I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top 32 of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head unto whom David said, If thou passest on with 33 me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: but if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy

32. the top of the mount] The head or top is used here and in ch. xvi. I almost as a proper name, and would naturally refer to the highest summit, where the high place would most probably be. David seems to have taken the road leading directly over the hill to Bahurim (see note on ch. iii. 16) instead of the southern road to Jericho.

where he worshipped God] Where he was wont to worship God: or, where God was wont to be worshipped. The tense indicates that an habitual practice is meant. It was no doubt one of the high places, which seem to have been recognised as legitimate sanctuaries until the Temple was built. Cp. 1 Sam. vii. 17, ix. 13 note; 1 Kings

iii. 2-4.

Hushai the Archite] "The border of the Archite" (E. V. wrongly Archi) is mentioned as one of the boundary marks between Ephraim and Benjamin (Josh. xvi. 2). A trace of the name is perhaps preserved in Ain Arîk, about six miles W. S. W. of Bethel. As Hushai came to meet David he had probably been absent from the cityperhaps at his native place-when the rebellion broke out, and hastened back to join his master. His coming was in a manner the answer to David's prayer in v. 31.

with his coat rent, &c.] See note on ch. i. 2. The term rendered coat denotes the loose shirt or tunic, over which a cloak was usually worn. See the illustrations in Smith's Dict. of the Bible, I. 454, or Lane's Modern Egyptians, 1. 36. unto whom David said] a burden unto me] Perhaps Cp. ch. xix. 35.

33.

And David said unto him.

Hushai was old and somewhat infirm.

34

34. and say unto Absalom] "Hushai's conduct is certainly no model of Christian uprightness. It is therefore curiously instructive to see it made the warrant of a similarly questionable act in modern times. Sir Samuel Morland, Secretary of State to Cromwell, in describing his betrayal of his master to Charles II., says, 'I called to remembrance Hushai's behaviour towards Absalom, which I found not at all blamed in Holy Writ, and yet his was a larger step than mine."" Stanley's Lect. II. 99. Stratagems of this kind, involving deliberate falsehood and treachery, have been employed in all ages, but the morality of them cannot be approved. In connexion with this question it may be remarked, (1) that wrong actions are often related in Scripture without express condemnation, because the healthy and enlightened conscience can discern at once they are wrong: (2) that many actions, allowable under the Old Testament dispensation, are not allowable to those who

servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me 35 defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there

with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them 37 ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

16

CH. XVI. 1—4. David met by Ziba with a present.

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred 2 of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said

unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink. 3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And

have received the light of Christ's revelation: (3) that Scripture gives no sanction to the doctrine, maintained even now in some quarters, that political and social morality are not governed by the same rules. See also the notes on 1 Sam. xxvii. 11, xxix. 8.

37. David's friend] "The king's friend" was a regular stateofficer, the king's confidential adviser. Cp. 1 Chr. xxvii. 33 (E. V., companion); 1 Kings iv. 5.

CH. XVI. 1—4.

DAVID MET BY ZIBA WITH A PRESENT.

1. the top of the hill See note on ch. xv. 32.

two hundred loaves of bread, &c.] Compare Abigail's present (1 Sam. XXV. 18). Ziba was shrewd enough to foresee the result of the rebellion, and wished to secure the king's favour.

an hundred of summer fruits] Probably cakes of dried figs (so the Vulg.) or dates (so the Sept.). Cp. Amos viii. 1.

a bottle of wine] A skin, holding a considerable quantity.

2. the wilderness] See note on ch. xv. 23.

3. thy master's son] Mephibosheth is called the son, i.e. grandson, of Ziba's lord Saul in ch. ix. 9. David was hurt by Mephibosheth's apparent ingratitude.

Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, 4 thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

5-14. David cursed by Shimei.

And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence 5 came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and 6 at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, 7

for he said, To day, &c.] That Ziba was calumniating Mephibosheth is sufficiently obvious. How could Mephibosheth, an insignificant cripple, who had never claimed the crown, or taken any part in politics, expect to be made king, even in the confusion of parties which might ensue upon Absalom's rebellion? Ziba's story was an audacious fiction, invented in the hope of getting a grant of the estate which he was cultivating for Mephibosheth's benefit, and in spite of its improbability, it passed muster in the haste and confusion of the moment.

4.

Behold, thine are all, &c.] David was rash and hasty in thus treating his grant to Mephibosheth as forfeited by treason without a word of inquiry. This unreflecting impetuosity was a marked fault of his character. Cp. 1 Sam. xxv. 13 ff.

I humbly beseech thee, &c.] Rather, I bow myself down:-equivalent to our "I lay myself at thy feet," an Oriental expression of gratitude: let me find favour in thine eyes, my lord, O king. Cp. 1 Sam. i. 18.

5-14. DAVID CURSED BY SHIMEI.

5. Bahurim] See note on ch. iii. 16.

Shime] See ch. xix. 16-23; 1 Kings ii. 8, 9. His connexion with the clan of Saul accounts for the virulence of his hatred.

6.

And he cast stones, &c.] The scene is described with an exactness which bespeaks an eye-witness. The road apparently was parallel to a ridge-the "rib" or "side of the hill," v. 13-and separated from it by a deep but narrow ravine-"let me go over," v. 9-so that Shimei was out of easy reach, though within a stone's throw of David and his party.

and all the people, &c.] Shimei's behaviour.

7. Come out, come out] kingdom into exile.

This enhanced the impudent audacity of

Out! out! from the land and from thy

8 thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: the LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken to thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. 10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore

thou bloody man] Thou man of blood, thou murderer. Shimei seems to have supplied Cromwell's army with the terms of its resolution "to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to account for the blood he has shed and the mischief he has done to the utmost against the Lord's cause and people in this poor nation." Green's Short History, p. 552. thou man of Belial] Thou wicked man. See note on 1 Sam. i. 16. 8. all the blood of the house of Saul] Shimei probably refers to the deaths of Saul and his sons at Gilboa, of Abner and Ish-bosheth by treacherous murder, charging David with the guilt of crimes which he had repudiated and punished: possibly also he regarded the execution of Saul's sons (ch. xxi. 1—9), which in all probability had taken place before this time, as a judicial murder. Shimei would not intend to refer to Uriah, though David would feel that it was for his death that the curse was not undeserved.

behold, thou art taken to thy mischief] Rather, behold, thou art in thy calamity. To is the original reading of 1611; in of ordinary editions first appeared in the edition of 1629. To thy mischief to thy hurt, a free paraphrase of the Vulg. premunt te mala tua.

9. Then said Abishai] Consistently with his character on the former occasion when he wished to slay Saul (1 Sam. xxvi. 8), and on the later occasion, when he was for refusing Shimei's suit for pardon (ch. xix. 21). His fiery zeal reminds us of the Sons of Thunder (Luke ix. 54), and David's answer recalls Christ's answer to Peter (John xviii. 10, 11).

this dead dog] See ch. ix. 8, iii. 8, and notes there.

IO. What have I to do with you] 'What have we in common? leave me alone.' The phrase is used to repel an unwelcome suggestion, and repudiate participation in the thoughts and feelings of another. Cp. ch. xix. 22; John ii. 4.

ye sons of Zeruiah] Joab probably seconded Abishai's request. For David's abhorrence of his nephews' ferocity, see ch. iii. 39.

so let him curse, &c.] This is the rendering of the traditional reading (Qrî). The written text (Kthîbh) may be rendered, when he curseth, and when the Lord, &c., who then shall say, &c.: or, for he curseth because the Lord, &c.

hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all 11 his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. It may be that the LORD will 12 look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and 13 his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

15-19. Absalom's entrance into Jerusalem. Hushai's offer of his services.

14

And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came 15 11. this Benjamite] Who has some plausible ground for spite against a king who has succeeded to the honours once held by his family.

the LORD hath bidden him] David recognises Shimei as the divinely appointed instrument for his chastisement, and therefore he can say, "the LORD hath bidden him." But Shimei's cursing was on his part sinful, and God commands no man to sin. God makes use of the evil passions of men to work out His purposes, but those evil passions are not thereby excused or justified. See for example, Gen. xlv. 5; Acts ii. 23. Since He is the Author and Cause of all things, and in a certain sense nothing can be done without His Will, He is sometimes said to do what He permits to be done, to command what He does not forbid. See note on I Sam. xxvi. 19: and 2 Sam. xxiv. I.

12. mine affliction] This reading is supported by the Sept. and Vulg. and is probably right. Cp. Ps. xxv. 18. The Qri has mine eye, which is explained to mean my grief, but the expression is unparalleled. The Kthibh gives mine iniquity, meaning, 'perhaps the Lord will look graciously upon my guilt and pardon it,' but this does not suit the following clause so well.

will requite me good] Cp. Ps. cix. 26-28.

for his cursing] The E. V. follows the Qrt. The Kthibh has my cursing, i.e. the curse invoked upon me.

13. on the hill's side] See note on v. 6.

14.

came weary] There is no place mentioned to which there at the end of the verse can refer. It is clear from ch. xvii. 18, that the halting-place was not Bahurim, but some place beyond it. We must suppose that the name of the place has fallen out of the text, or that the word for weary should be taken as a proper name to Ayêphîm. No such place is known, but it would be an appropriate name for a caravansary or resting-place for travellers.

II. SAMUEL

II