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.
2 Samuel 14:26 in other translations
| BSB | And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard. |
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| WEB | When he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year’s end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king’s weight. |
| ASV | And when he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year’s end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king’s weight. |
| YLT | and in his polling his head--and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth it, for it is heavy on him, and he hath polled it--he hath even weighed out the hair of his head--two hundred shekels by the king's weight. |
| DARBY | And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. |
| BBE | And when he had his hair cut, (which he did at the end of every year, because of the weight of his hair;) the weight of the hair was two hundred shekels by the king's weight. |
| Webster | 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. |
What does 2 Samuel 14:26 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 14:25-26
25-26. But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty--This extraordinary popularity arose not only from his high spirit and courtly manners, but from his uncommonly handsome appearance. One distinguishing feature, seemingly an object of great admiration, was a profusion of beautiful hair. Its extraordinary luxuriance compelled him to cut it "at every year's end;" lit., "at times,"…
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:25-27
Nothing is said of Absalom's wisdom and piety. All here said of him is, that he was very handsome. A poor commendation for a man that had nothing else in him valuable. Many a polluted, deformed soul dwells in a fair and comely body. And we read that he had a very fine head of hair. It was a burden to him, but he would not cut it as long as he could bear the weight. That which feeds and gratifies pride, is not…
2 Samuel 14:26 in the original Hebrew
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Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for 2 Samuel 14:26
- Ezekiel 44:20
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
- 1 Corinthians 11:14
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
- 2 Samuel 18:9
And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a 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 the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
- Ezekiel 45:9-14
Thus saith the Lord God; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord God. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. …
- Leviticus 19:36
Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 23:16
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.
- Isaiah 3:24
And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
18:9; Isa 3:24; 1Co 11:14
two hundred shekels.If the shekel be allowed to mean the common shekel, the amount will be utterly incredible; for Josephus says that "two hundred shekels make five {minæ:}" and the {mina,} he says, "weighs two pounds and a half;" which calculation makes Absalom's hair weigh twelve pounds and a half! But it is probable that the king's shekel was that which Epiphanius and Hesychius say was the fourth part of an ounce, half a {stater,} or two drachms: the whole amount, therefore, of the 200 shekels is about 50 ounces, which make 4 lb. 2 oz. troy weight, or 3 lb. 2 oz. avoirdupois. This need not be accounted incredible, especially as abundance of oil and ointment was used by the ancients in dressing their heads. Josephus informs us, that the Jews also put gold dust in their hair.
Ge 23:16; Le 19:36; Eze 45:9-14
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
2 Samuel 14:26 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y cuando se cortaba el cabello, (lo cual hacía al fin de cada año, pues le causaba molestia, y por eso se lo cortaba), pesaba el cabello de su cabeza doscientos siclos de peso real. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et quand il se rasait la tête (or c’était d’année en année qu’il la rasait, parce que sa chevelure lui pesait; alors il la rasait), les cheveux de sa tête pesaient 200 sicles au poids du roi. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und wenn er sein Haupt scheren ließ, -es geschah nämlich von Jahr zu Jahr, daß er es scheren ließ, denn es war ihm zu schwer, und so ließ er es scheren-so wog sein Haupthaar zweihundert Sekel, nach dem Gewicht des Königs. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Et quando tondebat capillum (semel autem in anno tondebatur, quia gravabat eum cæsaries), ponderabat capillos capitis sui ducentis siclis, pondere publico. |