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2 Samuel 18:10

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 2 Samuel 18:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.
2 Samuel 18:10 — American Standard Version

Context — 2 Samuel 18

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.
8For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
9And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon 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 heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.
10And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.
11And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten [pieces of] silver, and a girdle.
12And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king`s son; for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
13Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against [me].
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And a certain man saw [it], etc.] Saw him in the above posture, one of David’s soldiers: and told Joab, and said, behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak; caught by the neck in one, out of which he could not disengage himself, but there he hung, though alive.”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“A man (one of David's men) saw him in this situation, and told Joab, Joab replied ( Sa2 18:11), "Behold, thou hast seen it, and wherefore has thou not smitten him there to the ground? and it was for me to give thee ten silverlings and a girdle;" i.e., if thou hadst slain him, it would have been my duty to reward thee. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 18:12”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification