2 Samuel 16:22

2 Samuel 16:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

Context of 2 Samuel 16:22

20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, ‘What do you think that we should do now? What is your advice?’ 21Ahithophel answered, ‘Sleep with your father's slave wives that are here. He left them to take care of his palace. Then all the people in Israel will know that you have insulted your father. They will know that he must now hate you. That will help your own men to be strong.’ So they put up a tent for Absalom on the roof of the palace. There he had sex with his father's slave wives, and all the Israelites could see him. 23In those days, people thought that Ahithophel's words were as good as a message from God. So Absalom trusted Ahithophel as his advisor, as David had done too.

2 Samuel 16:22 word by word

וַיַּטּ֧וּ לְאַבְשָׁל֛וֹם הָאֹ֖הֶל עַל־הַגָּ֑ג וַיָּבֹ֤א אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ אֶל־פִּֽלַגְשֵׁ֣י אָבִ֔יו לְעֵינֵ֖י כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• So they spreadנָטָהnâţâh · to stretchH5186
• Absalomאֲבִישָׁלוֹם'ăbîyshâlôm 'abshâlôm · AbsalomH53
• a tentאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• upon the top of the houseגָּגgâg · roofH1406
• went inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• unto his father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• concubinesפִּלֶ֫גֶשׁpîylegesh pilegesh · concubineH6370
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 16:22

• 2 Samuel 11:2One evening, David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman who was washing herself. She was very beautiful.
• 2 Samuel 12:11This is what the Lord says, “I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble to you. You yourself will see it happen! I will take your wives from you and I will give them to someone else. He will have sex with them in the daytime, for everyone to see.
• 2 Samuel 15:16So the king left home. He took all his servants and family with him. But he left ten of his slave wives to take care of the palace.
• 2 Samuel 20:3David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. Then he took the ten slave wives that he had left there to take care of his palace. Now he made them live in their own house, with guards to keep them safe. He gave them everything that they needed, but he did not sleep with them. They lived there on their own. They lived like widows until they died.
• Numbers 25:6Moses and all the people were at the door of the Tent of Meeting. They were weeping. While they were there, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his tent. Moses and all the people could see them.
• Isaiah 3:9Their proud faces show that they are guilty. Their sins are as bad as the sins of Sodom's people. And they do not try to hide it! It will be very bad for them! They have caused great trouble for themselves.
• Jeremiah 3:3That is why I have not sent any rain on your land. Even the spring rains have not come. But you still live like a proud prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
• Jeremiah 8:12They are not ashamed of the disgusting things that they do. They do not even know what shame is. They have forgotten how to be ashamed. So they will fall to the ground, as other people have fallen. When I punish them, that will be the end of them.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Ezekiel 24:7You can see the blood of people that men killed in the city. It lies on the rocks where everyone can see it. Those murderers did not leave the blood on the ground, where dirt would hide it.
• Philippians 3:19In the end, God will destroy them. Their stomach is what they worship. They are proud of things that should make them ashamed. Their thoughts are full of things that belong to this world.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 16:22

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 The wisest counsellors of that age were Ahithophel and Hushai: Absalom thinks himself sure of success, when he has both; on them he relies, and consults not the ark, though he had that with him. But miserable counsellors were they both. Hushai would never counsel him to do wisely. Ahithophel counselled him to do wickedly; and so did as effectually betray him, as he did, who was designedly false to him: for they that advise men to sin…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22Absalom wanted to show the people he had taken the throne and its royal powers. His disgraceful act mirrored David’s affair with Bathsheba, which also started on that roof (2 Samuel 11:2–4). This event fulfilled Nathan’s prophecy (2 Samuel 12:11–12).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 16:22

• Adultery
• Ahithophel
• House
• Incest

In the dictionaries

• Absalom
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• House
• King
• Prayer
• Bible, the
• Crime; Crimes
• David

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings