2 Samuel 14:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the king said to her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead.

NIV: The king asked her, "What is troubling you?" She said, "I am a widow; my husband is dead.

NASB: And the king said to her, 'What is troubling you?' And she answered, 'Truly I am a widow, for my husband is dead.

CSB: "What’s the matter?" the king asked her. "Sadly, I am a widow; my husband died," she said.

NLT: What’s the trouble?' the king asked. 'Alas, I am a widow!' she replied. 'My husband is dead.

KJV: And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.

NKJV: Then the king said to her, “What troubles you?” And she answered, “Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead.

A woman has approached David. She's wearing the clothes of mourning: possibly dust-covered sackcloth. Her state indicates she's been in mourning for a long time (2 Samuel 14:2). She begs David to save her (2 Samuel 14:4). When he asks what her trouble is, she explains that her husband is dead. More recently, one of her sons killed the other. Now her clan wants to execute her remaining son as stipulated in the Mosaic law (Numbers 35:30–31). But if he dies, her husband will have no son to inherit his land and continue his line (2 Samuel 14:6–7).

The law puts David into a delicate situation. He maneuvers for time. Her request is against the literal meaning of multiple laws (Genesis 9:8). David would assume that couldn't have gotten an audience with him unless her city elders had declared her son guilty, and her clan had agreed to send someone to kill him. If David sides with her, he may alienate a community that's following the law (2 Samuel 14:8). She presses, and he finally relents. He will decree that her son is to go free (2 Samuel 14:9–11).

The woman's speech immediately alters. She confronts David about leaving his own son in exile: a kind of death. Absalom murdered Amnon, but Amnon can no more return to life than water spilled on the ground could be recovered (2 Samuel 14:12–14). After listening to her a bit more, David realizes this is the work of his military commander, Joab (2 Samuel 14:18–19).

Literally, the woman calls herself an issah almanah or a "woman widow." The word for "widow," almanah, was for women who were destitute and not remarried. Otherwise, she would be called "the wife of…" Abigail is called "the widow of Nabal" (1 Samuel 30:5), but the Hebrew term translated "widow" is ishshah, or "woman"; the translators used "widow" for clarity. The woman of Tekoa is identifying herself with one of the most vulnerable classes of people in Israel, and one whom God specifically told the Israelites to care for (Deuteronomy 26:12).

Second Samuel 14:1–11 describes Joab's effort to convinces David to bring Absalom home. David is distracted by thoughts of Absalom, his son, currently in exile for killing his own brother. Joab believes this continued absence is bad for Israel. He arranges for a woman to tell David a story of family violence and murder. This ends with a lesson about the goodness of forgiveness. David agrees to her premise, and she challenges him to apply it to his own situation (2 Samuel 14:12–17).

Second Samuel 14 sets the scene for Absalom's rebellion against David. Joab wants David to forgive Absalom for murdering his brother and end his exile. Joab has a woman pretend to be a widow, who tells a story about a murderous son to convince David to pardon his own son. David brings Absalom home to Jerusalem, but not to the court or family. Joab eventually convinces David to see Absalom and the two are officially reconciled. With freedom, status, and ambition, Absalom starts a campaign to draw the people's hearts away from David and toward himself (2 Samuel 15:1–6).

Second Samuel 14 continues God's promise that tragedy will plague David's family. This is a curse for David's sin against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:9–11). David's son Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar. Tamar's full brother Absalom avenged her by killing Amnon, then fled to his maternal grandfather (2 Samuel 13). David thinks about Absalom, and Joab convinces David to bring him home and reconcile with him. Absalom wins the hearts of the people and takes the throne while David flees. Eventually, Absalom will be dead, and David will be a chastened man and wiser king. (2 Samuel 15–20).