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2 Samuel 18:8
King James Version (KJV)
Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary
Bible Commentary
The wood devoured more people - It is generally supposed that, when the army was broken, they betook themselves to the wood, fell into pits, swamps, etc., and, being entangled, were hewn down by David's men; but the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, state that they were devoured by wild beasts in the wood.
Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible
Notes on the Whole Bible
The battle was scattered - Probably Absalom‘s forces were far more numerous than David‘s; but, most likely by Joab‘s skillful generalship, the field of battle was such that numbers did not tell, and David‘s veteran troops were able to destroy Absalom‘s rabble in detail. The wood entangled them, and was perhaps full of pits, precipices, and morasses 2 Samuel 18:17.
Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
Concise Bible Commentary
How does David render good for evil! Absalom would have only David smitten; David would have only Absalom spared. This seems to be a resemblance of man's wickedness towards God, and God's mercy to man, of which it is hard to say which is most amazing. Now the Israelites see what it is to take counsel against the Lord and his anointed.
Ellen G. White
Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4a, 89
Spiritual Gifts, vol. 4a, 89
David does not manifest the spirit of an unconverted man. If he had possessed the spirit of the rulers of the nations around him, he would not have borne from Nathan the picture of his crime before him in its truly abominable colors, but would have taken the life of the faithful reprover. But notwithstanding the loftiness of his throne, and his unlimited power, his humble acknowledgment of all with which he was charged, is evidence that he still feared and trembled at the word of the Lord. 4aSG 89.1
David was made to feel bitterly the fruits of wrongdoing. His sons acted over the sins of which he had been guilty. Amnon committed a great crime. Absalom revenged it by slaying him. Thus was David's sin brought continually to his mind, and he made to feel the full weight of the injustice done to Uriah and Bath-sheba. 4aSG 89.2
Absalom, his own son, whom he loved above all his children, rebelled against him. By his remarkable beauty, winning manners, and pretended kindness, he cunningly stole the hearts of the people. He did not possess benevolence at heart, but was ambitious and, as his course shows, would resort to intrigue and crime to obtain the kingdom. He would have returned his father's love and kindness by taking his life. He was proclaimed king by his followers in Hebron, and led them out to pursue his father. He was defeated and slain. 4aSG 89.3
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Cross References
David in Conquest of Canaan
