2 Samuel 13:39

“And [the soul of] King David longed to go forth unto Absalom, etc.] In like manner it is supplied and paraphrased in the Targum, because the word rendered “longed” is feminine; though it may be used to denote the effeminateness of David’s disposition and carriage on this occasion. Aben Ezra thinks the word “wife”, should be supplied, and then the sense is, that the wife of King David, the mother of Absalom, made supplication to him to send forth one of the young men to fetch Absalom, and that by her importunity to him she stirred up a longing desire in David after him. Abarbinel observes, from another writer of theirs, that all the three years David was mourning for his son, he went out…”

“Longed to go forth - Rather, “longed after Absalom,” literally, was consumed in going forth, with a sense of disappointed hope. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on 2 Samuel 13". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/2-samuel-13.html. 1870. StudyLight.org © 2001-2026 Powered by Lightspeed Technology”

“Go forth - And could not he recalled, to visit him, or to send for him. What amazing weakness was this! At first he could not find in his heart, to do justice to the ravisher of his sister! And now he can almost find in his heart to receive into favour the murderer of his brother? How can we excuse David from the sin of Eli; who honoured his sons more than God? Next: 2 Kings (2 Samuel) Chapter 14”

“13:39 And King David: Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read And the spirit of the king. • longed to be reunited with his son Absalom: David’s grief over Amnon’s death was evidently alleviated; any desire David might have had to execute Absalom had dissipated.”

“the soul of: Gen 31:30; Deu 28:32; Phi 2:26 longed: or, was consumed, Psa 84:2, Psa 119:20 comforted: Sa2 12:23; Gen 24:67, Gen 37:35, Gen 38:12 Next: 2 Kings (2 Samuel) Chapter 14”

“"And it (this) held king David back from going out to Absalom, for he comforted himself concerning Amnon, because he was dead." In adopting this translation of the difficult clause with which the verse commences, we take ותּכל in the sense of כּלא, as the verbs כלה and כלא frequently exchange their forms; we also take the third pers. fem. as the neuter impersonal, so that the subject is left indefinite, and is to be gathered from the context. Absalom's flight to Geshur, and his stay there, were what chiefly prevented David from going out to Absalom. Moreover, David's grief on account of Amnon's death gradually diminished as time rolled on. אל־אבש צאת is used in a hostile sense, as in Deu…”