2 Samuel 18:33

“And the king was much moved, etc.] His affections were moved, his passions were stirred up; he was greatly troubled, distressed, and grieved: and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; got out of sight and company as soon as he could; as his own dwelling was at some distance, he made haste to the chamber in the watchtower, over the gate of the city, where the watchman was, to vent his grief; and could not suppress it till he got thither: and as he went; up the stairs to the chamber: thus he said, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! which repetition expresses the vehemence of his affections, and how inconsolable he was on account of his son’s death: would God I had died for…”

“There is not in the whole of the Old Testament a passage of deeper pathos than this. Compare Luke 19:41. In the Hebrew Bible this verse commences the nineteenth chapter. The King James Version follows the Greek and Latin versions. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on 2 Samuel 18". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/2-samuel-18.html. 1870. StudyLight.org © 2001-2026 Powered by Lightspeed Technology”

“Over the gate - Retiring himself from all men and business, that he might wholly give up himself to lamentation. My son - This he might speak from a deep sense of his eternal state, because he died in his sins, and because David himself had by his own sins been the occasion of his death. But it seems rather to be the effect of strong passion, causing him to speak unadvisedly with his lips. Next: 2 Kings (2 Samuel) Chapter 19”

“18:33 David was not afraid to show his emotions openly, whether engulfed by rapturous joy (6:14-19) or crushed by sadness. His feelings for Absalom were real, not theatrical.”

“O my son: Sa2 19:4 would God: Sa2 12:10-23; Psa 103:13; Pro 10:1, Pro 17:25; Jam 5:17 Next: 2 Kings (2 Samuel) Chapter 19”

“The king understood the meaning of the words. He was agitated, and went up to the balcony of the gate (the room above the entrance) and wept, and said, walking about, "My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Oh that I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son!" To understand this passionate utterance of anguish, we must bear in mind not only the excessive tenderness, or rather weakness, of David's paternal affection towards his son, but also his anger that Joab and his generals should have paid so little regard to his command to deal gently with Absalom. With the king's excitable temperament, this entirely prevented him from taking a just and correct view of the crime of his rebel son,…”