2 Samuel Chapter 14
Verses
“Joab”:
He was concerned about David’s preoccupation with Absalom, so he convinced a woman from “Tekoa” to deliver a parable to convince David to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem.
Joab would later have a change of heart about Absalom
2 Samuel 14:1 "Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart [was] toward Absalom."
“Absalom”:
He was the spoiled, impatient, overly ambitious son of David, who tried to forcibly seize the kingship from his father.
This act, motivated by vanity and pride, led to his tragic death.
He was David’s third son by Maacah, the daughter of the king of Geshur (3:3; 1 Chron. 3:2). Absalom was a potential heir to the throne, of very attractive appearance and charming manners. He was especially noted for his beautiful long hair, in which he took great pride (verses
Absalom avenged the rape of his sister by having Amnon executed (Chapter 13). Then fearing his father’s wrath, he fled into exile.
After three years, he returned and plotted a revolt against the throne.
He was anointed king after taking Jerusalem
Joab then killed Absalom despite David’s request that he not be harmed.
Some of the saddest words in the Bible express David’s sorrow over Absalom’s death (18:33). His body was cast into a pit, and a great heap of stones was piled over him in contempt (18:17).
David was strongly attached to Absalom, and, having gotten over the death of Amnon, he desired the fellowship of his exiled son, 3 years absent.
But the fear of public opinion made him hesitant to pardon his son.
Joab, perceiving this struggle between parental affection and royal duty, devised a plan involving a wise country woman and a story told to the king.
The heart of David was the heart of a father.
David loved Absalom in spite of what he might have done.
Joab was David's nephew, by his sister Zeruiah.
Joab is around David enough, that he knows his feelings.
2 Samuel 14:2 "And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:"
“Tekoah”:
A town about 10 miles south of Jerusalem (Amos 1:1).
Joab wanted to get David to show some emotion about Absalom.
This plot with the woman had to be done perfectly to keep David from finding out and punishing the woman and Joab.
“Tekoah":
This is the town this wise woman comes from.
The town is about 6 miles out of Bethlehem.
She must be able to convince David, that she is truly a mourner of long standing, to be able to talk to David.
She is to pretend to have been mourning for the dead a very long time.
Verses
“Joab put the words in her mouth”:
Joab used a story, as Nathan had
2 Samuel 14:3 "And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth."
At his palace, in the above condition and circumstances.
"And speak on this manner unto him”:
Something to the following purpose he dictated to her.
"So Joab put the words in her mouth":
The substance of what she should say; the fable she was to deliver as her own case might be framed by Joab, and which she delivered word for word exactly as he put it, and the application of it.
But as he knew not what questions the king would ask her, so he could not dictate to her what to reply, unless he supposed this and the other, and so formed answers.
But this he left to her prudence, and for the sake of which he then chose a wise woman to manage this affair.
"Joab put the words in her mouth":
That is saying he told her exactly what to say.
2 Samuel 14:4 "And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king."
Or after she had spoken to him, being introduced by Joab, as is probable; when she had saluted him with God save the king, or May the king live, or some such like expressions.
"She fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance":
To him as her king, in reverence of his majesty.
"And said, help, O king”:
Signifying that she was in great distress, and came to him for assistance and deliverance.
The word "obeisance" means depress, or prostrate.
This means she fell on her face to the ground before the king.
She was showing extreme respect for the king.
She asks David for his help.
2 Samuel 14:5 "And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I [am] indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead."
Or what is thy case?
What is the condition, and what the circumstances, that thou art in, which require help and assistance?
Intimating that he was ready to grant it on knowledge thereof; however, he was ready to hear what she had to say.
"And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman":
Of a truth a widow, as the Targum; she was really one, a widow indeed (as in 1 Tim. 5:3).
Not one that was separated from her husband, he being alive, or was divorced from him on any account whatever.
"And mine husband is dead":
And has been a long time; this she said to move the pity and compassion of the king, who, as the supreme magistrate in God's stead, was a Father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widow.
This speaks highly of David, that he would even hear her.
We must remember that this whole story is made up.
She is a good actress and David believes her.
2 Samuel 14:6 "And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and [there was] none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him."
The woman represents the killing of one's brother or sister as unpremeditated and also it was without malice.
This really made the case essentially different from that of Absalom.
But at this point of the story the object is to dispose the king favorably towards the culprit, while by the time the application is reached, this point will have passed out of mind.
This should sound familiar to David, because one of his sons, named Absalom, had killed his oldest son Amnon.
2 Samuel 14:7 "And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband [neither] name nor remainder upon the earth."
“Leave to my husband neither name nor remainder”:
The story the woman told involved one brother killing another (verse 6).
If the death penalty for murder was invoked (Exodus 21:12; Lev. 24:17), there would be no living heir in the family, leaving that family with no future, a situation the law sought to avoid (Deut.
This would extinguish the last “coal” of hope for a future for her line (compare 21:17; Psalm 132:17, where the lamp refers to posterity).
We hear a sad story from this woman of how the people of her tribe want to kill her remaining son for killing his brother.
She beautifully describes how the fire of her life will be completely put out, if they kill her surviving son.
He is the last son in her family to carry on the family name.
In a case like this, she has appealed to the highest court.
A king has wide privileges pertaining to this.
If he speaks the word, the boy will not be killed.
2 Samuel 14:8 "And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee."
Go home and make thyself easy.
"And I will give charge concerning thee":
Intimating that he would inquire into her case; and if it was as she had represented it, he would give orders that she should not be disturbed, or be obliged to deliver up her son, and that he should be safe from those that sought his life.
2 Samuel 14:9 "And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity [be] on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne [be] guiltless."
“The iniquity be on me”:
The woman therefore was willing to receive whatever blame might arise from the sparing of her guilty son.
She has appealed to the highest court in the land.
What a beautiful job, she has done with her acting.
She even goes so far as to say the penalty for any sin regarding this would be on her shoulders, and not on the kings.
She has made this seem very real.
She is asking for a full pardon for her son.
In reality, she is asking for a full pardon for Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:10 "And the king said, Whosoever saith [ought] unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more."
Demanding her to deliver up her son to justice; and reproaching her for not doing it. "Bring him to me":
Give him in charge to a proper officer to be brought before me, and I shall chastise him for it. "And he shall not touch thee any more”:
Give her any further trouble, by words or deeds.
2 Samuel 14:11 "Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, [As] the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth."
The “avenger of blood” was the family protector charged with bringing vengeance on someone who had killed a family member.
Cities of refuge were established to protect from the avenger anyone who had accidentally killed someone (Num.
At this point, David relented and offered protection for the woman’s son.
This is a specific term identifying the nearest relative of the deceased who would seek to put to death the murderer (Num.
“Not one hair”:
This is an expression meaning that no harm will come to the son of the widow in the story. This assurance for the safety of her
David, by his own words, has pardoned this fictitious son.
2 Samuel 14:12 "Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak [one] word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on."
Having gained her point, and gotten a decree from him confirmed by an oath, that her son though he had killed his brother should not die; she proceeds to accommodate the parable, and apply it to the case of Absalom, and improve it in his favor.
"And he said, say on":
Gave her leave to say what she had further to observe to him (see Luke 7:40).
2 Samuel 14:13 "And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished."
“Against the people of God”:
The woman asserted that by allowing Absalom to remain in exile, David had jeopardized the future welfare of Israel.
If he would be so generous to a son he did not know in a family he did not know, would he not forgive his own son?
She has said a very dangerous thing.
The king could have her killed for this deception.
The people of God in this, is the bereaved mother.
She says that she was speaking for the people, when she represented this story to David. Most everyone would understand why Absalom killed Amnon.
It was the law of the land if someone raped another, they were to be killed. Tamar was Absalom's sister.
He had every right to kill her attacker.
2 Samuel 14:14 "For we must needs die, and [are] as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect [any] person: yet doth he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him.
“Devise”:
This means … expelled from him”:
The woman stated that since God acts according to the dictates of mercy, as in David’s own experience (12:13), David was obligated to do likewise.
“As water spilt on the ground”:
I.e., death is irreversible.
The woman stated that since God acts according to the dictates of mercy, as in David’s own experience (12:13), David was obligated to do likewise.
She is saying that there is no way to bring Amnon back.
He should allow Absalom to live at home with the family.
God restored David to right standing.
David should do the same for Absalom.
Verses
“The people … the man that would destroy me and my son”:
Those who were seeking to kill the son of the woman were like the people David feared who resented what Absalom had done and would have stood against a pardon for him.
2 Samuel 14:15 "Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, [it is] because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid."
Of the case of Absalom, under a feigned one of hers.
"It is because the people have made me afraid":
Having heard of their whisperings, murmurings, and uneasiness among them, because Absalom was not sent home.
Fearing there would be an insurrection in the nation, or an invasion of it by Absalom at the request of his friends; in which he might be supported by the king of Geshur.
Or however that disputes would arise about the succession, at the death of David.
On these accounts, she determined to speak to the king and him then to him in the manner she had done.
Though some understand this of the discouragement the people laid her under, telling her the king would not hear her; nevertheless, she was resolved to make trial.
"And thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king":
It may be the king will perform the request of his handmaid.
Not only with respect to her own son, as feigned; but with respect to Absalom, the grand thing that is in view.
Joab and some of the others had been afraid to speak to the king about this.
They hired this woman to speak for them.
She thanks David for hearing her, and appeals to his forgiveness and grace.
2 Samuel 14:16 "For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man [that would] destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God."
She was fully persuaded of it, as now he had heard her.
"To deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God":
He had given his word and his oath that he would deliver her son from the avenger of blood, that neither he nor any other should destroy him, which would have been the destruction of her and her whole family out of the land of Israel.
The land which God had chosen for his inheritance; and had given to the people of Israel which was to be theirs.
And since the king had heard her, and granted her this favor, she doubted not but that he would deliver his own son from death, and restore him to the inheritance of the land, where he might worship the LORD God of his fathers, of which he was now deprived.
In her behalf, the king has authority to let her go in peace.
She appeals for him to restore the inheritance to his son Absalom.
2 Samuel 14:17 "Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so [is] my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee."
Or, "for rest"; what will give ease and satisfaction not only to her, but to all the people of Israel, when they shall hear of the king's intention and resolution to bring back Absalom.
"For as an angel of God, so is my lord the king”: As they are very wise, knowing, and were also understanding creatures, so was David.
"To discern good and bad":
To hear both the one and the other, and to discern the difference between them, and choose and pursue what is right, as in all other things, so in the present case.
"Therefore the LORD thy God shall be with thee":
As to counsel and advise and so to assist in performance, and to prosper and succeed.
The Targum is, "the Word of the LORD thy God shall be for thine help”.
David has figured out what is going on.
She will be satisfied with the decision that David makes, because she knows it is right.
He is guided from above.
The LORD will direct David in his decision.
Verses
David gets the intent of the story and discerns the source as Joab.
2 Samuel 14:18 "Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak."
Understanding plainly what she meant by all this, that the case she brought was a feigned one, and that the intention of it was to let him know the sense of the people with respect to Absalom, and the recall of him.
"Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee":
He suspected that this was not a scheme of her own, but some considerable person had formed it, and made use of her to execute it, which was what he desired to know.
"And the woman said, let my lord the king now speak":
Ask what question he pleases, I am ready to answer.
Verses
David recognized that “Joab” was behind the woman’s parable.
Nevertheless, he weakly relented and allowed Absalom to return.
David’s poor decision would have extremely negative results.
2 Samuel 14:19 "And the king said, [Is not] the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:"
That is, is not this done by the advice, assistance, and direction of Joab?
Did not he form this scheme for thee, and direct thee to this method, and put thee upon the prosecuting it?
"And the woman answered and said, as thy soul liveth, my lord the king":
What I am about to say is as sure as thou art alive; though this may be only a wish that he might long live and be happy; nothing is more desirable than thy valuable life.
"None can turn to the right hand or the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken":
He has hit upon the truth of the matter.
There is no dissimulation or prevarication to be used; the thing cannot be denied; for thy servant Joab he bade me, and put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid.
He sent for me, and laid his commands on me, and directed me what to say to the king, and how to conduct this affair.
In verse 18, David tells her to tell him the truth.
He then realizes, and gets her to admit that Joab put her up to bringing this message to him.
Joab told her exactly what to say.
She said it so well, that it was a while before David realized that this was directed to him.
2 Samuel 14:20 "To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all [things] that [are] in the earth."
Concocted a story in such form and manner as had been delivered to the king, that it might be accommodated and applied to the case of Absalom, and to transfer it in a figure to the king, to use the apostle's phrase (1 Cor. 4:8).
"And my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God":
As not only to understand the design of this fable or parable, but of such shrewdness and perception as to find out the author of it.
"To know all things that are in the earth":
Either in the whole world, or rather in the land of Israel.
And it is to be understood not of all actions natural and moral done by men in it, which would be to ascribe omniscience to him.
But of all political things, all things respecting civil government; that he had such a spirit of discerning of men and things, that nothing could be said or done, or scheme formed, but he got intelligence of it, and insight into it; and which was carrying the compliment to a great height.
She is flattering David, that he discovered these were the words of Joab in her mouth.
2 Samuel 14:21 "And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again."
Who was present, or but at a little distance, waiting the issue of this affair.
"Behold now I have done this thing":
Have agreed to recall Absalom, at the suit of this woman, which thou hast put her upon.
Or, according to the textual reading, "thou hast done this thing"; contrived this scheme, to let me know the mind of the people with respect to Absalom, or to represent to me the propriety of sending him home.
"Go, therefore, bring the young man Absalom again":
I give my consent to it, and you may send for him, or fetch him as soon as you please; it is thought he calls him a young man, to extenuate his crime, that it was done in youthful heat and passion, and therefore he should pass it over.
David tells Joab that he has given his word to let Absalom go free.
It is time to go get him.
2 Samuel 14:22 "And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, Today thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant."
Joab’s motives were selfish, in that he sought to ingratiate himself further with David for greater influence and power.
Joab had used this woman to do something he knew he would never be able to convince David to do Himself.
Now that he is found out, he falls on his face before David.
He has allowed Joab's plan to work.
2 Samuel 14:23 "So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem."
David’s failure to immediately punish the sins of his sons because of his own past conduct was living proof of how past sin can keep people in its grip if it is not healed.
“Geshur”:
See note on 13:34, 37.
We remember that Absalom was gone three years, before he returned to David's home.
Joab brought him home.
2 Samuel 14:24 "And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face."
“Let him not see my face”:
Absalom returned to Jerusalem, but the estrangement with his father continued.
David loved Absalom, but did not want to see his face to remind him of what he did to Amnon. His house was like an apartment in David's house and grounds.
Verses
More of “Absalom’s” character surfaces in this account.
Blessed with a handsome appearance (verse 25), and a winsome personality, he was able through his cunning and viciousness to achieve his desire ends (verses
2 Samuel 14:25 "But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him."
“Beauty”:
As with Saul before him (1 Sam.
His extraordinary popularity arose from his appearance.
2 Samuel 14:26 "And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled [it]: because [the hair] was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight."
“Hair of his head”:
At his annual haircut, it was determined that Absalom’s head produced approximately 5 pounds of hair that had to be cut off.
Verse 25, above, speaks of a very handsome man.
He had lived as a king's son, so he had no cuts and bruises.
"Polled" means shaved.
His hair was so thick and heavy to carry around, that he shaved his head once a year.
2 Samuel 14:27 "And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name [was] Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance."
“Three sons”:
See note on 18:18.
“Daughter … Tamar”:
Absalom named his daughter after his sister Tamar.
Absalom named his daughter for his sister, Tamar.
His sister Tamar, had been very beautiful, and so was this daughter.
His three sons are not named, because they died at a very early age.
Verses
By setting Joab’s “field on fire”, Absalom successfully got Joab’s attention, but he also showed himself to be impetuous and foolish.
Absalom got his wish to see the king and they were reconciled, as evidenced by the fact that “the king kissed Absalom.”
2 Samuel 14:28 "So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face."
“Two full years”:
Whatever were David’s errors in recalling Absalom, he displayed great restraint in wanting to stay apart from Absalom to lead his son through a time of repentance and a real restoration.
Rather than produce repentance, however, Absalom’s
This is hard to believe with them living in such a close area.
David did not want to see Absalom, and the king's word was obeyed.
2 Samuel 14:29 "Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come."
Joab felt that he had already gone far enough in procuring Absalom’s return, and, as he still continued under the displeasure of the king, he was not disposed to do anything more.
Possibly also he thought Absalom should have shown some sign of penitence for his great crime.
This again is very strange.
Joab had gone to a lot of trouble to get him back to Jerusalem, and now will not speak to King David for him.
Verses
This was an act of aggression committed by Absalom to force Joab to act in his behalf with David, his father.
Such a crime was serious, as it destroyed the livelihood of the owner and workers. It reveals that Absalom’s heart was not repentant and submissive, but manipulative. He wanted an ultimatum delivered to David: Accept me or kill me!
2 Samuel 14:30 "Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire."
That did his business for him in the field, in keeping his flocks, and tilling his ground.
"See Joab's field is near mine":
For great personages in those days attended to husbandry.
"And he hath barley there, go and set it on fire":
It being ripe, and so capable of being fired, and therefore must be sometime in March or April, when barley harvest began.
He served Joab as Samson had done the Philistines (Judges 15:4); which shows him to be a bold, and revengeful, and ungrateful man, to use his friend, and the general of the king's army, after this manner.
"And Absalom's servants set the field on fire":
As their master had bidden them, and which is no wonder; for as they had murdered Ammon at his command, they would not stop at burning Joab's field, when he had bid them do it (see 2 Samuel 13:28).
2 Samuel 14:31 "Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto [his] house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?"
It may seem strange that so furious a man as Joab should not immediately revenge himself by ordering Absalom’s fields to be burned, or in some such way.
But he was so wise as to consider, that, being the king’s son, Absalom might, sometime or other, be reconciled to his father, and do him a prejudice.
He therefore concealed his resentment, and only expostulated with him on the injury done him. Absalom did this to get the attention of Joab.
He had asked him to come and he had not.
This would make him come.
Joab came immediately to find out why Absalom burned his field.
2 Samuel 14:32 "And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? [it had been] good for me [to have been] there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be [any] iniquity in me, let him kill me."
Rather than here, because my estrangement from him now when I am so near to him is both more grievous and more shameful to me.
But the truth of the business was this, Absalom saw that his father had accomplished his design in bringing him thither, having satisfied both his own natural affection, and his people’s desire of Absalom’s return from banishment.
But that he could not without restitution into the king’s presence and favor compass his design, i.e. confirm and improve that interest which he saw he had in the people’s hearts.
"Let him kill me":
For it is better for me to die, than to want the sight and favor of my dear father.
Thus, he insinuates himself into his father’s affections, as he was pretending such respect and love to him.
It seems that by this time Absalom having so far recovered his father’s favor as to be recalled, he began to grow upon him.
And take so much confidence as to stand upon his own justification, as if what he had done had been no iniquity, at least not such as to deserve death; for so much this speech intimates.
Absalom's answer is understandable.
Why had he come back, if his father will have nothing to do with him?
Really, Absalom had done no wrong, because he was taking vengeance for the disgrace of his dead sister.
Besides that, David had pardoned him.
He wants to see David.
2 Samuel 14:33 "So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom."
What Absalom had said to him.
"And when he had called for Absalom":
Sent messengers to his house to order him to come to him.
"He came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king":
Made a very reverend bow to him, according to the custom of those times, throwing himself at his feet in great submission to him.
"And the king kissed Absalom":
In token of his reconciliation to him; which laid the foundation of his after troubles from him, related in the following chapters.
When Joab carried the message to David, he gave Absalom audience.
After over five years, the father accepted his son Absalom.
Absalom bowed to David as his king, and David kissed him as his father.
2 Samuel Chapter 14 Questions
1.The king's _________ was toward Absalom.
2.What relation was Joab to David?
3."Tekoah" is the __________ this woman comes from?
4.It is about _____ miles out of Bethlehem.
5.Who put the words into the woman's mouth?
6.How did the woman approach the king?
7.What does "obeisance" mean?
8.What question did the king ask her, as she fell before him?
9.What does she tell David that is made up?
10.What did the king do for her?
11.What surprising statement does she make about the king?
12.Who does the bereaved mother in her story represent?
13.What is she saying in verse 14?
14.What does she say; the king is as in verse 17?
15.Who had sent her with this story?
16.What did David tell Joab to do for Absalom?
17.What was one negative condition of him coming back?
18.What did Absalom do once a year, because he had so much hair?
19.What did Absalom name his daughter?
20.How many sons did he have?
21.Why were their names not given?
22.What did Absalom's daughter and his sister have in common, besides their names?
23.How long did Absalom dwell in Jerusalem, and not see the king?
24.How many times did Absalom send for Joab, and he did not come?
25.How did he get Joab to come?
26.What did Absalom want Joab to do?
27.When Absalom bowed before king David, what did his father do?