96: Chapter 18 (Part I) The Death of Avshalom
The Book of II Shmuel
Rav Amnon Bazak
Lecture 96: Chapter 18 (Part I)
the death of avshalom
I. "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Avshalom"
In the previous chapter, we saw the great support that David received
from the residents of the east bank of the Jordan. Nevertheless, the state of
David's army on the eve of the decisive battle against Avshalom and his men, as
described at the beginning of this chapter, is quite surprising:
(1) And David numbered the people that were with him, and set
captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. (2) And
David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Yoav, and a third
part under the hand of Avishai the son of Tzeruya, Yoav's brother, and a third
part under the hand of Itai the Gitite. And the king said to the people, I will
surely go forth with you myself also. (3) But the people said, You
shall not go forth; for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if
half of us die, will they care for us; but you are worth ten thousand of us:
therefore now it is better that you be ready to succor us out of the city.
(4) And the king said to them, What seems you best I will
do. And the king stood by the gateside, and all the people went out by
hundreds and by thousands.
When he fled from Jerusalem, David had with him six hundred Gitites, the
servants of David, and the Kereti and Peleti (see 15:18). Here, mention is made
of hundreds and thousands, and if we understand what the people said to David
according to their plain sense "Neither if half of us die, will they care for
us; but you are worth ten thousand of us" - it follows that David's army
numbered now about twenty thousand people. What are the reasons for the growth
of David's army? Based on what we saw in previous shiurim, we can point
to three reasons:
1) In chapter 16, we noted that it is possible that Avshalom's vulgar act
sleeping with his father's concubines on the roof led to a decline in
support, and perhaps even pushed people into David's camp.
2) It is possible that other people understood, as did Achitofel, that a
change in the momentum would lead to a collapse of the rebellion, and thus they
quickly shifted sides.
3) The news about Achitofel's suicide might also have led to
demoralization in Avshalom's camp.
The numerical increase impacted upon David and his men's sense of
confidence. David divides his army into three groups, a step that is presented
in Scripture as an offensive,[1]
rather than defensive, move. Thus, David's camp is also filled with the sense
that the momentum has moved over to their side, and they are all ready for the
battle that will bring the campaign to a close.
In light of this, we must understand the one thing about which David is
worried on the eve of the battle:
(5)
And the king commanded Yoav and Avishai and Itai, saying, Deal gently for my
sake with the young man,[2]
with Avshalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains
charge concerning Avshalom.
David sounds as if he is absolutely certain that victory will be his, and
there is only one thing that interests him: Avshalom's welfare. He admonishes
the captains of his army to deal gently with him, for knowing the people
involved, he is certain that without an explicit and incontrovertible command,
Avshalom would very likely suffer injury.
This is also the way to understand David's desire to personally join the
campaign. This deviates from a decision that had been made in the past:[3]
And the Pelishtim had war again with Israel; and David went down, and
his servants with him, and fought against the Pelishtim; and David waxed faint.
And Yishbi-Benov, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight
of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded
with new armor, thought to have slain David. But Avishai the
son of Tzeruya succored him, and smote the Pelishti, and killed him. Then the
men of David swore unto him, saying, You shall go no more out with us to
battle, that you quench not the lamp of Israel. (21:15-17)
Why did David wish to stray from the earlier decision not to go out again
in battle? The answer is clear: David could not rely on his men to fulfill his
order not to strike at Avshalom, and so he wished to join the campaign in order
to reinforce his command. The people, however, refused David's request, for they
rightfully recognized the unnecessary danger into which the king wished to
enter. Accordingly, David was forced to content himself with the command that he
had issued, and it seems that even he had serious doubts whether his command
would indeed be fulfilled.
II. "the thick boughs of a great terebinth"
As was expected, Avshalom's men suffered a severe blow already at the
beginning of the battle:
(6) So the people went out into the field against Israel; and the
battle was in the forest of Ephraim.[4]
(7) And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of
David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men. (8)
For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country; and the forest
devoured more people[5]
that day than the sword devoured.
The forest provided a certain advantage to David's camp, because it
prevented Avshalom's camp from exploiting its numerical superiority. In the
thick forest, Avshalom's soldiers were cut off from each other, and as we shall
see below, Avshalom himself was cut off from his men. David's troops exploited
the situation to strike at Avshalom's men.
If what we suggested above is correct and David's army numbered about
twenty thousand soldiers, it is significant that this is also the number of
casualties in Avshalom's camp. Nevertheless, Scripture emphasizes that the war
was conducted on two plains: On the one hand, the people of Israel fell "before
the servants of David;" on the other hand, the main blow came from heaven, by
way of the forest. This account brings to mind another Biblical battle
Yehoshua's battle against the southern kings:
And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at
the descent of Bet-Choron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon
them unto Azeka, and they died; they were more who died with the hailstones than
they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. (Yehoshua 10:11)
This correspondence emphasizes the point that the participation of
natural forces in the battle was controlled from above.[6]
God's intervention is also evident in the continuation of the story:
(9) And Avshalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And
Avshalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a
great terebinth, and his head caught hold of the terebinth,[7]
and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was
under him went on.
This development was also not planned ("And Avshalom chanced"), and so it
too may be seen as an act of Divine intervention. The words, "And the mule that
was under him went on," have symbolic meaning: As we have seen in the past, the
mule was the riding animal of royalty; the mule's "going on" is an expression of
the kingdom passing out of Avshalom's hands.
Scripture creates an especially interesting connection between our story
and the story of Akeidat Yitzchak. Let us note the points of similarity
and difference between the two stories:
1) In both stories, a father is about to lose his beloved son: Avraham is
about to lose Yitzchak, and David, Avshalom. The two fathers, however, adopt
opposite approaches. Avraham passes the test and is prepared to offer his
beloved son as a burnt-offering in order to fulfill God's command, even though
it is clear to him that his son has done nothing wrong. David, in contrast,
refuses to accept the fact that Avshalom was guilty of murder and incest, which
are capital crimes, and attempts to prevent his death.
2) In both cases, someone tries to prevent the killing of the son. An
angel of God stops Avraham at the last minute:
And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, neither do you
anything to him. (Bereishit 22:12)
And we
will see below that "a certain man" tries to warn Yoav not to hurt Avshalom:
And the man said to Yoav, Though I should receive a thousand pieces of
silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's
son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying,
Beware that none touch the young man Avshalom. (II Shmuel
18:12)
The
difference between the two cases is, however, clear: At the Akeida, it is
an angel of God who turns to Avraham, and thus the trial comes to an end; in our
story, the man repeats David's order, but in actuality the inappropriate order
is not fulfilled.
3) In the two cases, the one who ultimately dies is caught in a thicket:
And Avraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in the thicket by his horns. And Avraham went and took the ram,
and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
(Bereishit 22:13)
And
Avshalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Avshalom was riding upon his
mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth, and
his head caught hold of the terebinth. (II Shmuel 18:9)
4) Avraham, who was ready to sacrifice his son, merited that a ram be
offered in his place:
And Avraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a
burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
Whereas
David, who was not prepared to "sacrifice" his son, could but lament:
Would I had died in your stead, O Avshalom, my son, my son!
(II Shemuel 19:1)
5) Avraham acted properly, and passed the test:
Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld (chasakhta)
your son, your only son. (Bereishit 22:16)
David,
however, did not pass the test, and thus he put the people in danger. The one
who acted properly in this case was Yoav, who prevented further bloodshed, as is
described with a term similar to that used in the story of the Akeida:
And Yoav blew the horn, and the people returned from pursuing after
Israel; for Yoav held back (chasakh) the people.
This correspondence reinforces the criticism of David's attitude toward
Avshalom that we already saw in previous chapters. Without a doubt, it is
exceedingly difficult to judge a person who must face the death of his beloved
son. Nevertheless, the comparison between David and Avraham highlights the
greatness of Avraham, who conducted himself with such devotion in especially
tragic circumstances, and emphasizes the fact that David was unable to rise
above his love for Avshalom, love that was so undeserved.
III.
"And he took three darts in his hand, and
thrust them through the heart of Avshalom, while he was yet alive in the midst
of the terebintH"
Let us go back to where we left off. Avshalom is hanging between heaven
and earth, but he is still alive. One of the soldiers catches sight of this
spectacle and quickly reports to Yoav:
(10) And a certain man saw it, and told Yoav, and said, Behold,
I saw Avshalom hanging in a terebinth. (11) And Yoav said to the man
that told him, And, behold, you saw it, and why did you not smite him there to
the ground? And I would have had to give you ten pieces of silver, and a
girdle.[8]
(12) And the man said to Yoav, Though I should receive a thousand pieces
of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son;
for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, Beware
that none[9]
touch the young man Avshalom. (13) Otherwise if I had dealt falsely
against my own life and there is no matter hidden from the king[10]
then you yourself would have stood aloof. (14) Then said Yoav, I may
not tarry thus with you. And he took three darts in his hand and thrust them
through the heart of Avshalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the
terebinth.
This conversation indicates the atmosphere in David's camp. It is clear
from Yoav's words that he had promised a reward to whoever kills Avshalom, and
thus the soldiers had to deal with two contradictory orders - the one given by
David, and the other by Yoav. The man's words seem to reflect the general
feeling among the people, for he viewed himself as subject to David's commands,
and he was ready to stand up to Yoav and explain to him why he had not followed
his order.
In the end, Yoav indeed strikes at Avshalom, but he does so with caution.
He brings Avshalom to an irreversible condition, but he is careful not to
actually kill him. He thrusts three darts into Avshalom's heart, but he leaves
him alive in the terebinth tree. He leaves his men the task of finishing the
job:
(15) And ten young men[11]
that bore Yoav's armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
Yoav thought that in this way David would not be able to blame him for
killing Avshalom, but at the same time the young men could rest assured that
their actions would be "covered."
(Translated by David Strauss)
[1] So we find with Gid'on (Shoftim
7:16); Avimelekh (ibid. 9:43); in Shaul's war against Amon in Yavesh-Gil'ad
(I Shmuel 11:11); and in the war of the Pelishtim against Shaul (ibid.
13:17).
[2] The term "young man"
expresses a lenient attitude toward Avshalom: He is but a young man, who acts
rashly, and should not be judged as an adult (even though he was already the
father of three sons and a daughter [see 14:27]). This term is found later in
the story as well (verses 12, 29, and 32).
[3] Textually, this story is
brought later, but chronoligically, it is clear that it took place earlier, for
it describes a war against the Pelishtim. As we have already mentioned in the
past, chapters 21-24 are appendices to the book, which records events in the
life of David not in their chronological order.
[4] The existence of a region
on the east bank of the Jordan called "the forest of Ephraim" poses a certain
difficulty. Rashi, in the wake of Chazal writes: "From where did Ephraim
have a forest on the east bank of the Jordan, which was divided between the sons
of Gad and the sons of Reuven and Menashe? But because Yehoshua [divided the
land] with the stipulation that people be permitted to graze their cattle in the
forests, and that forest was close to Ephraim, only that the Jordan intervened,
they grazed their cattle there, and it was called 'The forest of Ephraim.'" It
is also possible that it was called by that name because of the presence of
Ephraimites in the region, as we find in the story of Yiftach (see Shoftim
12:4-6), who killed tens of thousands of Ephraimites who lived there.
[5] It stands to reason that
the reference here is to the beasts of the forest (Rashi). We are familiar with
wild beasts in that region from the verse: "Behold, he shall come up like a lion
from the thickets of the Jordan" (Yirmiya 49:19; 50:44).
[6] To this parallel we should
add what is stated about Shimshon: "So the dead that he slew at his death were
more than they that he slew in his life" (Shoftim 16:30). This gives
further support to the contrasting parallel between Shimshon and Avshalom, a
phenomenon that was noted already in the past: As opposed to Avshalom, Shimshon
gave his life to strike at the enemies of Israel.
[7] Chazal saw this as
an instance of "measure for measure": "Avshalom gloried in his hair; therefore
he was hanged by his hair" (Sota 1:8). According to the plain sense of
the text, however, it does not say that Avshalom hung specifically from his
hair, but that his head was caught in the terebinth.
[8] The practice of rewarding
exemplary soldiers is found in various places in Scripture, e.g., with Otniel
ben Kenaz (see Yehoshua 15:15-17); with David in the battle against
Golyat (I Shmuel 17:25); and with Yoav in the conquest of Jerusalem (I
Divrei Ha-Yamim 11:6).
[9] The wording in the Hebrew,
"shimru mi ba-na'ar be-Avshalom," is difficult. Rashi explains: "Anyone
into whose hand he falls must protect him."
[10] As was mentioned in the
previous note, the wording of the man is a bit awkward, but the meaning is
clear: If he attempts to lie and to ignore the order that he had heard from the
king, in the end it will become known and Yoav will not protect him. Thus, he
brings a serious charge against Yoav that he is ordering others to disobey
David's orders and he intimates to him that if he wishes to defy an explicit
order of David, it is better that he do it himself. In any event, the awkward
wording is a sign of excitement, as we have ready seen in several places in the
book.
[11] Chazal saw the
killing of Avshalom as an instance of "measure for measure" in several ways:
"Avshalom gloried in his hair; therefore he was hanged by his hair. And because
he cohabited with the the concubines of his father, therefore he was stabbed
with ten lances, as it is said, 'And ten young men that bore Yoav's armor
compassed about.' And because he stole three hearts, the heart of his father,
the heart of the court of justice, and the heart of Israel, as it is said: 'So
Avshalom stole the heart of the men of Israel,' therefore three darts were
thrust through him, as it is said: 'And he took three darts in his hand, and
thrust them through the heart of Avshalom" (Sota 1:8).