Poole on 2 Samuel 17:15-21: The Harrowing Escape of David's Spies!

Verse 15:[1]  (2 Sam. 15:35) Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

[And Hushai says]  Hushai publishes secrets.  Counselors were often placed under oath not to reveal secrets.  But all oaths are to be interpreted in the light of the saving commandments of God, saving charity; neither is there any oath concerning not speaking secrets, which thus binds us, since, if it makes for the salvation of one’s neighbor, of the republic, or the church, it is lawful to reveal it.  An oath is not a bond of iniquity (Martyr).

[To the priests]  That is, the greatest, or High Priests (Lapide).

Verse 16:[2]  Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night (2 Sam. 15:28) in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, lest the king’s and people’s minds change, and Ahithophel, by his deep wit and great interest, persuade the king to follow his former advice, and to pursue you speedily.

[Lest perchance the King be swallowed up (thus Munster, Tigurinus, Junius and Tremellius)]  Or, lest it be swallowed up to the King (Piscator, similarly Montanus), that is to say, lest a swallowing up befall the King (Piscator).   פֶּ֚ן יְבֻלַּ֣ע לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ, lest perhaps there is to be ruin to the King (Jonathan); lest thou die (Syriac, Arabic); lest it swallow up the King (Septuagint).  But why did he wish this to be related to David, since all had approved his plan? (Martyr).  Response:  Lest perchance Absalom should again incline to the counsel of Ahithophel (Menochius, similarly Malvenda out of Junius).  He knew the people to be fickle, the King inconstant, as he had seen; for he had approved the counsel of Ahithophel, but soon departed from it:  Ahithophel was astute, and of great influence (Martyr).  Or he advises David, that he should pass over Jordan:  so that he might have greater space for gathering his army, etc. (Malvenda).

Verse 17:[3]  (2 Sam. 15:27, 36) Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz (Josh. 2:4, etc.) stayed by (Josh. 15:7; 18:16) En-rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city:  and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.

[Near the spring of Rogel (thus Junius and Tremellius, Vatablus, similarly the Septuagint, Pagnine, Montanus), ‎בְּעֵין־רֹגֵל]  Near the fount (or well [Arabic]) of the cloth-fuller (Syriac, similarly Jonathan).  This place was on the border of Judah and Benjamin, near Jerusalem, Joshua 15:7; 18:16 (Malvenda out of Junius).  It was the name both of a place and of a spring (Mariana).  This spring was in the suburbs of Jerusalem eastward (Menochius).  They were staying there, so that, when what they should say was reported to them, they might proceed (Vatablus).

En-rogel, or, the fuller’s well; a place near Jerusalem, Joshua 15:7; 18:16.

[A maidservant went forth]  As if she were going to wash clothes, so that the thing might be done with great secrecy (Mariana out of Jerome, similarly Josephus and the Hebrews in Sanchez).

A wench went and told them; pretending to go thither to wash some clothes.

[And they went forth, etc., וגו״‎וְהֵם֙ יֵֽלְכ֔וּ ]  But they were about to go, and to report, etc. (Pagnine); so that they, going, might inform, etc. (Syriac, Junius and Tremellius, etc.).

[For they were not able to be seen, or to enter into the city,לֹ֥א יוּכְל֛וּ לְהֵרָא֖וֹת לָב֥וֹא הָעִֽירָה׃]  For they were not able to appear, or to enter (or by entering [Piscator]) into the city (Junius and Tremellius).  They were not able to show themselves by entering (or be seen to enter [Montanus]) the city (Pagnine).   They were not able to be seen to enter; the construction is inverted, in the place of, they were not able to enter, lest they be seen (Mariana):  for they were not daring to enter the city (Tigurinus):  but they were not daring to appear, that they might enter (Munster).  They were not able, that is, they ought not in keeping with the appointment of their fathers.  Words of ability are often taken for words of duty or right, as in Genesis 44:26 (Glassius’ “Grammar” 260).

Verse 18:[4]  Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom:  but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house (2 Sam. 16:5) in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.

A lad saw them, who knew them to be favourers of David, and observed them to wait there upon design, and to gain intelligence, and possibly saw the wench speaking privately to them.  They went both of them away quickly; suspecting by this lad’s observation and carriage that they were discovered.

[He had a well in his court, ‎בַּחֲצֵרוֹ]  In his atrium (Pagnine, Montanus, etc.).  In those places were few flowing waters, whence the frequent use of cisterns, or ponds, which were also called wells.  But sometimes these wells were dry, of which sort were those into which were lowered Joseph, Genesis 37, and Jeremiah.[5]  This well was quite suitable for hiding them, because no one would think that they had hidden in an open place (Sanchez).

Wither they went down; either to some hole in the side of the pit; or to the bottom of the pit, it being then dry, as pits often were in those hot countries.  And this being in so open a place, they concluded none would imagine them to be hid there.  And besides, they relied upon God’s good providence, which they knew watched over David, and them for his sake.

Verse 19:[6]  And (see Josh. 2:6) the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.

[She spread a covering over the mouth of the well]  In such a way that not even the well itself appeared, since it was without an outer wall (Menochius, similarly Sanchez).

[As if she were drying ptisanas/barley]  Ptisana is barley with the husk stripped away (Mariana).  ‎וַתִּשְׁטַ֥ח עָלָ֖יו הָֽרִפ֑וֹת, and she spread upon it beaten grain (Pagnine, Montanus, similarly Jonathan, Junius, Tigurinus Notes), barley (or wheat) beaten (Arabic, Tigurinus).  She put the ptisanas here, as if she much earlier desired to dry them in the sun.  And hence it is gathered that those things happened in summer (Sancehz).

Spread ground corn thereon, under pretence of drying it by the sun; which shows it was summer time.

Verse 20:[7]  And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan?  And (see Ex. 1:19; Josh. 2:4, 5) the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water.  And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

[And she responded, They passed over, etc.]  This was a lie, but her heart was in the right place; which pleased God (Martyr).

[They passed over…with a little water tasted (similarly the Septuagint, namely, the Complutensian in Nobilius)]  [But the Roman Edition[8] has, they passed over a small amount of water.]  As if ‎מִיכַל/brook or ‎מֵיכָל were from ‎אָכַל, to eat, with the א changed into a י, just like מֵימָר/word from אָמַר, to say; thus divining concerning a term unknown to them (Buxtorf’s Vindication 977).  עָבְר֖וּ מִיכַ֣ל הַמָּ֑יִם, they passed over the stream, or channel, of waters (Montanus, Tigurinus, Munster, thus Junius and Tremellius, Vatablus, Buxtorf out of the Hebrews).  The ford of the water (Pagnine).  But the term מִיכַל nowhere appears as stream (Grotius, Cappel).  It does not mean anything, and so מִיבַל with a ב is to be read, from יָבַל, to bear along, whence אוּבָל and יוּבָל for river (Cappel’s Sacred Criticism).  [Buxtorf responds:]  1.  The מִיבַל of the Critic nowhere appears.  2.  מִיכַל could be derived from יָכַל, to have power, so that it would be the force, or violence, of the water, or the flow, or course, of water; as Rabbi Salomon has it, for this term denotes both (Buxtorf’s Vindication 977).

Over the brook of water, that is, over Jordan.  This was a manifest lie; but because it was spoken for no hurt, but good only, many persons in those times conceived such lies to be lawful.  Compare Exodus 1:19; Joshua 2:4, 5.  But although God was pleased to overlook and pardon the sin, and graciously to reward the good intention which accompanied them; yet it is certain that all kinds of lies are moral evils, and condemned by plain scriptures, and that we must not do evil that good may come, nor tell a lie for God’s glory, Romans 3:7, 8.

 Verse 21:[9]  And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, (2 Sam. 17:15, 16) Arise, and pass quickly over the water:  for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.

[Pass quickly over the river]  It is advantageous to those with less strength to interpose a river between themselves and their enemies (Grotius).

[1] Hebrew: ‎ויֹּ֣אמֶר חוּשַׁ֗י אֶל־צָד֤וֹק וְאֶל־אֶבְיָתָר֙ הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים כָּזֹ֣את וְכָזֹ֗את יָעַ֤ץ אֲחִיתֹ֙פֶל֙ אֶת־אַבְשָׁלֹ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְכָזֹ֥את וְכָזֹ֖את יָעַ֥צְתִּי אָֽנִי׃

[2] Hebrew: ‎וְעַתָּ֡ה שִׁלְח֣וּ מְהֵרָה֩ וְהַגִּ֙ידוּ לְדָוִ֜ד לֵאמֹ֗ר אַל־תָּ֤לֶן הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ בְּעַֽרְב֣וֹת הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְגַ֖ם עָב֣וֹר תַּעֲב֑וֹר פֶּ֚ן יְבֻלַּ֣ע לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וּלְכָל־הָעָ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אִתּֽוֹ׃

[3] Hebrew: ‎וִיהוֹנָתָ֙ן וַאֲחִימַ֜עַץ עֹמְדִ֣ים בְּעֵין־רֹגֵ֗ל וְהָלְכָ֤ה הַשִּׁפְחָה֙ וְהִגִּ֣ידָה לָהֶ֔ם וְהֵם֙ יֵֽלְכ֔וּ וְהִגִּ֖ידוּ לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֑ד כִּ֣י לֹ֥א יוּכְל֛וּ לְהֵרָא֖וֹת לָב֥וֹא הָעִֽירָה׃

[4] Hebrew: ‎וַיַּ֤רְא אֹתָם֙ נַ֔עַר וַיַּגֵּ֖ד לְאַבְשָׁלֹ֑ם וַיֵּלְכוּ֩ שְׁנֵיהֶ֙ם מְהֵרָ֜ה וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ׀ אֶל־בֵּֽית־אִ֣ישׁ בְּבַחוּרִ֗ים וְל֥וֹ בְאֵ֛ר בַּחֲצֵר֖וֹ וַיֵּ֥רְדוּ שָֽׁם׃

[5] Jeremiah 38:6-13.

[6] Hebrew:  ‎וַתִּקַּ֣ח הָאִשָּׁ֗ה וַתִּפְרֹ֤שׂ אֶת־הַמָּסָךְ֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַבְּאֵ֔ר וַתִּשְׁטַ֥ח עָלָ֖יו הָֽרִפ֑וֹת וְלֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖ע דָּבָֽר׃

[7] Hebrew: ‎וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ עַבְדֵי֩ אַבְשָׁל֙וֹם אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֜ה הַבַּ֗יְתָה וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אַיֵּ֗ה אֲחִימַ֙עַץ֙ וִיה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה עָבְר֖וּ מִיכַ֣ל הַמָּ֑יִם וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א מָצָ֔אוּ וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ ס

[8] This refers to the Roman, or Sixtine (having been authorized by Sixtus V), edition of the Septuagint, published in 1585 to assist in the preparation of the new Vulgate edition ordered by the Council of Trent.

[9] Hebrew:  ‎וַיְהִ֣י׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י לֶכְתָּ֗ם וַֽיַּעֲלוּ֙ מֵֽהַבְּאֵ֔ר וַיֵּ֣לְכ֔וּ וַיַּגִּ֖דוּ לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֑ד וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־דָּוִ֗ד ק֣וּמוּ וְעִבְר֤וּ מְהֵרָה֙ אֶת־הַמַּ֔יִם כִּי־כָ֛כָה יָעַ֥ץ עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם אֲחִיתֹֽפֶל׃