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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:16-23

Perhaps Jordan was never passed with so much solemnity, nor with so many remarkable occurrences, as it was now, since Israel passed it under Joshua. David, in his afflictive flight, remembered God particularly from the land of Jordan (Ps. 42:6), and now that land, more than any other, was graced with the glories of his return. David's soldiers furnished themselves with accommodations for their passage over this river, but, for his own family, a ferry-boat was sent on purpose, 2 Sam. 19:18. A... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:18

And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household ,.... His wives and children, who could not so well ford the river on foot: some will have this to be a bridge of boats, a pontoon; and Abarbinel thinks it might be a company of men, who carried the women and children on their shoulders, one after another: and to do what he thought good ; to carry over whatever else the king pleased, besides his family: and Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:19

And said unto the king, let not my lord the king impute iniquity unto me ,.... That is, deal with him according to the desert of it, punish him for it, but forgive it: for non-imputation of sin is in effect the pardon of it: neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day my lord the king went out of Jerusalem : he desires that he would not only forgive, but forget it; he owns it was a perverse action, and aggravated by being done at the time when the king was in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:20

For thy servant doth know that I have sinned ,.... He was sensible of it, and sorry for it, and publicly acknowledged it before all the men he brought with him, and before all the servants of David; and as a token of the sincerity of his repentance, and as an earnest of his future fidelity, he made this early submission: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king ; but why does he make mention of the house of Joseph,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 19:18

There went over a ferry-boat - This is the first mention of any thing of the kind. Some think a bridge or raft is what is here intended. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 19:20

For thy servant doth know that I have sinned - This was all he could do; his subsequent conduct alone could prove his sincerity. On such an avowal as this David could not but grant him his life. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:16-23

( THE JORDAN .) The pardon of Shimei. The conduct of Shimei towards David in his flight ( 2 Samuel 16:5 ) was base and iniquitous. "The wheel turns round once more; Absalom is cast down and David returns in peace. Shimei suits his behaviour to the occasion, and is the first man, also, who hastes to greet him; and had the wheel turned round a hundred times, Shimei, I dare say, in every period of its rotation would have been uppermost" (Sterne). But he may have been actuated by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:16-30

The facts are: 1 . Shimei, with a considerable Benjamite following, including Ziba and his household, joins the men of Judah to meet David at the Jordan. 2 . Previous to the king being ferried over, Shimei falls down before him, confesses his past sins, and pleads for mercy, and urges as evidence of sincerity that he is the first to come and bid the king welcome. 3 . On Abishai expressing his feeling that Shimei should rather be put to death for his evil deeds, David resents the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:18

And there went over a ferry boat; more correctly, and the ferry boat kept crossing, went backwards and forwards to bring the king's household over. Shimei … fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan. If this translation were right, instead of fording the river, Shimei would have waited on the western bank. Some commentators do take this view, but it is contradicted by the latter part of 2 Samuel 19:17 . Really the Hebrew words signify no more than "at his crossing the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 19:20

The first … of all the house of Joseph. Shimei, who was a Benjamite, could not have thus claimed to be the representative of the northern tribes, had he remained on the western bank, where "half the people of Israel" were assembled. Strictly, "the house of Joseph" signified the tribe of Ephraim ( 1:22 , 1:35 ; and comp. Psalms 78:67 ), and in this sense Shimei did not belong to it. But Ephraim claimed a supremacy over all Israel; and one cause of the opposition to David certainly was... read more

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