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 turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?” 21Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines. 23Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.

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 11:2Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
• 2 Samuel 12:11“This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view.
• 2 Samuel 15:16So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace.
• 2 Samuel 20:3When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.
• Numbers 25:6Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
• Isaiah 3:9The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.
• Jeremiah 3:3That’s why even the spring rains have failed. For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.
• Jeremiah 8:12Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 24:7For the blood of her murders is splashed on the rocks. It isn’t even spilled on the ground, where the dust could cover it!
• Philippians 3:19They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

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