2 Samuel 18:17

Contextual Overview

⁹Absalom was riding on his mule when he happened to meet David’s soldiers. When the mule went under the tangled branches of a large oak tree, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so he was suspended in midair. ⁹ Avshalom happened to meet the servants of David. Avshalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and eretz; and the mule that was under him went on. ⁹ And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. ⁹ Absalom was found in the presence of the servants of David as he was riding on the mule. The mule went under the thicket of the great oak tree, and his head was caught in the tree. He was left hanging between heaven and earth, and the mule which was under him went on. ⁹ And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. ⁹ Then Absalom happened to meet David's troops. As Absalom was riding his mule, it went under the thick branches of a large oak tree. Absalom's head got caught in the tree, and his mule ran out from under him. So Absalom was left hanging above the ground. ⁹ Then Absalom happened to come across David's men. Now as Absalom was riding on his mule, it went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, while the mule he had been riding kept going. ⁹Now Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a massive tree, and his head was caught in [the thick branches of] the tree; and he was left hanging [in midair] between heaven and earth, while the mule that had been under him kept going. ⁹ Now Absalom encountered the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the branches of a massive oak. Then his head caught firmly in the oak, and he was left hanging between the sky and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going. ⁹ Nowe Absalom met the seruants of Dauid, and Absalom rode vpon a mule, and the mule came vnder a great thicke oke: and his head caught holde of the oke, and he was taken vp betweene the heauen and the earth: and the mule that was vnder him went away.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

laid: This was the ancient method of burying, whether heroes or traitors; the heap of stones being designed to perpetuate the memory of the event, whether good or bad. The Arabs in general make use of no other monument than a heap of stones over a grave. Thus, in an Arabic poem, it is related, that Hatim the father, and Adi the grandfather of Kais, having been murdered, at a time before Kais was capable of reflection, his mother kept it a profound secret; and in order to guard him against having any suspicion, she collected a parcel of stone on two hillocks in the neighbourhood, and told her son that the one was the grave of his father, and the other of his grandfather. The ancient cairns in Ireland and Scotland, and the tumuli in England, are of this kind. Joshua 7:26, Joshua 8:29, Joshua 10:27, Proverbs 10:7, Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 22:19

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:46 - Gather Genesis 35:20 - the pillar 2 Kings 14:12 - they fled Psalms 119:96 - I have seen Ecclesiastes 3:5 - to cast Acts 5:6 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained on Sedom and on `Amorah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of the sky.

Genesis 19:24
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

Genesis 19:24
Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh.

Genesis 19:24
The Lord sent a rain of burning sulfur down from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19:24
Then the Lord rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. It was sent down from the sky by the Lord .

Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the LORD out of heaven,

Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD out of heaven,

Genesis 19:24
Then the Lord rained vpon Sodom and vpon Gomorah brimstone, & fire from the Lord out of heauen,

Genesis 19:24
And Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven,

Genesis 19:24
and the Lord sent burning sulfur down like rain on Sodom and Gomorrah.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood,.... In the wood of Ephraim, near to which the battle was fought, and into which Absalom fled, and where he was slain:

and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: his punishment was very exemplary; he was first hanged on an oak, and then thrust through with darts, and swords, and then covered with stones, 2 Samuel 18:9, pointing to the death that a rebellious son, according to the law, ought to die, Deuteronomy 21:21; though this might be done in honour of him as a king's son; for such "tumuli", or heaps of stones or earth, were used by the ancients as sepulchral monuments, and the larger the more honourable n; Deuteronomy 21:21- : and

Deuteronomy 21:21- :;

and all Israel fled everyone to his tent; or to his city, as the Targum; everyone returned to their own house, and to their own business, and so the rebellion ceased.

n Homer. Iliad. 23. ver. 245, 257.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A great heap of stones - See the marginal reference. This kind of monument is common to almost all early nations.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 18:17. And laid a very great heap of stones — This was the method of burying heroes, and even traitors, the heap of stones being designed to perpetuate the memory of the event, whether good or bad. The ancient cairns or heaps of stones, in different parts of the world, are of this kind. The various tumuli or barrows in England are the same as the cairns in different parts of Ireland and Scotland. In the former, stones were not plenty; hence they heaped up great mounds of earth.