II Samuel 15, Absalom's Conspiracy

David has allowed Absalom back into Jerusalem but refuses to reconcile with him.  David's treatment of Absalom has consequences and so becomes one more episode in a string of actions and reactions that began with his adultery with Bathsheba. 

2 Samuel 15:1-4, At the city gate.

In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” 

He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 

Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.”

Absalom has begun a political campaign to convince people that he should be the ruler of Israel. He has fifty men run ahead of him, signs of an important prince. He meets people at the city gates and sympathizes with their complaints.

2 Samuel 15:5-6, Stealing the hearts

Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

With flattery Absalom "steals the hearts" of the people. Robert Alter labels Absalom's actions as typical demagogery -- Absalom tells people what they want to hear and poses as a leader who can solve their problems.

There is some irony in Absalom's name. The Hebrew "salom" ("shalom", שָׁלוֹם) means "peace"; "Absalom" (אֲבִישָׁלוֹם) means "father of peace". But Absalom will be a father of war.

2 Samuel 15:7-9, Secret meeting planned

At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’”

The king said to him, “Go in peace.” 

So he went to Hebron.

Absalom concocts a story to allow him to organize an army outside the city. The king, David, living nearby, has seemed to be completely oblivious to Absalom's manipulations.

In verse 7, some ancient manuscripts have the number of years of Absalom's isolation as forty, not four.

2 Samuel 15:10-12, Meeting at Hebron

Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 

Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter. While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing.

Two hundred men gather at the ancient Hebrew capital of Hebron. Some of them are supporters of Absalom but others are innocent of the intrigue.

2 Samuel 15:13-18, David flees

A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.”

Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

The king’s officials answered him, “Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses.”

The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at the edge of the city. All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.

David hears of the insurrection at Hebron and leaves the city. Among those accompanying David are 600 men who have followed him from the Philistine city of Gath. Ten of David's concubines stay in Jerusalem to take care of the palace. David has hopes of returning. 

2 Samuel 15:19-22, Instructions to Ittai

The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness."

But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”

David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.

Ittai, a foreigner and newcomer, is committed to David. A Gittite is a former resident of Gath, the city where David resided for sometime in his flight from Saul. Ittai is probably one of many Philistines who became attracted to David during David's exile there.

2 Samuel 15:23-25, The ark returned to Jerusalem

The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness. Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had finished leaving the city.

Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.”

Earlier it had taken considerable work to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Now David wants the ark to stay in Jerusalem and is reconciled to whatever outcome God has planned. 

2 Samuel 15:27-31, Zadok remains in Jerusalem

The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Do you understand? Go back to the city with my blessing. Take your son Ahimaaz with you, and also Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You and Abiathar return with your two sons.  I will wait at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 

So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. 

Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “Lord, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”

David sends back the priest, Zadok. He apparently plans to set up a spy network or resistance network in the city that he is abandoning. David then prays for the defeat of Ahithophel, Absalom's counselor.

In 2 Samuel 23:34 Ahithophel is listed as the father of Eliam, a soldier who, according to 2 Samuel 11:3 is the father of Bathsheba. If there is no duplication of names in these accounts then Ahithophel is the grandfather of Bathsheba and is surely familiar with the intrigues of David's court.

2 Samuel 15:32-37, David's confidant

When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. David said to him, “If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘Your Majesty, I will be your servant; I was your father’s servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,’ then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel’s advice. 

Won’t the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king’s palace. Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear.”

So Hushai, David’s confidant, arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city.

David sends another follower back to Jerusalem with explicit instructions on how to mislead Absalom.  David now has a number of spies in Jerusalem. This spy, Hushai, is to report to Zadok and Abiathar.

First published September 13, 2023, updated September 13, 2026

II Samuel 14, Partial Reunion With Absalom

Absalom has killed David's firstborn, Amnon, in retaliation for the rape of his sister. After that, Absalom flees to his maternal grandfather's home in Geshur.

2 Samuel 14:1-3, Joab has a scheme

Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab put the words in her mouth.

Joab has a plan. It involves getting someone to tell David another story. (One must be very careful around this unpredictable king.)

2 Samuel 14:4-8, The woman tells a story

When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”

She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left, leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”

The king said to the woman, “Go home, and I will issue an order in your behalf.”

The woman tells a story of brotherly strife. There is no good resolution to the problem of the story but the point is for the surviving son to live. The woman needs for David to promise that the surviving son, despite being a murderer, will be pardoned.

2 Samuel 14:9-11, Pardon granted

But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon me and my family, and let the king and his throne be without guilt.”

The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”

She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”

“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

The unnamed woman from Tekoa has gotten David to make the important promise of security for the murderer.

2 Samuel 14:12, One more word...

Then the woman said, “Let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.”

“Speak,” he replied.

Now the woman must carefully tell David the true story. It is hoped that David's promise of pardon will now apply to Absalom.

2 Samuel 14:13-17, The real story

The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.

“And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request.  Perhaps the king will agree to deliver his servant from the hand of the man who is trying to cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’

“And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’”

The woman explains that this story applies to the king's own household. In the woman's argument is a claim that God, Himself, works out ways to resolve banishment from Him.

2 Samuel 14:18-22, "Is Joab in this?"

Then the king said to the woman, “Don’t keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you.”

“Let my lord the king speak,” the woman said.

The king asked, “Isn’t the hand of Joab with you in all this?”

The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything my lord the king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who instructed me to do this and who put all these words into the mouth of your servant. Your servant Joab did this to change the present situation. My lord has wisdom like that of an angel of God—he knows everything that happens in the land.”

The king said to Joab, “Very well, I will do it. Go, bring back the young man Absalom.”

Joab fell with his face to the ground to pay him honor, and he blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that he has found favor in your eyes, my lord the king, because the king has granted his servant’s request.”

David recognizes Joab's scheming in the background of the woman's story and sends for Joab. David agrees to Joab's request. (Joab wants the dynasty to continue without conflict but only has part of his wish fulfilled.)

2 Samuel 14:23-24, Partial solution

Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 

But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” 

So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.

David brings back Absalom, but only partially. Absalom is still isolated and ignored.  This is not easy for a prince, especially one who feels that he has righted a grievous wrong.

2 Samuel 14:25-27, Beautiful Absalom

In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him. Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.

Three sons and a daughter were born to Absalom. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she became a beautiful woman.

Absalom, although isolated, is a charismatic and well-liked young prince.

Absalom names a daughter after this sister. This is now the third Tamar in the Old Testament; the first Tamar appears in Genesis 38 as the wife of Er and eventually the mother of Perez and Zerah, sons of Judah.

2 Samuel 14:28-33, A late reconciliation

Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. Then Absalom sent for Joab in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

Then Joab did go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”

Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!”’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”

So Joab went to the king and told him this. Then the king summoned Absalom, and he came in and bowed down with his face to the ground before the king. And the king kissed Absalom.

Finally, after a period of at least five years, there is reconciliation.  But the sin of Amnon. followed by David's apathy, have festered all this time.

First published September 12, 2023, updated September 12, 2026

II Samuel 13, Rape in the Palace

King David's reign, which began so well, is deteriorating. A critical turning point occurred in his adultery with Bathsheba and murderous cover-up. David's firstborn son, heir to the throne, has grown up in a palace full of scandal.

2 Samuel 13:1-4, Lust for a step-sister

In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David. Amnon became so obsessed with his sister Tamar that he made himself ill. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”

Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

Amnon has David's attitude about women: if she is beautiful, grab her! Jonadab, a counselor to the prince notices that the prince is unhappy and looks to aid him in a private meeting with Tamar. (Tamar is Amnon's half-sister, brother of Absalom.)

2 Samuel 13:5-9, Rape

“Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’”

So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” 

So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. “Send everyone out of here,” Amnon said. So everyone left him.

Jonadab and Amnon conspire to isolate Amnon with Tamar. David unknowingly aids them. Tamar is completely unaware of the effect of her sympathy for Amnon.

2 Samuel 13:10-14, Rape

Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”

“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 

But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

Tamar, as she is about to be raped, argues that Amnon can easily resolve all this formally by getting permission from the king for them to marry. (Whether or not this is true, that tack would slow down Amnon.) But Amnon wants her now and ignores her wise words.  

Amnon's lust, desiring Tamar now, is not discouraged by past palace intrigue. The prince's father, David, got the woman he wanted when he wanted her. Why not this prince?

Robert Alter argues that the Hebrew of the last sentence is rapid, violent. He translates the Hebrew as "and he overpowered her and abused her and bedded her."

2 Samuel 13:15-19, Cast out

Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

“No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”

But he refused to listen to her. He called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 

Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.

After raping her, Amnon is angry and casts her out. Tamar, once again, suggests a resolution through marriage but Amnon, now that he is sexually satisfied, will not have it. The entire act reveals the rampant misogyny in the Davidic household -- women are not worthy for much but sex and procreation.

The adjective describing Tamar's robe in verses 18 and 19 is pas (פַס.) The NIV translates it here as "ornate" but the meaning of the word is uncertain. It is the same word used three times to describe young Joseph's robe in Genesis 37.

Tamar's grief is public.  She has been raped and abused and runs from Amnon's rooms weeping loudly about the crime. In the culture of the ancient Near East, she has been ruined, no longer eligible for marriage. The Old Testament law (Deut 22:28-29) required, at minimum, that Amnon marry Tamar, provide for her for life, and pay an additional penalty for rape.

2 Samuel 13:20-22, Silent seclusion

Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet for now, my sister; he is your brother. Don’t take this thing to heart.” And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman.

When King David heard all this, he was furious. And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

Tamar has been raped by her half-brother, the son of a different wife of David. Her full brother, Absalom, attempts to comfort her. (Just as with the children of Jacob, family cliques form around the different mothers.) David is furious but does nothing. His passivity angers Absalom and brings shame to David. Absalom now waits for a chance to revenge the rape of his sister.

2 Samuel 13:23-28, Revenge

Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there. Absalom went to the king and said, “Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?”

“No, my son,” the king replied. “All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you.” 

Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.

Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us.”

The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?” 

But Absalom urged him, so he sent with him Amnon and the rest of the king’s sons.

Absalom ordered his men, “Listen! When Amnon is in high spirits from drinking wine and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I given you this order? Be strong and brave.” So Absalom’s men did to Amnon what Absalom had ordered. Then all the king’s sons got up, mounted their mules and fled.

As Amnon isolated Tamar and raped her, Absalom isolates Amnon and kills him.

David's well-known adultery with Bathsheba, followed by the murder of Uriah is not something that can be concealed. Amnon thinks he can grab a woman when he wishes and no one seems to do anything about it. David is apathetic and silent, so Absalom takes matters into his own hand and murders Amnon, the heir to the throne. Now justice has been served but Absalom is a refugee.

The prophet Nathan has foretold a calamity of this order. Alter observes that David, who first set the stage for rape and murder, is unknowingly involved in each of these subsequent crimes. It is David who naively sends Tamar to Amnon's room where she is raped; it is David who naively sends Amnon to Absalom's feast where he is murdered. The king cannot avoid the consequences of his own sin.

2 Samuel 13:30-35a, Report to David

While they were on their way, the report came to David: “Absalom has struck down all the king’s sons; not one of them is left.” The king stood up, tore his clothes and lay down on the ground; and all his attendants stood by with their clothes torn.

But Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “My lord should not think that they killed all the princes; only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s express intention ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. My lord the king should not be concerned about the report that all the king’s sons are dead. Only Amnon is dead.”

Meanwhile, Absalom had fled.

The first report is that Absalom has arranged the murder of all of David's sons. This is a devastating report for one who hopes to start a dynasty. But David's nephew, Jonadab, corrects the rumor. (Jonadab helped organize the original rape.)  Only Amnon is dead.  (What did Jonadab know that the others did not?)

2 Samuel 13:34b-38, Pain and bitterness

Now the man standing watch looked up and saw many people on the road west of him, coming down the side of the hill. The watchman went and told the king, “I see men in the direction of Horonaim, on the side of the hill.”

Jonadab said to the king, “See, the king’s sons have come; it has happened just as your servant said.” As he finished speaking, the king’s sons came in, wailing loudly. The king, too, and all his attendants wept very bitterly.

Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son. After Absalom fled and went to Geshur, he stayed there three years. And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he was consoled concerning Amnon’s death.

The king's sons return home, weeping. Absalom flees to Geshur, the home of his maternal grandfather.  (Absalom is the son of Maakah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; see 2 Samuel 3:1-5.) Absalom stays in exile for three years. But the story is not over.

Some Random Thoughts

Note the sad mysogynistic culture of the ANE, including the culture of the Jews of that era. Amnon has "disgraced" Tamar and had not paid the legal penalty. There is little that the woman Tamar can do. The ANE and Jewish culture does not describe how things should be, but how they were.

First published September 11, 2023, updated September 11, 2026

Parallelism in Old Testament Poetry

At the end of Genesis 1, we have a short small poetic statement (Genesis 1: 27)

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them

This is a classic example of Hebrew poetic style, displaying several forms. Hebrew poetry did not rhyme sounds, as English poetry tends to do, but rhymed concepts.  Ideas are repeated in parallel phrases. Note how the first two lines repeat the same idea, just phrased slightly differently. Then a third line is added which provides a climactic, emphatic ending to the first two lines. 

Parallelism

Parallelism is the "rhythm of thought rather than the beat of syllables," says 

The first two lines of that poem are an example of parallelism. In Genesis 4:23, Lamech says

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;

wives of Lamech, hear my words."

Note the repeated statements.  This follows with 

"I have killed a man for wounding me, 

a young man for injuring me."

The repetitive process of storytelling is an important concept in ancient Hebrew writings, where the story would be read to others and possibly memorized and recited.

A parallelism is an example of a bicolon, a poetic pair of statements. In Old Testament poetry, scholars have attempted to classify parallel statements as

• synonymous parallelism (the two lines essentially say the same thing)
• antithetic parallelism (the two lines complement each other, the second line expressing the first in an opposite manner)
• synthetic or climactic parallelism (the second line builds on the other.)

Synonymous parallelism

As described in this Oxford University Press online reference, synonymous parallelism occurs when the two parallel lines essentially say the same thing. Repetition may be for emphasis or to give a slightly different viewpoint.

There are literally thousands of examples of parallelism in the Old Testament! I've pulled a few examples from several resources (mentioned at the end of the section) and left unmentioned many many more.  

Examples of synonymous parallelism include Psalm 1:5:

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

and Amos 5: 24:

But let justice roll on like a river, 

righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Micah 4:3 has three sets of examples of synonymous parallelism.

He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.

nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

David's lament for Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1: 19-20 has these three sets of parallel statements:

"Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights.  How the mighty have fallen!

"Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, 

lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.

Antithetical parallelism

Examples of antithetical parallelism are Psalm 1: 6:

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Note how the second line complements or contrasts the first line. 

Hundreds of the stanzas in the book of Proverbs involve antithetical parallelism, with the second line often introduced by "but...".  Here, for example, is Proverbs 1:10:

A wise son brings joy to his father, 

but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

There are many more examples at this GotQuestions website.

Synthetic parallelism

In synthetic parallelism, the second line builds on the first, adding to it.  This is sometimes called "climactic" parallelism, as the second line might be the climactic, most important thought. As before, the first psalm also has an example of this Psalm 1: 2:

... whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

    and who meditates on his law day and night.

Here the "delight" in the law is expanded into daily, consistent meditation.

One interesting form of this is sometimes called "numbers parallelism", for example, 1 Samuel 18: 7, 

“Saul has slain his thousands,

    and David his tens of thousands.”

(In the base ten system of the ancient Near East, it was often common to multiply the first number by ten to get the next!)

If one recognizes synthetic parallelism as a major poetic tool of the Old Testament, one is not surprised by the romantic buildup of Proverbs 30:18-19,

“There are three things that are too amazing for me,

four that I do not understand:

the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a snake on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

    and the way of a man with a young woman."

Synthetic parallelism softens (at least) the sexism of Ecclesiastes 7:28, 

I found one upright man among a thousand,

  but not one upright woman among them all.

a passage which emphasizes the stubborn unrighteousness of all mankind, male or female.

Staircase parallelism and tricolons

If one is accustomed to the techniques of parallelism, then an emphasis can be achieved by deviating from or adding to the expected doublet. Sometimes the couplets of parallelism are emphasized by a climactic third line!  (Three lines of thought are sometimes called a "tricolon".)

For example, back to Genesis 1: 27:

So God created mankind in his own image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them

The first two lines are synonymous parallelism, but just when one imagines the stanza is done, a third line elaborates, explaining that God made these "images" in the forms male and female. This prepares us for the upcoming story of the first couple in Genesis 2.

Some see this process in Exodus 15: 6-7, each line building to the next.

Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power.

Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.

In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you.

There are many more examples -- once one is aware of these, they seem to be everywhere. Here is Psalm 121: 3-4:

He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

And Psalm 18: 25-26:

To the faithful you show yourself faithful, 

to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

to the pure you show yourself pure, 

but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

A few resources

Parallelism is a fundamental concept in much of Old Testament Hebrew.  There are numerous online notes and resources on this.  Here are a few.

• There is a Wikipedia page on Biblical poetry. 
• The Bible Project has a number of short videos; here is their first. 
• The Gospel Coalition has an article here. 
• Ligonier Ministries has an article here.
• Mike Mazzalongo reviews the Psalms and looks at the poetry of them in this online lecture. beginning around 4:05. 
• Here are notes by Robert Utley on Hebrew poetry that include discussion on forms such as inclusio, chiasmus and others.

In the free online course by Dr. Carmen Imes on Exodus, Dr. Imes stresses that the theology of the Old Testament is carried by the songs, not by the narrative. This emphasis sharpens our need to recognize the styles of Old Testament poetry, as we seek to both understand it and enjoy it. 

I will have more to say when we get to the Psalms and Proverbs.

II Samuel 12, A Poor Man with a Pet Lamb

David has gotten Bathsheba pregnant and then had her husband killed. All is presumably resolved now....

2 Samuel 12:1-4, A story

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

Nathan tells a sad story of an abusive man killing a loved pet lamb. Nathan is about to confront a powerful ruler with the man's crime. Nathan begins by attempting to reach the residual part of David that still believes in justice.

2 Samuel 12:5-12, "You are the man!"

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

David's sin (and his sense of justice) are revealed in a story about a rich man who steals a beloved animal. David responds like the good David of old -- he is angry at injustice. Nathan then points a long bony finger at the powerful king and says, "You are the man!"

God's response is that He gave David pretty much anything he, David, wanted. Indeed, there are many women, including, if desired, the wives of his master, Saul, who have but to put into David's "arms".  The Hebrew word bə·ḥê·qe·ḵā, translated "into your arms" by the NIV is translated "into thy bosom" by the King James Version and "into your lap" by Robert Alter. It is the same word used by Sarah in Genesis 16:5, and, says Alter, in both cases has a sexual meaning. David had lots of choices for women to sleep with. But he chose the wife of an upright but powerless soldier.

David, like Adam long ago in the Garden of Eden, can have almost anything in his garden, but reaches out and grabs what is not his. (Walter Vogel, "David's Greatness in His Sin and Repentance".)

2 Samuel 12:13-14, David repents

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

Caught off guard by the true meaning of this story, David is ashamed and suddenly aware of his sin. After that confession, Nathan has additional information: David's sin is forgiven by God but there are consequences.  One of them is that the child in the womb will not survive. (There will be other indirect consequences, including continual violence in his home and someone publicly having sex with his wives.)

2 Samuel 12:15-18, A child dies

After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.

On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.”

David fasts and prays for his child. After the child dies, the attendants are worried that in his grief David will harm himself. They are afraid to tell David the news.

2 Samuel 12:19-22, David grieves

David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked.

“Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.”

Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

David's grief is moderated a bit because now there is nothing he can do. He makes a statement about being unable to bring the child back and that some day he will join his child. David is now humbled and weak, aware of his own mortality. (David's remarks give us no hint as to whether David simply believes he will join the child in the grave, Sheol, or that he will join the child in some future Paradise.)

2 Samuel 12:24-25 Solomon

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.

The couple have a second child, Solomon. God has his own name for this child and passes on the name Jedidiah, which means "loved by the Lord." This is surely an important message for David.

2 Samuel 12:26-31, Joab goes back to work

Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. David took the crown from their king’s head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.

David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Joab defeats the Ammonites and then, because of David's procrastination, has to get David to join him so that David gets some of the glory. It is likely that this victory is a continuation of the conflict described two chapters back in 2 Samuel 10. Joab has been faithful to David (to a fault) and here he recognizes that David's inaction will bring David down.

The last two chapters bring to a close a very sad scandal in David's life. Although the Hebrew scriptures routinely praise David, they do not gloss over his violence and lust.

Although David's relationship with YHWH is restored, David's past actions will continue to ripple through the palace, taking down a number of sons, including his firstborn.

First published September 9, 2023, updated September 9, 2026

II Samuel 11, Bathsheba

David is king of all Israel and has consolidated his power. He has recently won a battle against the Ammonites.

2 Samuel 11:1-4, Adultery with Bathsheba

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

David, having allowed Joab to lead the army against the Ammonites, is bored and restless. He sleeps late into the evening and then is aroused by watching, from a rooftop, a woman bathing. David asks about her and is told that she is the wife of one of his soldiers and the daughter of another. (Bathsheba's father, Eliam, is probably the same soldier that is listed in 2 Samuel 23:34. That list of mighty warriors of David includes Uriah in 2 Samuel 23:39.)

After asking about her, David has the married woman brought to the palace, to his bed where he has sex with her.  

Bathsheba is bathing when David spies on her. The narrator then mentions that Bathsheba had purified herself from her uncleanness. Commentators Alter and Youngblood argue that this is a parenthetical reference to the original rooftop bath where she was purifying herself after the end of her menstrual period. This is especially significant if this is Bathsheba's last period for some time....

On the other hand, the purification described might have been after sex with David. (The NIV footnotes give a possible translation "When she purified herself from her uncleanness, she went back home.") According to the Mosaic law, both sexual intercourse and menstrual periods included ritual baths, see Leviticus 15:18-19. Of course, according to the Mosaic law, adultery is an entirely different activity than ordinary sexual intercourse or menstruation and no simple bathing can wash away that uncleanness!

2 Samuel 11:5-8, A problem

The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David.

When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.

So far Bathsheba has appeared to be completely passive, saying nothing. Now, in two Hebrew words, she tells David she is pregnant. (This is likely several months after the affair.) David attempts to remove himself from the problem by bringing Uriah home to have sex with his wife, so that Uriah would appear to be the father of the child.

Uriah is repeatedly described as "the Hittite." He is not an Israelite. In this chapter, it is the Hittites who act with integrity while the powerful Israelites abuse and deceive.

At this point, David has sent palace messengers on a variety of tasks. They found out about the woman bathing on the roof top, they brought her to David's bedroom, and later they probably escorted her home. A messenger has later conveyed her message of pregnancy and now David has had the woman's husband brought home and cared for. David is lazy and dissolute, doing little on his own. Surely the palace gossip line is active.

2 Samuel 11:9-11, A soldier with integrity

But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"

Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

Despite every attempt by David, this foreigner serving in his army refuses to go home to his wife, when his fellow soldiers don't have similar luxuries.

Servants of David are now monitoring Uriah and reporting back to David. After helping Bathsheba in and out of the palace months before, surely the palace staff have suspicions. Robert Alter suggests that Uriah's response may indicate that even he has some suspicions. After all, says Alter, Uriah is sleeping at the entrance to the palace with servants, some of whom are probably also soldiers, and at that gate there may be considerable gossip. Alter believes it is significant that it is Uriah who mentions sleeping with his wife.

2 Samuel 11:12-13, Integrity, even when drunk

Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.

David gets Uriah drunk. But still Uriah's integrity is intact.

2 Samuel 11:14-17, A death arranged

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.

Uriah unknowingly carries back to Joab the instructions for Uriah's execution. Joab follows David's instructions and Uriah is betrayed by his commander and fellow soldiers.

2 Samuel 11:18-22, Joab's message

Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, `Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' 

If he asks you this, then say to him, `Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.'"

The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.

Joab communicates back to David the death of Uriah. There is a callousness in Joab's reply -- the messenger is to make sure that David knows Uriah is dead. David has embroiled Joab in his royal scandal and Joab recognizes that.

(The previous death of Abimelech is recorded in Judges 9:50-55.)

2 Samuel 11:23-25, Partners in excuses

The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."

David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: `Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."

Uriah is not the only one killed in this sally. But David is content. Uriah is dead. David responds to Joab's report with his own callousness: "The sword devours one as well as another", a version of the modern, "These things happen."

"These things happen." But many of David's followers, including Joab, are aware of David's corrupt acts.  And YHWH is also watching.

2 Samuel 11: 26-27, One more wife

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. 

But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

The last sentence suggests the next chapter. David, like almost all who are in power, thinks he can hide his scandals. But David is a special representative of YHWH and so, NO, he will not escape the effects of his sin. Those effects will carry us throughout the rest of this book.

This is one of the saddest chapters in the Old Testament. If I can take any comfort from this story of arrogance and depravity, it is that the broken character that is the subject of this story is the same one said to be "after God's own heart." (1 Samuel 13: 14, Acts 13: 22) This is the psalmist, whose painful Psalm 51 recalls this depravity. 

First published September 8, 2023, updated September 8, 2026

A Review of The David Story by Robert Alter

Robert Alter is a Hebrew scholar who has made a name by translating the Hebrew scrolls of the Old Testament, adding commentary to explain the Hebrew terms and possible interpretations.  I first read his work in his exceptional commentary on Genesis, a beautiful and elegant work that brings that ancient book to life and displays the artistry of the writer(s) of that book.

Alter is not a Christian and does not view the Old Testament in the way that many Christian scholars do but he does love the ancient text and has a high regard for its language and internal consistency. He will suggest, in places, that the text has been edited (where some Christian scholars will agree) but opposes the modern scholarly obsession of dividing the texts into multiple threads of authors and editors.

Alter has now translated the entire Old Testament, with copious notes and commentary. His translation of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel is available as a work called The David Story. (For completeness, it also includes the first two chapters of 1 Kings, covering David's death and the start of Solomon's reign.)  I have used the commentary in my blog on the Old Testament and it is exceptional.  I work through a chapter by first reading Alter's translation and then going back and reading his comments on the translation.  

In this commentary, Alter describes discrepancies in the ancient text (the traditional Masoretic Text of about 1000 AD, the scrolls of Samuel from the Dead Sea scrolls, c. 50 BC and the Septuagint Greek text, c. 250 BC.) He points out Hebrew wordplay in the text and the emotions and meanings carried by Hebrew words and terms. The scroll of Samuel (broken into 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel in modern Bibles) has an inclusio of songs, Hannah's song at the front in 1 Samuel 2: 1-10 and David's song at the end in 2 Samuel 22. These praise songs set off the remainder of the book, devoted to telling the story of Israel's great shepherd-king. Both songs announce that YHWH is the "horn of salvation", the one who has given them victory over their enemies.

In some places, the Hebrew words carry urgency of emotion that may be missed in modern translations.  In 1 Samuel 2: 14, Alter has greedy priests thrusting their forks "into the cauldron or the pot of the vat or the kettle", arguing that this flurry of terms, in the Hebrew text, adds to the image of greed and gluttony. In 1 Samuel 20: 30, when Saul accuses Jonathan of "the shame of your mother's nakedness" (Alter's literal translation), Alter argues that this is an abusive or violent sexual statement about Jonathan's mother. In other places, Alter insists that the term "son of..." is rude; when Saul calls David "son of Jesse" (1 Samuel 22: 7), he is refusing to say David's name and only naming his father. When Saul calls the priest Ahimelech "son of Ahitub" in 1 Samuel 22: 12 it is a rudeness that shows Saul's intent to kill the man. This use of the rude "patronymic" occurs in numerous places.

In 1 Samuel 9: 12-13, Alter suggests that the long rambling answers of the women around Saul might be a response to Saul's passivity in seeking out Samuel. He explains the proverb "Is Saul among the prophets?" (1 Samuel 10 and 1 Samuel 19: 23-24) as first being a statement of amazement at the signs given by Samuel but then later a mockery of Saul's attempts to stop David.

As Alter elaborates on the Hebrew language in 1 Samuel, we gain insight into Saul's character and his slow dissent into insanity, culminating in his visit to the woman of Endor the night before his death.

In numerous places, Alter suggests an explanation or interpretation of the ancient Hebrew names and points out wordplay, in which the ancient author has deliberately used homonyms, words that sound the same or very similar. For example, in 1 Samuel 13: 7, the text says "the Hebrews had crossed the Jordan..."  The uncommon description of the people as "Hebrews" is explained by the wordplay ivrim avru, Hebrew words translated "Hebrews had crossed". In 1 Samuel 16: 23, Saul's finding relief from the evil spirit, involves the same base word; ruah is spirit and rawah is relief. There are numerous places where this wordplay is hidden by English translations and only pulled out by Alter's notes.

Alter's translation of David's story is a beautiful study of the great shepherd-king of Israel and an artful argument for the power and majesty of the Old Testament writings.

Other reviews of Alter's commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel are: 

• A short review by Patrick Reardon is here.
• A review by the New York Times is here; it includes a link to the first chapter of the book.  in case one wants to see the style of the translation and commentary.
• A review by the Los Angeles Times is here.

I have enjoyed slowly working through this book and marking up the pages!