which God hath given to me and mine; or out of that land which God gave to his people to be their inheritance and possession, and in which alone God hath settled the place of his presence and worship; whereby she intimates the danger of Absalom’s living in a state of separation from God and his house, and amongst idolaters.

Verse 17:[15]  Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable (Heb. for rest[16]):  for (2 Sam. 14:20; 19:27) as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern (Heb. to hear[17]) good and bad:  therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

[Let then thine handmaid say (thus the Septuagint), ‎וַתֹּאמֶר]  And she said (Syriac, Jonathan in Mariana); she said to these things, or in addition (Piscator, Pagnine); she said, therefore (Junius and Tremellius); she said, that is, she thought, as in verse 15 (Dutch).  I prefer, she says, as if she would add new requests, that it might be; Hebrew, let thy word be, I pray, etc. (Mariana).

[That the word of my Lord the king might be as a sacrifice,יִֽהְיֶה־נָּ֛א דְּבַר־אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לִמְנוּחָ֑ה]  Let the word of my Lord the king, I pray, be for sacrifices (Septuagint).  The word shall be true, etc.; and it shall be a sacrifice (Syriac); it shall be a sacrifice, as it were (Arabic).  Our man read לְמִנְחָה, for an offering (Munster).  Let the word of the king be, namely, his promise concerning the provision for the indemnity of the fratricide, like a sacrifice; that is, sacrosanct, ratified, and to which nothing is wanting that is not perfectly completed (Tirinus).  Let it be ratified, and so acceptable to God, like a sacrifice (Menochius, similarly Lyra).  This woman, either, 1.  says that she is going to celebrate the trustworthiness of David in fulfilling the promise, in such a way that the word of the King might be holy, as holily confirmed, just as a sacrifice is wont to be; or, 2.  exhorts the King, that he consider the promises as if the matter were consecrated to God, namely, on account of the oath interposed (Sanchez).  Or thus, just as a sacrifice is most agreeable to God, so this my wish for Absalom is most agreeable to thee.  For thou art, as it were, our God on earth (Lapide).  It is Optative, as the Septuagint took it, εἴη δὴ, let be now (not εἰ ἤδη, if now, as it is commonly read), ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου μου τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς θυσίαν, the word of my lord the king for a sacrifice:  it answers to מִנְחָה/minchah/offering, Leviticus 2,[18] which the Septuagint often calls θυσίαν, a sacrifice.  The sense:  Let this response be to God as acceptable as an offering of wheat flour is wont to be (Grotius).  Or thus:  Pleasing to God shall be the sacrifice, whether the deliverance of my son, or the restoration of Absalom (Mariana).  [But most interpreters read לִמְנוּחָה, as it is found in the text, and thus translate it:]  Now shall be (or, let be [Tigurinus, Dutch, Vatablus]) the Word of my Lord the king (the sentence which he shall pass concerning my case [Piscator]) for rest (Junius and Tremellius), for comfort (Strigelius, similarly Munster), for tranquility (Tigurinus).  That is, 1.  for me and my son (Vatablus, Dutch).  It is a Hebraism; that is to say, Let him give command that we be unharmed (Vatablus).  The King shall console me concerning my affliction (Munster).  2.  For Absalom (Dutch).  3.  For the king himself and the whole people longing after Absalom, etc. (Dutch, similarly Junius, Piscator, Martyr).  That is to say, I was contemplating this:  if in this private cause the king, with regard had to me, shall judge that measures are to be taken for my son; how much more in a public cause is he going to implement measures for his son for the public tranquility of all the people (Malvenda out of Junius). 

The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable; I doubt not the king will give a gracious and satisfactory answer to my petition.

[For, as an Angel of the Lord, so also is my Lord the king, that he is moved neither by blessing nor by cursing, ‎לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ הַטּ֣וֹב וְהָרָ֔ע—‎כִּ֣י׀ כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְ הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים]  Because, as an Angel of God, so is my Lord the king, to hear good and bad (Septuagint, Jonathan, Syriac, etc.), that is, to decide between just and unjust requests (Mariana); so that he might understand, or discern; that is, to put a distinction between a just and an unjust cause (Vatablus).  Thou hearest both parts; thou art able to decide (Martyr).  Thou art the equal of an Angel in wisdom and prudence.  This exposition was taken from verse 20 (Vatablus, similarly Junius, Piscator, Malvenda, Martyr).  Just like an Angel, when he heareth (as Judge [Piscator]) good and bad (Junius and Tremellius).  That is to say, in a similar cause he (the King) is going to render consistently the same judgment with angelic equity, with human passions put off (Malvenda out of Junius).  Although perhaps others, either out of hatred or perverse zeal, would advise against it (Tirinus); this suits thy constancy, who art after the likeness of an Angel, so that thou art not moved by the speeches of men, whether they feel and speak well or ill of thee, provided that thou do what is right and just (Menochius, similarly Tirinus).  The people shall praise thee (or, I shall celebrate thee) as an Angel of God, on account of thy constancy in fulfilling thy promise (Sanchez).  [Others thus:]  I know that thou art of such piety and clemency, that thou shalt patiently hear, not only what things are pleasing, but also displeasing, neither wilt thou immediately burst into anger against the one speaking.  And so I trust that thou art not going to bear with reluctance my intercession for my son (Osiander, similarly Lapide).  [Others thus:]  He spoke mercifully, just as Angels are wont to be messengers of the Divine goodness.  All these things pertain in this, that the King might not restrict himself to the law; the following history shows just how ill the result was for him (Grotius).

As an angel of God, to wit, in wisdom, and justice, and goodness.  To discern good and bad; to hear and judge of causes and requests, whether they be just, and good, and fit to be granted, as mine is; or unrighteous, and unreasonable, and fit to be rejected.  So she intimates her confidence in the justice of her cause, and thereby confirms the king in his purpose and promise to grant her request, and withal arms the king against the suggestions of them who should advise him to a rigorous execution of God’s law against Absalom, and be ready to censure him for restoring Absalom, and this for want of that angelical wisdom which the king had, who wisely considered many things far above their reach.

[And the Lord is with thee]  That is, He is present with thee, so that thou mightest judge rightly (Malvenda).  Hebrew:  and Jehovah will be with thee;[19] that is, when thou wilt have done this (thou wilt have executed the just sentence that thou hast pronounced [Piscator]), He will be with present with thee in His blessing (Junius, Piscator); than which nothing greater or more desirable is able to be thought.  Thus she concludes her speech with a most potent argument (Martyr).  Many want many things in this parable; because it is not perfectly equivalent to the history of Absalom.  But it would not be a suitable fabrication, if were altogether like the true history:  for the King would have readily perceived the artifice.  She only wished to obtain that which seemed so difficult; namely, the absolution of him, whom the law and custom had condemned, that is, her son, or Absalom.  Wherefore, when she obtained this, that the remaining things were altogether diverse, she had no scruple (Sanchez).

Therefore; because thou art so wise, and just, and pitiful, and gracious to those who in strict justice deserve punishment.  The Lord thy God will be with thee; God will own and stand by thee in this thy act of grace; or, God will prosper thee in thy enterprises; or, at least, not be offended with thee.

Verse 18:[20]  Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee.  And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Verse 19:[21]  And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?  And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken:  for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and (2 Sam. 14:3) he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid…

[Is not the hand of Joab, etc.?]  Hand in the place of counsel, work, etc., as in 2 Samuel 3:12 (Malvenda out of Vatablus).  It is a καταχρηστικὴ/catachrestic[22] Metaphor (Piscator).

Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? hast thou not said and done this by Joab’s direction and contrivance?

[By the salvation of thy soul, etc.,חֵֽי־נַפְשְׁךָ֩ אֲדֹנִ֙י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ אִם־אִ֣שׁ׀ לְהֵמִ֣ין וּלְהַשְׂמִ֗יל מִכֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ]  The life of thy soul, my Lord the king, if a man to go to the right, and to go to the left, from all that my Lord the king hath spoken[23] (Montanus).  By the life of thy soul, etc. (Pagnine, Vatablus, similarly Jonathan), that is, by thy salvation (Vatablus).  There is not anyone that could [he appears to have read יֵשׁ, there is, in the place of אִשׁ, just as others do], to decline to the right, or to the left, etc. (Pagnine).  Verbatim:  there is not a man to go to the right or to go to the left, if it could be said in Latin.  It is read ‎אִם־אִישׁ, if a man, or anyone, etc.  Certain interpreters translate it, it is not (that is, it is not lawful, understanding, to anyone) to decline to the right, etc.; that is to say, I am going to speak the truth to thee, an not turn back, nor conceal anything; since thou art altogether wise, who would immediately discover the deceit (Vatablus).  No other hath instructed me to decline either to the rigt, etc., from all that thou hast said to me:  just as my Lord hath spoken, so it stands; that is, from the sentence of others I have added nothing, Joab alone, etc. (Hebrews in Vatablus).  It is not to be turned, etc. (Junius and Tremellius).  I translate it, I will not turn, etc.; that is, without ambiguities I will say how the matter stands.  Hebrew:  if it is, with my soul; that is, if it is my will, or my intention, to turn; understanding, may God punish me.  But that Ellipsis is able to be confirmed from the example of the full expression that is found in Genesis 23:8, if it is with your soul[24] (Piscator).  The if is taken for not; just as, if it is iniquity, etc., in the place of, it is not iniquity, etc.  That is to say, thou hast arrived at the matter (Mariana).  I have plainly said what he suggested.  The woman does not conceal the author of the parable; whether because Joab had permitted that to her; or because, when the heart of the king was turned toward Absalom, then it was their duty to act in the recalling of him (Menochius, similarly Martyr).  If there is anyone, etc.; that is, no one worked with me save one, even Joab (Munster).

None can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken:  as the king is so wise that no man can deceive him by any turnings or windings to the right or left hand, but he quickly searcheth out the truth in every thing; so, (it is a folly to dissemble, or go about to conceal it,) it is even so, thou hast now discovered the truth of this business.  He put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid, to wit, for the scope and substance of them, but not as to all the expressions which she used, for these were to be varied as the king’s answer gave occasion, which also she did with singular prudence.

Verse 20:[25]  To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing:  and my lord is wise, (2 Sam. 14:17; 19:27) according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

[That I might turn the figure of this speech, ‎לְבַעֲב֤וּר סַבֵּב֙ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י הַדָּבָ֔ר]  That I might turn (change [Jonathan]) the face (form [Vatablus]) of this speech, or word (Pagnine, Septuagint, Jonathan, Munster); that is, that I might set forth to thee this figured speech (Vatablus).  Joab dictated, furnished, and taught the face of this speech, that is, מָשָׁל, that figured locution; so that thus I might circumvent by the form of that speech (Munster, similarly Tigurinus).  That he might lead about the appearance of this speech, etc. (Junius and Tremellius); that is, so that, by spinning this speech about my son, he might at last transfer it to the case of Absalom (Junius).  That I might turn (invert [Castalio]) the face of the matter (Vatablus, Castalio); that is, that he might place the matter itself before thine eyes; that is, the matter of Absalom; that is, that Joab might tacitly, and as if attending to something else, indicate to thee the very matter, and thou, while I was narrating this, mightest understand the fable to be narrated concerning thee:  did he send me to thee (Vatablus).  The sense:  Joab put these words in my mouth, so that I, with the security of my son obtained from thee, might turn the face of the matter, in such a way that I might transfer it to the case of thy son Absalom as similar.  But in actuality the case was not similar (Piscator) [as previously noted].  That I might receive patronage for this case (Strigelius); that thou mightest gratify me (Syriac, similarly Arabic).

To fetch about this form of speech, that is, to propose mine, and his, and the people’s desire of Absalom’s restitution in this parabolical manner, in mine and my son’s person.

[That thou mightest understand all things upon the earth, ‎אֶֽת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃]  Whatever is done in this land (Junius and Tremellius) [they suppose that a ה [26] lies hidden in the Qametz ( ָ  ) under the ב, so that it might be in the place of בְּהָאָרֶץ, in this land].  But the article in this place is not relative, but demonstrative; therefore, I translate it simply, on earth (Piscator).  All things that are on earth (Pagnine, Vatablus), that is, which pertain to thy welfare and acquaintance (Martyr).  Thy business, and the business of others (Hebrews in Vatablus).

In the earth, or, in this land, in all thy kingdom; all the counsels and devices of thy subjects which have any relation to thee or thy affairs.

[1] Hebrew:  ‎וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה תְּדַבֶּר־נָ֧א שִׁפְחָתְךָ֛ אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ דָּבָ֑ר וַיֹּ֖אמֶר דַּבֵּֽרִי׃ ס

[2] Hebrew: ‎וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וְלָ֧מָּה חָשַׁ֛בְתָּה כָּזֹ֖את עַל־עַ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֑ים וּמִדַּבֵּ֙ר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ הַדָּבָ֤ר הַזֶּה֙ כְּאָשֵׁ֔ם לְבִלְתִּ֛י הָשִׁ֥יב הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֶֽת־נִדְּחֽוֹ׃

[3] See 2 Samuel 3:3.

[4] Hebrew: ‎כּי־מ֣וֹת נָמ֔וּת וְכַמַּ֙יִם֙ הַנִּגָּרִ֣ים אַ֔רְצָה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֣א יֵאָסֵ֑פוּ וְלֹֽא־יִשָּׂ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ נֶ֔פֶשׁ וְחָשַׁב֙ מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֛י יִדַּ֥ח מִמֶּ֖נּוּ נִדָּֽח׃

[5] Hebrew:  ‎וְלֹֽא־יִשָּׂ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ נֶ֔פֶשׁ וְחָשַׁב֙ מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹת.

[6] Hebrew:  ‎כִּי־מ֣וֹת נָמ֔וּת.

[7] Hebrew:  ‎מ֥וֹת תָּמֽוּת׃.

[8] Exodus 4:14:  “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother?  I know that he can speak well (‎דַבֵּ֥ר יְדַבֵּ֖ר).  And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee:  and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.”

[9] Numbers 35:25, 28, 32.

[10] Hebrew:  ‎וְ֠עַתָּה אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֜אתִי לְדַבֵּ֙ר אֶל־הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֲדֹנִי֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י יֵֽרְאֻ֖נִי הָעָ֑ם וַתֹּ֤אמֶר שִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֙ אֲדַבְּרָה־נָּ֣א אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אוּלַ֛י יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֶת־דְּבַ֥ר אֲמָתֽוֹ׃

[11] יָרֵא in the Piel signifies to make afraid.

[12] Hebrew:  ‎כִּ֚י יִשְׁמַ֣ע הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לְהַצִּ֥יל אֶת־אֲמָת֖וֹ מִכַּ֣ף הָאִ֑ישׁ לְהַשְׁמִ֙יד אֹתִ֤י וְאֶת־בְּנִי֙ יַ֔חַד מִֽנַּחֲלַ֖ת אֱלֹהִֽים׃

[13] That is, artistic imitation.

[14] Romans 3:8.

[15] Hebrew: ‎וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ שִׁפְחָ֣תְךָ֔ יִֽהְיֶה־נָּ֛א דְּבַר־אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לִמְנוּחָ֑ה כִּ֣י׀ כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְ הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים כֵּ֣ן אֲדֹנִ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ הַטּ֣וֹב וְהָרָ֔ע וַֽיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ יְהִ֥י עִמָּֽךְ׃ פ

[16] Hebrew:  ‎לִמְנוּחָה.

[17] Hebrew:  ‎לִשְׁמֹעַ.

[18] Leviticus 2:1:  “And when any will offer a meat offering (‎קָרְבַּ֤ן מִנְחָה֙; δῶρον θυσίαν, in the Septuagint) unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon…”

[19] Hebrew:  ‎וַֽיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ יְהִ֥י עִמָּֽךְ׃.

[20] Hebrew: ‎וַיַּ֣עַן הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַ֙יֹּאמֶר֙ אֶל־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה אַל־נָ֙א תְכַחֲדִ֤י מִמֶּ֙נִּי֙ דָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י שֹׁאֵ֣ל אֹתָ֑ךְ וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה יְדַבֶּר־נָ֖א אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

[21] Hebrew: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הֲיַ֥ד יוֹאָ֛ב אִתָּ֖ךְ בְּכָל־זֹ֑את וַתַּ֣עַן הָאִשָּׁ֣ה וַתֹּ֡אמֶר חֵֽי־נַפְשְׁךָ֩ אֲדֹנִ֙י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ אִם־אִ֣שׁ׀ לְהֵמִ֣ין וּלְהַשְׂמִ֗יל מִכֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר֙ אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּֽי־עַבְדְּךָ֤ יוֹאָב֙ ה֣וּא צִוָּ֔נִי וְה֗וּא שָׂ֚ם בְּפִ֣י שִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֔ אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃

[22] That is, strained or forced.

[23] A woodenly literal rendering.

[24] Genesis 23:8:  “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind (אִם־יֵ֣שׁ אֶֽת־נַפְשְׁכֶ֗ם, if it be with your soul) that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar…”

[25] Hebrew: לְבַעֲב֤וּר סַבֵּב֙ אֶת־פְּנֵ֣י הַדָּבָ֔ר עָשָׂ֛ה עַבְדְּךָ֥ יוֹאָ֖ב אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַאדֹנִ֣י חָכָ֗ם כְּחָכְמַת֙ מַלְאַ֣ךְ הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים לָדַ֖עַת אֶֽת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ ס

[26] The definite article.