2 Samuel 18 · Verse 9

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.
2 Samuel 18:9, King James Version

2 Samuel 18:9 in other translations

BSBNow Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.
WEBAbsalom happened to meet David’s servants. Absalom was riding on 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 hanging between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that is under him hath passed on.
DARBYAnd Absalom found himself in the presence of David's servants. And Absalom was riding upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of the great terebinth, and his head caught in the terebinth, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
BBEAnd Absalom came across some of David's men. And Absalom was seated on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great tree, and his head became fixed in the tree and he was lifted up between earth and heaven, and the beast under him went on.
WebsterAnd 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 suspended between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

What does 2 Samuel 18:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. Absalom met the servants of David--or was overtaken. "It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [Hartley]. Some, however, think that the sacred historian points not so much to the hair, as to the head of Absalom, which, being caught while running between two branches, was enclosed so firmly that he could not disengage himself from the hold, nor make use of his hands. the mule that was under him went away--The Orientals, not having saddles as we do, do not sit so firmly on the beasts they ride. Absalom quitting his hold of the bridle, apparently to release himself when caught in the oak, the mule escaped.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 And his head caught hold of the oak - It has been supposed that Absalom was caught by the hair, but no such thing is intimated in the text. Probably his neck was caught in the fork of a strong bough, and he was nearly dead when Joab found him; for it is said, 2Sam 18:14, he was yet alive, an expression which intimates he was nearly dead.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:9-18
Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

2 Samuel 18:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקָּרֵא֙vai.yi.ka.Re'and he was metH7122
אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם'av.sha.LomAbsalomH53
לִפְנֵ֖יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
עַבְדֵ֣י'av.Dei[the] servants ofH5650
דָוִ֑דda.VidDavidH1732
וְאַבְשָׁל֞וֹםve.'av.sha.Lomand AbsalomH53
רֹכֵ֣בro.Khev[was] ridingH7392
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַפֶּ֗רֶדha.Pe.redthe muleH6505
וַיָּבֹ֣אvai.ya.Vo'and it wentH935
הַפֶּ֡רֶדha.Pe.redthe muleH6505
תַּ֣חַתTa.chatunderH8478
שׂוֹבֶךְ֩soeKh[the] branche[s] ofH7730
הָאֵלָ֨הha.'e.Lahthe oakH424
הַגְּדוֹלָ֜הha.ge.do.Lah<the> greatH1419
וַיֶּחֱזַ֧קvai.ye.che.Zakand it was firmH2388
רֹאשׁ֣וֹro.Shohead hisH7218
בָאֵלָ֗הva.'e.Lahin the oakH424
וַיֻּתַּן֙vai.yu.Tanand he was putH5414
בֵּ֤יןbeinbetweenH996
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וּבֵ֣יןu.Veinand betweenH996
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְהַפֶּ֥רֶדve.ha.Pe.redand the muleH6505
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834
תַּחְתָּ֖יוtach.Tav[was] under himH8478
עָבָֽר\׃'a.Varit passed onH5674

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 18:9

  • 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.

  • Proverbs 30:17

    The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

  • Job 31:3

    Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?

  • 2 Samuel 18:14

    Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

  • Mark 7:10

    For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

  • Proverbs 20:20

    Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

  • Deuteronomy 27:16

    Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

  • Job 18:8-10

    For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

  • Psalms 63:9-10

    But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes.

  • 2 Samuel 17:23

    And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

  • Jeremiah 48:44

    He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

  • Galatians 3:13

    Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
his head.Riding furiously under the thick boughs of a great oak, which hung low and had never been cropped, either the twisted branches, or some low forked bough of the tree, caught him by the neck, or, as some think, by the loops into which his long hair had been pinned, which had been so much his pride, and was now justly made a halter for him. He may have hung so low from the bough, in consequence of the length of his hair, that he could not use his hands to help himself, or so entangled that his hands were bound, so that the more he struggled the more he was embarrassed. This set him up as a fair mark to the servants of David; and although David would have spared his rebellious son, if his orders had been executed, yet he could not turn the sword of Divine justice, in executing the just, righteous sentence of death on this traitorous son.
14; 14:26; 17:23; Mt 27:5
taken up.
De 21:23; 27:16,20; Job 18:8-10; 31:3; Ps 63:9,10; Pr 20:20; 30:17
Jer 48:44; Mr 7:10; Ga 3:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 18:8

    For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.

  • 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.

  • 2 Samuel 18:10

    And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.

Read all of 2 Samuel 18

2 Samuel 18:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y encontróse Absalom con los siervos de David: é iba Absalom sobre un mulo, y el mulo se entró debajo de un espeso y grande alcornoque, y asiósele la cabeza al alcornoque, y quedó entre el cielo y la tierra; pues el mulo en que iba pasó delante.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Absalom se trouva en présence des serviteurs de David, et Absalom montait un mulet; et le mulet entra sous les branches entrelacées d’un grand térébinthe; et la tête d’Absalom se prit dans le térébinthe, et il demeura suspendu entre le ciel et la terre; et le mulet qui était sous lui passa outre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Absalom stieß auf die Knechte Davids; und Absalom ritt auf einem Maultier, und das Maultier kam unter die verschlungenen Zweige einer großen Terebinthe; und er blieb mit dem Haupte an der Terebinthe hangen, und schwebte zwischen Himmel und Erde; das Maultier aber, das unter ihm war, lief davon.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Accidit autem ut occurreret Absalom servis David, sedens mulo: cumque ingressus fuisset mulus subter condensam quercum et magnam, adhæsit caput ejus quercui: et illo suspenso inter cælum et terram, mulus cui insederat, pertransivit.