Exposition of the Whole Bible

vifing him to do what would be. prejudicial interett; fee Adatt. xvi. 22, 23. as to ule feverity ‘ at fuch atime as this would have been; for had he immediately ordered Shimei to be put to death, though he deferved it,.who was the firltmanthat came to afk pardon, the J/raelites in general, orall — however concerned in the rebellion, would have concluded they muft fhare the fame fate, and fo would not have fubmitted, but have raifed a new rebellion againft him; and fome think Foad and Abifoci bad this in view, that they might keep ~ their pofts in the army: hall there any man be put to death this day in I/rael? there fhall not; the glory of this day fhall not be fullied by the death of any; nor the joy of it be turned into forrow in any family in J/rael, as would, if any was put to death for what had pafied during the rebellion: for do not I know that Iam this day king over Ifrael? and can and will do as { pleafe; as he had been driven from his throne and palace, and was now invited back again, and upon his return, it was as if he was made king anew, and afrefh inaugurated into’ his office; and therefore no blood fhould be fpilt on that day on which he was reftored to his kingdom, y..23. Lberefore the king faid unto Shimei, thou halt not die, &c.| This day by my hands, oror- vants. of David; and as a token of the fincerity of his repentance, and -as_an earneft of his future fider, or by the fword,.1 Kings ii. 8. amd the king /ware unto bim; that he fhould not die for that of- delity, he made this early fubmiffion: therefore behold I am come the firft this day of all the houfe of Fofeph, to go down to meet my lord the king; new one, this oath was no longer binding on but andjnot at all upon his heir and fuccefior. et ane why does he make mention of the houfe of Fo/eps, when he was of the tribe of Benjamin? Kimchi fence, or for that only; but if he committeda him,

¥. 24. And Mephibofoeth the fon of Saul came down to meet the king, &c.| Not down to Fordan, fays that Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manaffeh, were called the houfe of Fofeph; and it may be obferved that it is fometimes ufed for all J/rael, asin P Ixxx. 1. and he was the firft of them that came, inafmuch as he came along with the men of 7#- dab, who came firft of all to fetch the king back; or Fofeph may ftand for the tribes of J/rae/, as diftin&t from ‘fudab, and he was the firft of them; fome of the Yewi/h writers think he makes mention of the name of Fofepb, becaufe as the brethren of Fo/eph ufed-him ill, and he returned good to them; fo though he had ufed David ill, he ped he would doas Jo/eph did, return good for evil; and others reprefent him as fuggefting hereby to David, that all J/rael had ufed him ill, and he worfe than them all; and now he was come and they were all waiting what he would do to him, that if he received him kindly, all would come and make their peace with him. to the law in Lev.

matter as this atone for fo great a crime he has been guilty of, as that he fhall not die? decaufe or tho’' be curfed the Lord’s anointed; is afking pardon fufficient to expiate fo foul an offence, for which according to the law he ought to die? or for this action which he has done, as the Arabic verfion, in but Jerufalem, when the king was come thither, he came from his own dwelling to the king’s pa-.|laces he is called the fon of Saul, though he was his:grandion, and grandfons are fometimes called fons; though in the Septuagint it is, the fon’s fom of Sau/, and the Syriac and Arabic verfions are, the fon of onathan, the fon of Saul: and bad nei~ ¢her dreffed his feet; had not cut his nails, as the Septuagint adds, his toe-nails; or rather had not wafhed his feet, as the Targum~ paraphrafes: it 5. which was frequently done in tho!e countries, partly” ho-jfor refrefhment, and partly to remove the filth of them contracted, by walking bare-footed, or only with fandals, as’ alfo becauie of the ill fmellvof. them, which was offenfive ¢ nor trimmed bis beard; firft,Jor fhaved his upper lip, and took no care that the hair of his chin fhould be in any order 5 otherwife that was never fhaved, to do it would be contrary xix. 26. nor wajfbed his clothes;

¥. 21. But Abifhai the fon of Zeruiab anfwered and faid, &c.] The fame perfon that would have taken off the head of Shimei at the time he David, if he would have given him leave, ch. xv. 9. foall not Shimei be put to death for this? this humiliation and acknowledgment he has made, fhall he be forgiven on that account?

his linen clothes, his thirts, or any other that ufed ~ to be wafhed; or whitened them, as the Targum, curfedjhe had not fent them, his woollen clothes, to the’ fuller, to get out the fpots, and whiten them. “Alb thefe were tokens of mourning, and fhewed him to be a fincere mourner for the king’s departure; fhall fo {mall aJand the trouble he was in, fince it was fo long cons tinued: from the day the king departed, until the day be came again in peace, which mutt be a confi= derable time, and therefore he muft be in a molt fordid and rueful condition. (Ot

¥.25. And it came to pafs, when be came to Feru= /alem to meet the king, &c.] Perhaps fro curfing the Lord’s anointed, place where his eftate was; or, as pier

¥.22. And David faid, what have I to do with you ye fons of Zeruiah? &c.] See the note onch. xvi. 10. that ye fhould this day be adverfaries unto me? or a Satan unto me, as the word is, by ad-' fion, when he came from Ferufalem, from wh Ice he went a lictle way to meet the king, as he w coming thither; for it was faid he abode at Fe alem, ch. xvi. 3. that the king faid unto bi fore wentep not thou with me, Mepbibofbeth 2 when he departed from erufalem, being obliged to flee ftom thence becaufe of Abfalom; it is very probable David would never have afked him this queftion, knowing his lamenefs, had it not been for the fuggeftion of Ziba his fervant, that he ftayed at Ferufalem, hoping that the kingdom of his father would be reftored to him, ch. xvi. 3.» ©

¥. 26. And be anfwered, my lordy O' king, my fervant deceived me, &c.] His fervant Zida, who inftead of faddling an afs for him by his order, went off with that and another himfelf, ch. xvi. 1.

for thy fervant faid, I will faddle me an afs; he not

only determined this in his own mind, but gave orders to his fervant tofaddle one for him: that I may

ride thereon, and go to the king, becaufe thy fervant

is dame; and could not walk a-foot, being lame of v.27. And he hath flandered-thy fervant unto my lard the king, &c.] By -fuggefting that he tayed at Ferufalem with a view to the kingdom, hopin that the quarrel between David and Ab/falom would iffue in the reftoration of it to his father’s family, which was 2 mere calumny, he having had no fuch thought, nor was there any foundation for it: dut my lord the king is an angel of God; for underftand-!

ing and wifdom, to diftern the falfhood of fuch fuggeftions: do therefore what is good in thine eyes condemn him or acquit him; fejeét him or receive him into favour; he entirely fubmitted himfelf to him, to do with him as feemed good in his fight. ¥..28. For all of my: father’s boufé. were but dead men before my lord the king, &c.] Or men of death™; worthy of death, not on account of Saul’s perfecution, for which his family did not deferve to fuffer; rather for the attempt of [/bbofbeth to get the kingdom from him, which might be deemed treafon, and fo the family attainted for it tho’ the fenfe may be only this, that their. lives lay at his mercy, and that if he had dealt with rigour and feverity towards them, as was ufual for princes to do towards the family of their predeceffors, who had any claim to the kingdom, put them to death, this would have been their cafe: yet didft thou fet thy fervant among them that eat at thine own table; which was fhewing hirh great kindnefs, and doing him great honour: wat right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? to afk any favour of him, or make any complaint to him.

¥.29. And the king faid unto him, why fpeakeft thou any more of thy matters? &c.|] Of his father’s family, and the injuries done by them to David, and of the benefits and favours which he had received from David, or of his temporal affairs, of his eftate, which David had given away to Ziba: I have faid, thou and Ziba divide the land; revoking his laft grant to Zita, which gave him all that belonged to Mephibofheth, ch. xvi. 4. he eftablifhed his firft decree, that Ziba fhould have half the profit of the land for tilling it, and the other half be given’ to Mephibofheth, he did not chufe to punifh Zia for flandering his matter, being inclined to clemency and mercy, and determined to fhew no feverity at that time; and might be in fome fear cf Zida, being a confiderable man, left he fhould raife a new infurretion, if he bore hard upon him; befides, he might have a large fhare in his affection, having made a prefent to him in the time of his diftrefs, and was one of the firft that came to meet him upon his return, ¥. 17. and ch, Xvi. 1, 2. |

¥. 30. dud Mephibofheth faid unto the king, yeas let bim take all, &c.] The whole eftate, as David had given it to him; he was content that that laft grant fhould ftand: forafimuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own boufe; his palace in Ferufalem; which was a ftrong expreffion of affection for him, and loyalty to him.

¥. 31. And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, &c.| The place of his habitation, to Fordan, fee ch. xvii. 27. and went over fordan with the king to conduit him over Fordan; to accompany him over the river, and then take his leave of him.

¥. 32. Now Barzillai was avery aged man, even 80 years old, &c.] Which was 10 years beyond the common term of man’s life, and reckoned a very great age in David’s time, and has been ever g|fince, and ftill is, fee Pf xc. 10. and be bad provided the king of fuftenance while he lay at Mahanaim; had fupported him and his family, furnifhed him with provifions, and all the neceffaries of life, in wealth and riches, and was a very liberal man, and a man of great wifdom and good fenfe; and very probably was a man of great grace, which taught him his duty to his prince, and influenced him to fhew. mercy to him in diftrefs.

¥. 33. And the king faid to Barzillai, come thou over with me, 8c.) Over Jordan; Barzillai came with an intent to accompany the king over Yordan; but the king meant not only to go over Jor= dan, but when over to go farther with him, even to ‘Ferufalem: and Iwill feed thee with me in Ferufalem, meaning, that he fhould dwell with him in his palace, and eat at his table, in return fog feeding him at Mabanaim.;

¥. 34. And Barzillai faid unto the king, &c.] In anf{wer to the grateful propofal he made: Low long have I to live, that could not be faid with exactnefs by any; but it might be probably conjectured from the age he was of, and the infirmities that attended him, that he could not live long; it was but a fhort time-he had to be in the world: shat 1 foould go up with the king to Ferufalem? take {9 long a journey as that, feeing he might die before he got thither; and if he did not, fince it could not be thought he fhould live long, he could not think of it, or judge it advifable at fuch an age to take fuch a journey, change his place of abode, and manner of living.

¥. 35. 1 am this day 80 years old, &c.} Not that that day was precifely his birth-day, but thac he was about fuch an age, very little under or over; very probably he was full that age: and can I difcern between good and evil? fignifying, either that his intellectual powers were impaired, and could not diftinguifh what was right and wrong, and fo could be of no fervice to David in his privycouncil, or any court of judicature, he was fit for no poft or office under him; or that his naturak fenfes were not quick to diftinguifh between good, and bad, particularly between good and bad food, which he could neither difcern by fmell nor tafte, as follows: can thy fervant tafte what I eat or what

'T drink? have any guft or relifh of, or take any delight or pleafure in eating and drinking; fo ee the.

during his ftay there: for be was a very great man 5 the moft delicious food, and richeft wines, ahd all the dainties of a king’s table, would fignify no-

_ thing to him: can I bear any more the voiee of finging men and finging women? either being fo deaf that he could not hear them at all, or however. not with any delight; the evil days being come upon him, in which he could take no pleafure in the diverfions of a court: wherefore then should thy fervant be yet a burthen unto my lord the king? he could neither take any pleafure himielf, nor be of any fervice to the king, but on the contrary a burden to him; not only on account of his fuftenance, and being obliged to have fervants to attend him, which might be.the leaft part of his burden, but his company would be difagreeable and troublefome, through the infirmities of old age upon y¥. 36. Thy fervant will go a little way over Fordan with the king, &¢.} ‘That is, goa little way after he was over Yordau with him, and then return to his own city: aad why fhould the king recompenfe it with fuch a reward? the fenfe is, why fhould the king recompenfe fo trifling a thing as I have done, and which was but my duty, with fuch a reward, as to maintain mein fo grand a manner at his court?:: ¥. 37. Let thy fervant, T pray thee, turn back again, &c.] To his own city, after he is gone over 7ordan, and feen the king a little way on his journey: that I may die in my own city, the city of Rogelim, where perhaps he was born, and had lived all his days, and where it is natural for people to defire to die, even in their native place: and be buried by the grave of my father, and of my mother, or in their grave, as Kimchi and Ben Melech, in the fepulchre of his fathers, where men ufually chufe to be buried: but bebold thy fervant Chimkam; who was his fon; and fo the Syriac and dradic verfions exprefs it, my fon Chimbam: let bim go over with my lord the king; not only over Fordan, but to Ferufalem with him: and do to him what shall feem good unto thee, advance him, and put him into any poft or office the king fhould think fit, or beftow a penfion upon him, or give him an eftate to live upon, or whatever he pleafed.

¥. 38. And the king anfwered, Chimbam fhall go over with me, &c.] He admitted of him inftead of his father: and I will do unto him that which

{ball feem good unto thee, he puts it to Barzillai,- and leaves it with him to afk what he would for his fon, and he would grant it. We no where read what it was that Barzillai afked, or whether he afked any thing; only this we read, that fome hundreds of years afterward, there was a place called the habitation of Chimbam near Bethlehem, | Fer. xli. 17. which makes it probable that David gave him a paternal eftate of his there, fince Betblebem was his city; and the Targum on that place is exprefs for it; fee the ndte there: aad what/oever thou alt require of me, that will I do for thee; whatever fuit he fhould make to him, or whatever favour he fhould afk of him hereafter, when returned to his own city, he would grant it to him, if it could be poffibly done; fuch a fenfe fhould ke always retain of his kindnefs to him. ¥. 39. And all the people went over Fordan, &c.} That were with David: and when the king was come over, over Fordan, had got to the other fide of it, whither Barzillai accompanied him: tbe king kiffed Barzillai, and bleffed him, took his leave of him with a kifs, as friends were wont to do at ing of their tribe, and his palace was within their.

parting, thanked him for all his favours, withed: well, a d prayed to God to blefs him with all ble Finesphaeal and {piritual: cud he returned to. his — own place, his-own city Rogelim, having repafled the river Jordan.. - neva ore y. 40. Then the king went on to Gilgdl, Sc. i“ Which, according to Yo/ephus *, was. en from Jordan, fix miles and a quarter,: amd Chime bam went on with him, after Barzillai had left _ them, and accompanied the king to Ferujalem: and all the people of Fudab conducted the king, to Feru-— alem; who came to meethim, ¥. 15. and aljo balf the.

people of Ijrael; or a part Of them, as the word ufed fignifies, and not always an equal. half, fo Kimebi obferves; even fuch of J/rael as went out with David_at firft, and the 1000 men ot Benjamin that came to meet him, y¥. 17. ei y. 41. And behold, all the men of J/rael came to. the king, &c.] A large number of them, the other part that did not come’ over with David, fome of their principal men, who.met him upon the road: and Jaid unto the king, wry have. our. brethren, the men of Fudab, jolcn thee away, fecretly, privately, and unknown to then, and were» bringing him back to Ferujclem: and have brought the king and his houfbold, and all David's men with him over Jordan? him, and his family, and fol-.

¥.42. And all the men of Fudab Peivtasiis men of Ifrael, &c.] Such of them as went down to fetch the king back, replied to the »men of J> rael that now met them, and, objeéted to their

conduct: becaufe the king is near of kin to uss bex,

borders, and therefore they were proper perfons to bring him home: wherefore then-be ye angry for this matter? for bringing the king back, and be ing the firft in it; for. who fo proper as they, not. ase to do their duty, but to thew their affection to. the king as early as poflible? Lave we eaten at alt. of the king’s coft? they had maintained themfelves: at their own €xpence,, going and returning 5. they: had no felf-intereft or felfth views, to ferve, but on the contrary had been at a confiderable charge to meet the king, and condué him home: or dath be given us any gift? no, he had not, nor did the expect any; it was not with a view to any rewa that they had taken this ftep, but purely out of affe@tion to the king, and for the good of their country. ett al ¥. 43. And the men of I/rael anfwered the men of Judah, and faid, &c.] They replied to them, as follows: we have ten parts in the king 5 being ten tribes, reckoning Simeon in the tribe of Judah, within which it lay, 70/2. xix. 1. and we have alfo more right iz David than ye; being more numerous than they 5 or, according to the Zargum, they had.more affection and good-will towards David, than the men of Fudah, though he was of their tribe, and dwelt among them; fince the rebellion was begun, and was cherifhed and carried on among t why then did ye defpife us, that our. pore not be firft had in bringing back our king? they were as ready and as defirous as they to feteh th back; and fince they were far the largeft I men, and the far greater part of the nation, thought they ought to have oe fe affair of fo much importance, and that without them was flighting them, and cafti tempt upon them, and infinuating as if they enemies to the king; or, as the J; argum expr;

Chixxw.1=60° IL SA MUE ft. iy twas not my word firtt to bting back my|of Jacl king;” the firft motion was from them, as appears from y. 11. and therefore the thing fhould not have been done without thems they fhould have warm and indecent;

bere 1S chapter gives an account of a new rethe city called the fort of Zon;

bellion raifed by Sheba, y.

; not thofe that are here recorded, but what followed, and are not written, being fo very © and David being filent in this them, which was interpreted that they might at leaft haveltaking the part of joined them, and fhared in the honour with of bringing the king back: and rhe words of the men of Judah were ferctr than the words of the men Fudeh, the men of Ifrael were themfincenfed at it; and hence a which more in the n was cruthed.

rofe a new rebellion, of ext chapter how it began, and

1,2. of David’s|and the king took the ten women fhutting up his concubines unto the day of theit his concubines, whont be bad left to keep the boufe; when he fled from death, whom Ab/alom had lain with, y. Ee Amaja being ordered to aflemble the men of Fudah to crufh the rebellion, but being dilatory, ifoai is fent out with David’s fervants, and was followed by oad with the men under him, y¥. 4—7. and of the murder of Ama/fa by Feab, ¥. 8—13. and of Seba being fhut up in the city Abel, ¥. 14, 15. whofe head, by the means of a wife woman, was delivered to ‘Yoab, and fo an end was put to of | Ferufalem becaufe of Abjalom, ch. xv. 16. and put them in ward; partly as a punifhment for eafily yielding to the luft of 4/alom, and partly that they might not be feen, which would bring to remembrance his fin: and fed them; he did not put. them to death, nor put them away, but kept them thus confined, and made a proper provifion for them, not fuffering them to marry any other, and be maintained by them: Sut went not in unto thems the rebellion, ¥. 16—22. and laftly, of the chief into their apartments to lie with chem, having been officers in David’s camp and court, ¥. 23—26, y.1. And there happened to be a man of Belial, &c.] A wicked man, as the Tergum, a lawlefs, yokelefs man, that had caft off the yoke of the law, and was without it, as Belial is by fome interpreted; or one unprofitable and ufelefs, yea noxious and pernicious: this man, though with refpeck to fecond caufes, may be faid to be there by chance; yet it was fo ordered by the providence of God, that he thould be prefent at this time for the further fulfilment of the threatening to David, thar the {word fhould not depart from his houfe: -whofe name was Sheba, the fon of Bichri, a Benjamite; one perhaps that had been in the rebellion of Ab/alom, and had a grudge againft David for the removal of the kingdom out of that tribe: and he blew a trumpet, which was done to draw off the J/raclites from David, and gather a party to himfelf: and faid, we have no part in David; fo he interpreted what the men of Fudah faid, be- defiled by his fon, ch. xvi. 22. /o they were fhut up unto the day of their death; kept in.the ward till they died: ving in widowhood; neither ufed by the king as his concubines, as they had been before, nor fuffered to marry any other; or in thé widowhood of life*, which is fo expreffed, to diftinguifh it from widowhood made by death; this was {uch fort of widowhood as obtained whilft their hufband was living; fo the Targum, “* widows of their hufband alive,” or remaining.

¥. 4. Then faid the king to Amafa, &c.] Whom he had promifed to make general of his army, ch. xix. 13. and by the following order declared him fuch: affemble me the men of Fudah within three days; which was done by the found of the trumpet, or by the proclamation of a herald: it feems that the men Of %udab, who attended David to Jerufalem, were gone to their refpective cities and places of abode, or there would have been no occafion for fuch a fummons; though it is ftrange they fhould, when the men of J/rael appeared fo cause they claimed kindred to David, the reft of the I/raelites had no intereft in him; thus they who inclinable to a new rebellion: and be thou bere pre- /ent; to take the command of them.

jett before faid they had ten parts in him, now had none at all: meither have we inberitamce in roe fon of Jefe; fo he calls David by way of contempt, as if he was no king, but a private perfon, and a defcendent from a niean family: every man to bis tent, O Irael, there to confider what to do, and whom to ‘chufe to be their king, and let Fadeb take David for their king, and enjoy him alone, fince they had fo flighted, and dealt fo injurioufly and roughly with the reft of the tribes,

¥. 2. So every man of Ifrael went up from after David, &c.} Thofe that met him on the road ‘departed from him, and went no farther with him: and followed Sheba the fon of Bichri, and made him their captain, who was the author of their mutiny and fedition: but the men of Fudab clave unto their king, from Jordan to Ferufalem, never left hiny after they had conducted him over Jordan, watil they had brought him fafe to Ferufalem. © 3. And David came-to bis boufe at Ferufalem, cc.) His palace there, which was in that part of 4im; without waiting for dima/a, and the troops

¥. 5. So Amafa went te affemble the men of Fudab, &c.} To gather them together out of their feverad tribes, and bring them to Ferufalem: but be tarried longer than the fet time which he had appointed him; than the three days; whether this was owing to the remiffhefs of Ama/a, or the unwillingnefs of the people to ferve under him, who had been Ab/alom’s general in the Jate rebellion, or not having time fufficient allowed him, is not certain,

¥.6. And David faid to Abifbai, &e.] For it feems he would have nothing to fay to Foab, being difpleafed with him for flaying Ad/alom, and having removed him from his pofts; and therefore {peaks to the next. officer in his army, Adifoai, though Fofepbus ® fays, he addreffed himfelf to foal, contrary to the exprefs words of the text: now foall Sheba the fon of Bichri do us more barm than did Abjalom; gain a greater party, and give more trouble to fubdue him, unlefs fuppreffed in times fake thou thy lord’s fervants, and purfue after

ufual for the eaftern people to do when they ad- - drefled and faluted one another in an affectionate way, and as the Turks and Arabs do to this day, as travellers relate. Sarrbius' has colletted pal- © fages from the Greek poets, which fhew it to bea cuftom, that when a man afked a favour of an-_ other, he caught hold of his beard with the righthand, and of his knee with the left; andin fuch a he was affembling;. delays in fuch a cafe as an infurrection, being dangerous, which ought to be nipped in the bud, and crufhed as foon as poffible; in order to which, he bids him take his fervants that were about him, his body-guards, and purfue » Sheba: left he get him fenced cities; where he may fecure himfelf, and hold out a fiege a long time, aiid give a great deal of trouble: and efcape us;

for the prefent; or e/cape our eyes, as the Kert, or marginal reading is; we fhall lofe fight of him, and not know which way he is gone, if he is not purfued quickly. yy ¥.7. And there went out after him Foab’s men,

&c.] Who though he was removed from his poft foad take it up, which he fuppofed he did in or- pofture oad might eafily do what follows,

¥.10. But Amafa took no heed to the fword that was in Yoab’s hand, &c.) In his left-hand, for with his right-hand he took him by the beard; he might fee the fword drop out of the feabbard, and as general, yet might ftill have the command of der to put it into its fheath again, having no fu- a regiment: avd the Cherethites, and the Peletbites, over whom Bevaiah was, yw. 23. thefe attended David in his flight, and had now returned with him, ch. xv. 18. and all the mighty men, the military men that were at Feru/alem, as many as could be {pared: and they went out of Ferufalem to purfue after Sheba the fon of Bichri, with Abifhai at the head of them; Fo/ephus 4 fays there were 600, befides the foldiers at Feru/alem that went on this purfuit.;

¥. 8. When they were at the great fione which is in Gibeon, &c.] Which, according to Fofephus', was 40 furlongs, or five miles from Jerufalem: what this great ftone was, whether an obelifix, or what, is not certain; one of the greateft ftones ‘we read of, was that which Semiramis cut out of the mountains of Armenia, which was 130 feet long, and 25 broad and thick *. This place was deftinated for the rendezvous of David’s forces, and hither 4ma/a came with what he had afflembled together, and joined them, and took the command fhai bis brother purfued after Sheba the fon of Bichri;:

for 4mafa being flain, ‘foab without any ceremony) re-affumed his poft as general, and with his brother:

of them: for it follows, Amafa went before them; as the general of them: and Foab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, who went along with his brother 4di/bai at the head of his own men, to which he was obliged by virtue of his commiffion; or went of himfelf to ferve the common caufe, and perhaps chiefly with a defign to murder Amafa, whom he envied, becaufe he was put into his poft as general, and therefore accoutred himfelf for it; he put on, not ‘a coat of mail, but a common garment which he girt about him, that it might be no incumbrance to him, or hindrance of him, in doing what he intended, but that he might more expeditioufly execute it: and.upon it @ girdle with a fword faftened upon his loins in the Sheath thereof, the {word in the belt was not on.his thigh, but on his loins, on the outfide of his clothes, and was put into a fheath too large, and placed in fuch a pofition, that with the leaft motion, when he pleafed, it would eafily drop out of it, without drawing it, and fo give no fufpicion of his defign: and as he went forth; to meet Amafa, juft as he came to him: it fell out; the fword fell out of the fheath to the ground,

¥. 9. And Foab faid to Amafa, &c.] Ina friendly manner, with all the air of pleafantry and good dumour: art ¢héu in health, my brother? this looked like a friendly falutation to afk of his health, and with him it, and a loving appellation to call dhim brother; though they were near of kin, fifter’s children, and fo own coufins; thus he addreffed fpicion of his wicked defign, and therefore not at all upon his guard to prevent it: /o he /mote him.

therewith in the fifth ribs in the fame place where Abner {mote Afabel, and Foab Abner; fee cheii. 23. and wi. 27. and the notes there: he mutt *ftrike. him; as fome obferve, on the left fide, becaufe he was embracing him; and the ftroke muft be dead-.

ly, becaufe he ftruck him in the pericardium, which compafies the heart round with water, to refrigerate it; for the nether part of the heart reacheth to the fifth rib; fee ohn xix. 34." and fhed out bis bowels to the ground, which fell out thro’.

the incifion made by the {word: and firuck him not again he gave him fuch a home thruft, there was no need to repeat it, he difpatched him at once? and he. died; and thus, though he was pardoned by David, and promoted to honour by him, yet the providence of God would not fuffer him to go unpunifhed, for joining with 4é/a/om in an unnatural rebellion again{ft his uncle: /o Foab and Abi-

Abifoai under him, made all the hafte they could in purfuit of the rebel. ~.

¥. 11. And one of Foab’s men flood by him; 82.

By the body of “mafa; no doubt by the order of Joab, to fatisfy the people as they cate up, and reconcile them to this fact, and to exhort them not to ftop, but to follow after Yoab; for tho’ Amafa - their general was dead, Foad had taken the command of the army, and the purfuit was carried on with as much vigour as ever: and faid, he that favoureth Foab, and he that is for David, \et him go after Joab; he that likes Foab fhould be general, and is in the intereft of David, let him make no ftay here, but follow after Foab; Foab and David are put together, as if their interefts were the fame; tho’ there feems to be an indecency in placing Foab firtt. Bint ¥.12. And Amafa wallowed in blood in the midft of the highway, &c.| By which it feems, that tho* the wound was mortal, and of which he died, thar as yet there was life in him, and through the pain — he was in, and the pangs of death on him, he rolled himfelf about in his own blood in the high road, where the fact was committed: and when the man faw that all the people food fill; gazing atthe fhocking fight, and could not be prevailed w to goon: be removed Amafa out of the highway inte: the field; which was adjoining toit: and cafh a cloth upon him; that the bady might n