The+Character+of+Absalom

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** Biography  **

Absalom was David’s third-born son; he led a coup against David and sought to supplant him on the Israelite throne. He is mentioned in II Samuel 3:3 as being David’s third-born son, and son from Maakah, a Geshurite princess. He first appeared as a character in II Samuel 13, when his half-brother Amnon raped his sister Tamar. Absalom avenged her by killing Amnon two years later, and fled to Geshur, his mother’s home country, to avoid David’s wrath. Joab made efforts to reconcile David and Absalom, and though he appeared to succeed, Absalom began using his charisma and charm to win the Israelites away from David to himself. His plot to overthrow David caused David to flee Jerusalem, but Absalom ignored the counsel of Ahithophel and took Hushai’s bad advice instead, which ultimately allowed David to escape. [|[i]] One of the most well-known facts about Absalom is the story of his death, told in II Samuel 18. He was riding his mule underneath a large oak tree, and his thick hair became tangled in the branches. Joab, the commander of David’s army, was informed, and while Absalom was still hanging in the oak tree, he thrust three spears into Absalom’s heart and left him hanging. Eventually ten armor-bearers killed him. Absalom’s death greatly affected David, and he mourned for Absalom until Joab rebuked him for failing to be grateful to his men for saving his life. [|[ii]] Absalom is also mentioned briefly in the title of Psalm 3, which David wrote while fleeing from him. [|[iii]] ** List of Biblical passages where Absalom is mentioned  **

II Samuel 3:3 – Absalom’s birth and lineage II Samuel 13-19 – Absalom’s murder of Amnon, his return to Jerusalem, his military coup, his death I Kings 1:6, 2:7, 28 – references to Absalom in relation to others I Chronicles 3:2 – Absalom’s lineage II Chronicles 11:20-21 – Absalom’s daughter Maacah is married to Rehoboam Psalm 3 – title – when David was fleeing from Absalom [|[iv]] ** Popular Views and Interpretations of Absalom  **

One angle used to study Absalom is a comparison and contrast with his father David. Absalom and David are similar in their personalities. Both are charismatic and loved by the people; both are good-looking. David is loved by “all Israel and Judah, because he went out and came in before them (I Samuel 18:16).” Absalom “stole the hearts of the men of Israel” from David and manipulated them in his favor (II Samuel 15:6). Both Absalom and David kept deep resentments and sometimes waited years to extract their vengeance. Absalom didn’t kill Amnon for two years after Amnon’s rape of Absalom’s sister Tamar. David seems to forgive those who have done him wrong until he’s near death, when in I Kings 2:5-8 he tells Solomon to make sure Joab does not die “in peace,” and reminds him of Shimei’s curses upon David (II Samuel 16:5-14). There the similarities end. Often David refused to take action when he should, as a king and as a follower of God. He was angry with Amnon but did not take action against him (II Samuel 13:21); he was angry with Joab for murdering Abner but did no more than reprimand him verbally (II Samuel 3:29). David “pines away” for Absalom during the three years he is in exile, but does not take action until Joab incites him to it (II Samuel 13:38). On the other hand, Absalom does not display his anger with Amnon in a dramatic fashion—in fact, he “speaks not a word to Amnon, good or bad, but Absalom hated Amnon (II Samuel 13:22).” He takes bold, decisive action two years later and murders Amnon (II Samuel 13:29). When Absalom wants Joab’s unwilling attention, he sets fire to Joab’s fields (II Samuel 14:30). [|[v]] Another view pins the rape of Tamar as the beginning of the descent of Absalom and David’s relationship. Although David was “very angry” with Amnon, he took no action against him, possibly because he loved Amnon as his firstborn and heir. Absalom was disgusted with their callousness and took Tamar into his own home. He advised her to be comforted, not because the wrongs against her had been justified, but because he was working out a plan of revenge that needed “the enemies” to be lulled into a false sense of security in order to succeed. Absalom hated Amnon, indeed, but he viewed David as the foremost enemy, guiltier than the uncontrollable Amnon because he did nothing to protect or avenge Tamar. When Absalom invites David to his lands for the sheep-shearing festival, David suspects Absalom’s plot, but again, he takes no action. He refuses to go himself, but then he allows Amnon to go, hoping that allowing Absalom to take revenge upon Amnon will be the end of the affair. However, his self-exile in Geshur and social exile in Jerusalem only serve as another intermission, much like the two years Absalom waited to kill Amnon. Once Absalom is fully reconciled with David, he sets into motion his vengeful scheme to bring David down. Absalom takes the role of addressing Israelites from diverse districts coming to visit the king for legal matters. On them he impresses the need for a revolution with a single aim: “to substitute for a ruler who will leave a glaring wrong unrepaired one truly dedicated to justice.” He clearly still bears a grudge against David for the aftermath of the Tamar affair. Once the revolution is underway and David is fled from Jerusalem, Absalom moves in. David cares for his concubines as much as he cares for Tamar, and has left them to the mercy of the invaders. Absalom, in a symbol of petty retaliation, shows as little care for their social standing as David does in his desertion of Tamar. This desecration of the royal spouses was suggested by Ahithophel as a way to create an irreparable rift between David and Absalom—possibly because Ahithophel held a grudge against David for his seduction of Ahithophel’s grand-daughter Bathsheba. [|[vi]] One creative way to interpret Absalom’s story is by viewing it as a drama and observing every detail given in the text of II Samuel about Absalom, and attempting to construct a thorough picture of him and how he, as the tragic hero of the story, came to be turned to evil. Absalom’s tragedy is set against a background of tragic causes. The story is place just after David’s affair with Bathsheba, the consequences of which have become a curse on David’s family. David no longer has the respect he once had, because his reputation has been tarnished by the Bathsheba affair. Because of the guilt of his memories, he finds it hard to severely discipline his children, especially when Amnon has committed the same sin he did. Whereas Amnon inherited David’s sexual sin, Absalom inherited David’s unhealthy ambition. He uses justice for Tamar as a cover for his plot to remove a rival heir to the crown. Absalom also has the characteristics of a tragic hero. He is self-righteous, viewing his murder of Amnon as justice (II Samuel 14:32). He’s blind to his own faults—he is ungrateful to Joab for Joab’s intervention to bring Absalom back into David’s favor. He talks of his righteous just after sending men to burn Joab’s fields. He is a hypocrite and is unaware of it; while he accepts David’s forgiveness and love, he immediately begins undermining David’s reputation with the masses. He views himself as a reformer of society, but he is really starting a conspiracy. He’s vain, making a public display of cutting his hair and weighing it every year. The story of Absalom has elements of irony in it as well. Absalom ignores the advice of Ahithophel, wise and trusted counselor and co-conspirator, for the advice of a spy David’s planted in Absalom’s camp. Ahithophel hangs himself because he knows the game is over; Absalom has hanged himself with his vanity and his refusal to listen to wise counsel. Absalom’s hair, which he is so proud of, leads to his death. The ‘justice’ he so proudly dealt to Amnon and David is the same kind of justice Joab gives him in killing him. [|[vii]] ** Works Cited  **

I. Battenhouse, Roy. 1982. “The Tragedy of Absalom: A Literary Analysis (II Samuel 13-18).” // Christianity and Literature // 31 no. 3 (March 1). II. Bakon, Shimon. 2005. “Fathers and Sons.” // Jewish Bible Quarterly // 33 no. 4 (October 1). III. Barker, William P. 1966. // Everyone in the Bible //. Westwood, CA: Fleming H. Revell Company. IV. Daube, David. 1998. “Absalom and the Ideal King.” Germantown, NY: // Vetus Testamentum // 48 (July 1). V. Strong, James. 1979. // The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible //. McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company.

[|[i]] William P. Barker, Everyone in the Bible (Westwood, CA: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966), 19. [|[ii]] Ibid. [|[iii]] James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company, 1979), 13. [|[iv]] Ibid. [|[v]] Shimon Bakon, “Fathers and Sons,” // Jewish Bible Quarterly //33, no. 4 (October 2005): 4. [|[vi]] David Daube, “Absalom and the Ideal King,” // Vetus Testamentum // 48 (July 1998): 1-6. [|[vii]] Roy Battenhouse, “The Tragedy of Absalom: A Literary Analysis (II Samuel 13-18),” // Christianity and Literature //31, no. 3 (March 1982): 1-5.