Chapter Nineteen

The return of David to the western Trans-Jordan.

2 Samuel 19:5. And Joab came into the house to the king and said: You have shamed all your servants today, who have just saved your life, and the lives of your sons and daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines; 2 Samuel 19:6. in that you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you; for I perceive that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, then it would be right in your eyes; 2 Samuel 19:7. now therefore arise, go out, and speak kindly to your servants; for I swear by the Lord, that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you this night; and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth even to now. “These words are spoken by the very murderer of Absalom, whom David hated; but there was so much truth and practical wisdom in his words that the wise king suppressed his grief and agitation, arose and went to the people at the square by the city gate” (Y. Bogorodsky, “Hebrew Kings,” p. 236).

2 Samuel 19:8. And the king arose and sat in the gate. And all the people were told that the king was sitting in the gate; and all the people came before the king [to the gates]; now the Israelites had fled to their tents. “The Israelites,” that is, the followers of Absalom (cf. 2 Sam 18:17).

2 Samuel 19:9. And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying: The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies, and saved us from the hand of the Philistines; and now he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 2 Samuel 19:10. But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle; why then do you say nothing about bringing the king back? [And these words of all Israel reached the king.] “David’s residence was now in Mahanaim, and in fact David was king only beyond the Jordan. The Jews on this side of the Jordan, who had gone over to Absalom’s side, found themselves in a strange position. The king they had just recognized was dead, and they had rejected David and raised arms against him. David proved invincible and reigned beyond the Jordan, and they, like sheep without a shepherd, found themselves in a position of serious danger. There was no other way out but to submit to David and return him to the throne of Jerusalem. The first voices in favor of David were raised in the northern tribes” (Y. Bogorodsky, “Hebrew Kings,” p. 237).

2 Samuel 19:11. And King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests: Say to the elders of Judah, “Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house? The word of all Israel has come to the king, to his house. 2 Samuel 19:12. You are my brothers, my bone and my flesh; why then should you be the last to bring back the king? “The tribe of Judah maintained a mysterious silence, offering no hopes to David. This circumstance seems somewhat strange and requires some explanation. It is possible that, not having received from David any special privileges compared to the other tribes (2 Sam 19:42), the tribe of Judah went over to Absalom partly from dissatisfaction with David, partly in hope of receiving the desired privileges from Absalom. When Absalom’s enterprise failed and there remained only to return to the old order, the tribe of Judah felt its error more deeply than others and was ashamed of its deed. Its representatives were ashamed to show their faces to David with repentance and an offer of loyalty, which had become so doubtful, and they hesitated. David understood the difficulty of his tribe and, still considering it, despite this temporary attraction, to be the most faithful support of his house, decided to encourage it with a gentle invitation and a reminder of its duty” (Y. Bogorodsky, “Hebrew Kings,” p. 237-238).

2 Samuel 19:13. And say to Amasa: “Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be the commander of my army from now on, instead of Joab, always! “Are you not my bone and my flesh?” See 2 Sam 17:25. “Instead of Joab, always”: the harsh independence of Joab and the instance of his open disobedience of the king’s will (2 Sam 18:5), moreover, inasmuch as the object of this willful act of Joab was a person especially close to David — could not fail to alienate David from him.

2 Samuel 19:16. And Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David, See 2 Sam 16:5-11.

2 Samuel 19:17. and a thousand men from Benjamin with him. And Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, crossed the Jordan in front of the king [and prepared the crossing of the Jordan for the king]. See 2 Sam 16:1-4.

2 Samuel 19:18. And the ferryboat went to bring over the king’s household and to do what was good in his sight. Then Shimei son of Gera fell on his face before the king as he crossed the Jordan, 2 Samuel 19:19. and said to the king: Do not let me be guilty, my lord; do not remember the wrong that your servant did on the day when my lord the king left Jerusalem, and do not hold it in your heart, O king; 2 Samuel 19:20. for your servant knows that he has sinned; and behold, I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king. 2 Samuel 19:21. And Abishai son of Zeruiah said: Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed? 2 Samuel 19:22. And David said: What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should become my adversaries today? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel? 2 Samuel 19:23. And the king said to Shimei: You shall not die. And the king swore to him. See 2 Sam 16:5-11. “Of all the house of Joseph”; according to the text of the LXX: “before all Israel and the house of Joseph.” In explanation of why the house of Joseph is put at the head of all Israel, see 1 Chr 5:1.

2 Samuel 19:24. And Mephibosheth the son of [Jonathan son of] Saul came down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet, [nor trimmed his nails,] nor trimmed his beard, and had not washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he came back in peace. 2 Samuel 19:25. And when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him: Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth? 2 Samuel 19:26. He answered: My lord, O king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said: “I will saddle a donkey for myself and ride on it and go with the king.” Since your servant is lame, 2 Samuel 19:27. but he slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like an angel of God; do therefore what seems good to you; 2 Samuel 19:28. for all my father’s house were but men condemned to death before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I to cry out to the king? Compare 2 Sam 16:1-4. “You set your servant among those who eat at your table.” See 2 Sam 9:1-7.

2 Samuel 19:29. And the king said to him: Why do you continue to speak of these things? I have decided that you and Ziba shall divide the fields. It was difficult to decide who was truly guilty — whether Ziba or Mephibosheth. “In any case it was difficult for David to listen to the humiliated words of the son of his friend Jonathan, and he angrily cut off Mephibosheth: \”Why do you continue to speak of these things?\”. Finding his former decision to deprive Mephibosheth of all his property in favor of Ziba to be too harsh, but not wishing to revoke it entirely, since he considered Ziba’s report not entirely without foundation, David, in order to settle this unpleasant matter, added: \”I have decided that you and Ziba shall divide the fields equally\” (Y. Bogorodsky, \”Hebrew Kings,\” p. 240-241).

2 Samuel 19:31. And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and crossed over the Jordan with the king, to escort him across the Jordan. 2 Samuel 19:32. Now Barzillai was very old, eighty years old. He had provided the king with food while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man. See 2 Sam 17:27-29.

2 Samuel 19:41. And behold, all the Israelites came to the king and said to the king: Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him? “When David was already at Gilgal and when representatives of the northern tribes appeared there, they were unpleasantly surprised that the king was, so to speak, already at home and seemingly no longer needed them. They had counted on finding David in his Trans-Jordan refuge and gladden him with their appearance and a solemn declaration of their loyal feelings. And suddenly they see the king on this side of the Jordan, at the head of a powerful tribe, almost in no need of their delegation. The disappointment of the northerners turned into suspicion, and then into resentment against the tribe of Judah that had forestalled them” (Y. Bogorodsky, “Hebrew Kings,” p. 242).