2 Samuel 18 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter continues the story of what David did as the king of Israel and specifically how he finally overcame Absalom’s attempt to replace him as king. It tells how David’s soldiers fought against Absalom’s army and defeated it. It describes how Joab killed Absalom even though David had publicly ordered him to spare Absalom. And it tells how messengers brought the news of Absalom’s defeat and death to David and how David mourned publicly for his son.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why did Joab want to send his Cushite servant as a messenger to David instead of Ahimaaz?

In [18:19](../18/19.md), Ahimaaz asks Joab for permission to run to David and bring him the news that his soldiers have defeated Absalom’s army. Joab at first refuses and instead sends an Ethiopian man who served him as a runner. We learn from the story in [4:10](../04/10.md) that in this culture, someone who brought good news often received a reward. Joab tells Ahimaaz in [18:22](../18/22.md) that he would not receive a reward if he brought the news of the battle to David. By sending a slave with the news instead of a friend or a person of rank (such as the high priest’s son, Ahimaaz), Joab was signaling in advance that he did not expect the news to win a reward for the messenger. This was a way of breaking the news of Absalom’s death to David slowly and in stages. Joab evidently also anticipated that David would be more upset at the news of Absalom’s death than he would be with the news that his army had won a great victory, and since he apparently liked and appreciated Ahimaaz (he calls him “my son” in [18:22](../18/22.md)), he may have wanted to spare him from any angry reaction that David may have had. But Ahimaaz, for his part, seems to have wanted to encourage David first with the news of the victory, and so he persisted in asking for permission to run as a messenger. When Joab gave his permission, Ahimaaz ran by a route he knew would be faster, and he got to David first with this part of the news. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain all or some of this in the text of your translation or in a footnote.