2 Samuel 13:23

ABSALOM'S HEARTLESS REVENGE AGAINST AMNON

"After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons. And Absalom came to the king, and said, "Behold, your servant has sheepshearers; pray let the king and his servants go with your servant." But the king said to Absalom, "No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you." He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. Then Absalom said, "If not, pray let my brother Amnon go with us." And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you"? But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. Then Absalom commanded his servants, "Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, `Strike Amnon,' then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant." So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled."

"After two full years" (2 Samuel 23). "This long delay clearly marked the murder as premeditated and indicated Absalom's ambition as much as any concern for his sister's honor."[23] Absalom's inability to induce King David to attend his feast might actually have frustrated Absalom's plan to kill David himself and all of the king's sons and take over the kingdom. Such a possibility, of course, is only a conjecture, but there was some urgent reason why Absalom so passionately desired the king's attendance. The sudden flight of all the king's sons immediately after Amnon's murder indicates that they recognized Absalom as a potential murderer of all of them.

"Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor" (2 Samuel 13:23). The exact location of this place is debated, but Willis is probably correct in his identification of the place as, "The modern el-Taiyibe about twelve miles north of Jerusalem."[24]

"Why should he (Amnon) go with you?" (2 Samuel 13:26). This question by the king indicates some suspicion on his part that Absalom might have intended some harm to Amnon. After much insistence on Absalom's part, the king consented. One cannot help wondering why Amnon willingly placed himself within Absalom's power. Can it be supposed that he actually thought that he had gotten away with his shameful rape of Absalom's sister? Certainly, he was an unqualified fool for accepting Absalom's invitation. H. P. Smith wrote, "That Absalom intended to secure the throne for himself by massacring all competitors would not be a remote inference."[25]

If Absalom had intended any other murders than that of Amnon, the swift flight of all the king's sons would have effectively prevented them.

"Each mounted his mule and fled" (2 Samuel 13:29). Several able scholars assert that this is the first place in the Bible where a mule is mentioned, but this writer believes that Genesis 36:24 also mentions this animal. The particular word in Genesis 36:24, found only there in the entire Bible. The KJV translated the word "mules," as favored by Jewish scholars; and besides that, the first use of "hot springs" as a translation did not occur until the times of Jerome. (For a more adequate discussion of this see Vol. 1 (Genesis) of my series of commentaries on the Pentateuch, p. 441.)

Leviticus 19:19 forbade the Jews to breed hybrids; but the Jews either traded for them or purchased them from those who bred them. There appears to have been an extensive use of mules as saddled animals for riding by royal families. David had "his own mule," (evidently a favorite) (1 Kings 1:33).