#3 Who knew them to be favourens of David,and obſerved them to wait there upon deſign, and to gain intelligence, and poſſibly ſaw the Wench ſpeaking privately to them. 6 Suſpe&ting by this Lads obſervation and Carriage, that they were diſcovered. c E1- ther to ſome hole in the ſide of the Pit : or, to the bottom of the Pir, it being then dry, as Pits often were in thoſe hot Countries. And this being in ſo open a place, they concluded none would imagine them to be hid there.And beſides, they relied upon God's good Providence, which they knew watched over David, and them
* for his ſake. :
19 And the woman took and ſpread a covering over
the wells mouth, and ſpread ground corn thereon ...,
and the thing was not known. *. Under pretence of drying it by the Sun: which ſhews it was Summer-time,
20 And when Abſaloms ſervants came to the woman to the houſe, they ſaid, Where is Ahimaaz andJonathan? And the woman ſaid unto them, They be gone over the brook of water d. And when they had ſought, and could not find thew, they returned to Jeruſa-
jem. |
was ſpoken for no hurt, but good only, many Perſons in thoſe times conceived ſuch Lyes to be lawful Compare Exod. 1. 19. Jol. 2. 4, 5. Burt although God was pleaſed to overlook and pardon
panied them ; yet it 15 certain that all kinds of Lyes are moral E- vils, and condemned by plain Scriptures, and that we 7uit not do evil that good may com?, nor tell a lye for Gods Glory, Rom. 3. 7, 8-
that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and ſaid unto David, Ariſe, and paſs rp over the water: for thus hath Ahichophel coun-
elled agzinſt you. | 22 Then David aroſe, and all the people that were
with Him, and they paſſed over Jordan e : by the morn- ing-light, there lacked not one of them that was not
gone over Jordan.
e Either at the Ford, or in Boats. | | 23 © And when Ahithophel ſaw that his counſel was + Heb, Wasnot | followed, he ſadled bis afſe, and aroſe, and | done. pare him home to his houſe, to his city, and F put his [+ Heb. ouſhold in order f, and hanged himſelf g, and died, | gavecherge 1nd was buried in the ſepulchre of his father: | concerni?3 _ f Diſpoſed of his Eſtate by Will Compare 7a. 38. r. g Partly, his houſe. becauſe he could nor indure to outlive his diſgrace, and the re- | jeftien of his Counſel : and partly, becauſe he foreſaw by this means David would gain time and ftrength, and inal! probability be Vi&orious,and then the ſtorm would fall moſt heavily upon his head, as the main Author and Pillarof the Rebellion, and the con- triver of thoſe two pernicious Counſels above: mentioned.
| 24 Then David came to Mahanaim 4: and Abſalom
q paſſed over Jordan #, and all the men of Iſrael with
| him. |
l h A place in the Country of Gilead, bordering upon the Land of LS the Ammonites, v. 27. See Gen, 32. 2. and 2 Sam. 2. 8. #7 Not
ſpeedily, but when al the men of Irael were gathered together ac- cording to H«ſbai”s Counſel, who are ſaid to be with him here, as it
follows. | 25 © And Abſalom made Amaſa captain ofthe hoſt
| inſtead of Joab : which Amaſa was a mans ſon whoſe ' name was Ithra, an Ifraelite &, that went in to Abigail I the daughter of Nahaſh -»,fiſfter to Zeruiah, Joabs mo-
ther.
& 0bj. He was an /ſbmaelite, 1 Chron. 2. 179- Anſ, Not Amaſs ; bur Thra, or Jether, Amaſa's Father, is there ſo called, becauſe he was ſuch, either by his Birth from ſuch parents, or by his long habitation among them, or for ſome other reaſon now unknown. Compare 2 Sam. 15. 18. And Amaſs is here called an I1[raelite, ei-
' ther, becauſe he was a Proſelyte : or, in oppoſition to Joab, who was of the Tribe of Judah, as 4ſama was of one of the ten Tribes: or rather, to intimate, that although he or his Parents were called Iſhmaelires for ſome reaſon, yer as to their extraftion they were in- deed Iſraelites Which if Amaſs had not been, it is not probable that he could have had ſo powerful an influence upon the Tribe of Judah, as he had, chap. 19. 14. (7. e. Lay with her, whether be-
& l i f |
i }
-—
the fin, and graciouſly to reward the good intention which accom- |
21 And it came to paſs, after they were departed,
SAMUEL.
di. e. Over Jordan. This was a manifeſt Lye ; but becauſe it . : part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite : and the king
EE EY
n_—
A... 8, _ Py
Chap. XVIII,
ing firſt Married to her, or not, is uncertain; » Nabaſh is either another name of Jeſ? : or rather, the name of Zefe's Wife.by whom he had this Abigail, as he had Zeruiah by another Wife ; ſo they were ſiſters by the Father, but not by the Mother ; and Nahaſh is here named to ſignifie ſo much. :
26 SO Iſrael and Abſalom pitched in the land of Gi- lead.
27 T Andit came to paſs when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the fon of Nahaſh of Rabbah of the children of Ammon », and * Machir the ſon of {Cha,g , Ammiel of Lodebar o,and * Barzillai the Gileadite, of . Chap, Rogelim, Ee
, Who, as it may ſeem, diſliked and diſowned that barbarous ation to the Embaſſadors ; and therefore, when the reſt were d:- ſtroyed, was left King or Governour of the reſidue of the Ammo. nitef* 0 See above chap. 9. 4.
28 Brough beds, and[| baſins p, andearthen veſſels, , and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched cory, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pul/e.
f 7.e, All ſorts of Houſhold-ſtuff, as well as other proviſions, all which David now wanted.
29 And honey, and butter, and ſheep, and cheeſe of kine for David,and for thepeople that were with him, to eat: for they ſaid, The people is hungry,and weary, and thirſty in the wilderneſs 9.
q i. e, Having been in the wilderneſs, Which is an eafie and com- mon Ellipſis. Or, becauſe of ( ſo the Hebrew Particle beth is oftuſed ) the Wilderneſs, which they have paſſed through, in which Proviſions
are very ſcarce. : CHAP. XVIII David viewing the Armies in their March, giueth them charge of Abſalom,
I====5, Whoſe Men are ſmitten ; He hanging by his Hair on an Oak is flain by foab, and caſt into a Pit: Hu Pillor and Monument, G = 18, David hearing hereof, 19 ==—_— 2, Mourneth for Ab- ſalom, 33. N D David numbred the people that ere with A him #, and ſer captaines of thouſands, and cap- tains of hundreds over them.
Fi Which flocked to him thither, ſo as to make up a ſmall r
I Kin.2,
my.
2 And David ſent forth a third part of the people un- der the hand of Joab b,and a third pait under the hand of Abilhai the ſon of Zeruiah Joabs brother, and a third