Jordan. At Mahanaim, BarzUlai the Gileadile aim others supplied him liberally with provisions. Kre long a sutUcient number of troops was assemhlcii to justify the king in joining battle with llie forces of A., which by this time had also passu.i the Jordan. The decisive battle was fought in 'the wood of Ephraim.' David, yielding to the wish of his supporters that he should not expose his life by takiu" the field in person, arranged his army in three divisions, commanded respectively by Joab, Abishai, and Ittai the Gittite. To each of these three generals he gave the charge, ' Deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom.' From the very first the tide of battle set strongly against the rebel army, whiuli lost heavily in the engagement, and stxU uiuie heavily in its retreat through the fore.'*!. Ab.saloai himseff was hunied by his mule under an oak, ami becoming entauL'led by the head in the fork of a branch, hung defenceless. In this situation he » as discovered by a soldier, who at once informed Joalj. The royal general, who appreciated the situation more justly than his master, unhesitatingly piercr.i the hapless youth to the heart. Having thus dis posed of the rebel leader, Joab recalled his troops from the pursuit of the vanquished army. When news of the issue of the battle was brought to David, he forgot everything else in grief at his son's death, and exclaimed again and again, ' t) nij' son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! would tiud I hail died for thee, U Absalom, my son, my son ! ' This conduct, natural enough from one point of view, might have had serious results but lor the sturdy common-sense of Joab, who pointed out that the king had to think of his soliliers as well as his son. The remonstrance was suliicieiitly rough in its expres.sion, yet David recognised its wisdom, and, stilling his emoticm for the time, came out and thanked his troops for tiieir gallant service in the field. A. was buried near the scene of his death, and the spot was marked by a great heap of stones. According to 2 S \\" he had three sons, and a daughter named Tamar. The latter is with much probability identified with Maacah of
1 K 15^ the wife of Kehoboam (cf. 2 S 3^ 2 Cli 1 1*'). The sons must have predecea-sed their father, or else a different tradition is followed in 2 S IS''*, where we are told that A. had no son.
The story of Absalom forms part of the section
2 S 9-2U and 1 K 1-2, which, with the exception of a few pasifages, comes from a single pen. Its dominating aim is to trace the progress of Solomon to the throne. Hence it has to explain how the three sons of David who seemed to have superior claims, Amnon, AUsalom, and Adonijah, failed to secure the succession. The style is bright and flowing, the descriptions are graphic, and, with all the writer's evident partiality for David and Solomon, the historical character of these chapters, down even to the minutest details, is established by proofs that are amongst the strongest in the O.T.
LiTCRATUKE. — DrivtT, liHr^^iietion, p 172f. ; Bud<1«, li'Chtef u. Samutt, )>)>. 247-2^5 ; W«llhauit«li, Composition (Ui lluuttucX*^ etc., pp. 26S-'>6S, alio UiMt. (if It. and Jud. &ur.
J. A. Selbie.
ABSALOM IN ApoCR. ('ASfffirdXwMO!, '.VvtdXwMol A). — 1. A. was the father of Mattatliias, one of the captains who stood by .lonathan the Maceabee when the main part of his army fled at the be- ginning of a battle against the Syrians at Ha/or in Northern Galilee (1 Mac ll"'=Jos. Ant. xill. v. 7). It is perhaps the same Absalom whose son .lonathan was sent by Simon the Maceabee to secure Joppa after his brother Jonathan had been imprisoned by Tryphon (1 Mac i;{" = .Ios. Ant. Xlll. vi. 4) 2. Accordinj" to 2 Mac 11", one of two envoy* sent by the Jews to Lysiius when he began to treat with tliem for peace aft«r his defeat at liethsuror
20
ABSALOM'S TOMB
ACCAD, ACCADIANS
(Beth-znr) in 165 B.c. In 1 Mao 4*"-= Jos. Ant. XII. vii. 5, no mention is made of overtures for peace, but Lysiaa is stated to have \vithdrawn to Antioch for reinforcements. It is probable that the author of 2 Mac has made some confusion between the first expedition of Lysias and a second invasion two or tliree years later, when, after gaining a victoiy at Ueth-zur, he made terras with the Jews in consequence of troubles in Syria.
H. A. White. ABSALOM'S TOMB.— See Jerusalem.
ABUBDS {'A^ovpot, 1 Mac 16"-") was the father of Ptolemy, the son-in-law of Simon the Maccabee, by whom Simon was murdered at Jericho.
ABUNDANCE.— This word is nsed with great freedom in AV, translating about twenty Heb. and nearly as many Gr. words. Each occurrence should be considered in relation to the orig. word. Here it is necessary only to draw attention to the obs. use of a. to signify superfluity : Mk 12** ' All they did cast in of their a.' (RV 'superfluity,' Gr. rh repitr- <reOov, as opp. to U(rrifn)<ris, ' deficiency,' said of the widow ; so Lk 21*) ; Ps lOS*" ' Their land brought forth frogs in a.' (RV 'swarmed with frogs,' Heb. n?; so Ex 8», and cf. Gn l»-»i 9'); 2 Co 12' 'through the a. of the revelations' (Gr. irep^ok-^, RV ' exceeding greatness ').