2 Samuel 18:9

2 Samuel 18:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

Context of 2 Samuel 18:9

7The people of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there that day was great, twenty thousand men. 8For the battle there was spread over the whole countryside, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going. 10When a certain man saw him, he informed Joab and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11Then Joab said to the man who had informed him, “So behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And it would have been my duty to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”

2 Samuel 18:9 word by word

וַיִּקָּרֵא֙ אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם לִפְנֵ֖י עַבְדֵ֣י דָוִ֑ד וְאַבְשָׁל֞וֹם רֹכֵ֣ב עַל־הַפֶּ֗רֶד וַיָּבֹ֣א הַפֶּ֡רֶד תַּ֣חַת שׂוֹבֶךְ֩ הָאֵלָ֨ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה וַיֶּחֱזַ֧ק רֹאשׁ֣וֹ בָאֵלָ֗ה וַיֻּתַּן֙ בֵּ֤ין הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וּבֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ וְהַפֶּ֥רֶד אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתָּ֖יו עָבָֽר׃Read the interlinear

• Now Absalomאֲבִישָׁלוֹם'ăbîyshâlôm 'abshâlôm · AbsalomH53
• encounteredקָרָאqârâ' · to encounter: meetH7122
• the servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• of Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• was ridingרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
• muleפֶּ֫רֶדpered · muleH6505
• wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• the branchesשׂוֹבֶךְώôbek · thicketH7730
• of a massiveגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• oakאֵלָה'êlâh · oakH424
• his headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• caughtחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: strengthenH2388
• leftנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• betweenבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996
• the skyשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• him keptעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 18:9

• 2 Samuel 18:14Then Joab said, “I will not waste time here with you.” So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the midst of the oak.
• 2 Samuel 14:26And when he cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king’s weight.
• 2 Samuel 17:23Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out and went to his home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; so he died and was buried in his father’s grave.
• Matthew 27:5And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left; and he went away and hanged himself.
• Deuteronomy 21:23his body is not to be left overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is cursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
• Deuteronomy 27:16‘Cursed is one who treats his father or mother contemptuously.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
• Job 18:8For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.
• Job 31:3Is it not disaster to the criminal, And misfortune to those who practice injustice?
• Psalms 63:9But those who seek my life to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth.
• Proverbs 20:20He who curses his father or his mother, His lamp will go out in time of darkness.
• Proverbs 30:17The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
• Jeremiah 48:44“The one who flees from the terror Will fall into the pit, And the one who climbs up out of the pit Will be caught in the snare; For I will bring upon her, upon Moab, The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
• Mark 7:10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is certainly to be put to death’;
• Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”--

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 18:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And 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, 2 Samuel 18:14, he was yet alive, an expression which intimates he was nearly dead.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9would seem that the two things which his vain-glory boasted in, the royal mule, and the magnificent head of hair by which he was caught in the “oak” (rather, terebinth or turpentine tree), both contributed to his untimely death.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-18Verses 9-18 Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Absalom, who was very proud of his hair, died because of it. He had set up for himself a pillar (2 Samuel 18:18), but after his death, he was thrown into a pit (2 Samuel 18:17) and did not receive a proper burial. These contrasts highlight the difference between Absalom’s goals and his final outcome.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 18:9

• Absalom
• Ephraim
• Gilead
• Mule
• Oak

In the dictionaries

• Absalom
• David
• Charge
• Lift
• Mule
• Oak
• Pillar
• Rise
• Thrust
• Absalom (1)

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 18

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings