2 Samuel 18:18 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:9-18

Here is Absalom quite at a loss, at his wit's end first, and then at his life's end. He that began the fight, big with the expectation of triumphing over David himself, with whom, if he had had him in his power, he would not have dealt gently, is now in the greatest consternation, when he meets the servants of David, 2 Sam. 18:9. Though they were forbidden to meddle with him, he durst not look them in the face; but, finding they were near him, he clapped spurs to his mule and made the best of... read more

John Gill

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

Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken ,.... Had taken it into his head, had of himself devised it, as Kimchi explains it; he contrived the following scheme to perpetuate his memory: and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale : or valley, the valley of Jehoshaphat; this pillar was of marble, as Josephus F15 Antiqu l. 7. c. 10. sect. 3. says, and stood about two furlongs or a quater mile from Jerusalem. The author of Cippi Hebraici F16 P. 26. Ed. Hotting. ... read more

Adam Clarke

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

Reared up for himself a pillar - There was a marble pillar in the time of Josephus called Absalom's pillar: and there is one shown to the present day under this name; but it is comparatively a modern structure. Absalom ' s place - Literally Absalom's Hand. See the note on 1 Samuel 15:12 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:1-18

The facts are: 1 . David, refreshed by the aid sent him, sets himself to the work of organizing his followers, and divides them into three corps, under Joab, Abishai, and Ittai respectively. 2 . On his proposing to head the force, the people urge him to desist from doing so, pointing out that, in case of a conflict, the enemy would be sure to make an endeavour to kill him rather than to fight a regular battle. 3 . The king yields to their persuasions, and, as they suggest, abides... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:14-18

( THE WOOD OF EPHRAIM .) The end of Absalom. After a long course of flagrant and persistent wickedness, Absalom (at the age of twenty-seven) met his deserved doom. There is not in all history a more signal instance of retribution. In it we see punishment following crime, in the way of natural consequence, and corresponding with it in the manner of its infliction. The sinner reaps as he sows. "But Justice hastes t' avenge each impious deed: Some in day's clear and open light; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

Absalom … had taken and reared up for himself a pillar. In contrast with the heap of stones cast over his dishonoured body, the narrator calls attention to the costly memorial erected by Absalom in his lifetime. The three unnamed sons mentioned in 2 Samuel 14:27 seem to have died in their infancy, and probably also their mother; and Absalom, instead of taking other wives to bear him sons, which would have been in unison with the feelings of the time, manifested his grief by raising this... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

( THE KING 'S DALE .) Posthumous fame. "Absalom's place" (literally, "hand," equivalent to "monument," or "memorial," 1 Samuel 15:12 ). To live in the memory of men after death is, in a sense, to be immortal on earth ( 2 Samuel 7:9 ). Of this earthly immortality observe that: 1 . It is an object of natural and legitimate desire. To be wholly forgotten as soon as we are laid in the dust is a prospect from which we instinctively turn away with aversion, as from death... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

Absalom's monument. The contrast between 2 Samuel 18:17 and 2 Samuel 18:18 is touching. Absalom, whose three sons ( 2 Samuel 14:27 ) were dead, desirous that his name should not therefore die, erected a monument to perpetuate it, probably connecting with it a tomb in which he purposed that his body should lie, and in which possibly he may have placed the remains of his deceased children. But he was buried in another sepulchre, and had another monument reared to his memory. A pit in... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 18:18

The king’s dale - Anciently the “valley” of “Shaveh” (marginal reference), and apparently in the near neighborhood of Sodom; but the exact site is not known. It quite agrees with Absalom’s preference for Hebron 2 Samuel 15:7, that his monument should be reared by him in the south. If Absalom’s monument be placed in the ravine of the Kedron, the “king’s dale” here is a different place from the “dale of Shaveh.”Absalom’s place - literally, “Absalom’s hand.” (1 Samuel 15:12 note.) read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 18:18

2 Samuel 18:18. Now Absalom had reared up for himself a pillar To preserve his name; where as it had been more for his honour if his name had been buried in perpetual oblivion. But this was the effect of that pride and vain glory, which were the chief causes of his ruin. Which is in the king’s dale A place so called, near Jerusalem. For he said, I have no son He had had three sons, (2 Samuel 14:27,) but it appears by this they were all now dead, or if any one of them was alive, he... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:9-18

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

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

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:1-18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:14-18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 18:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 18:18

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 18:18

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