2 Samuel 18:11

11 And Joab said to the man that told to him, If thou saw him, why piercedest thou not him through to the earth, and I should have given to thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle? (And Joab said to the man who told him this, If thou saw him thus, why didest thou not pierce him through to the ground, and then I would have gladly given thee ten silver shekels, and a girdle.)

2 Samuel 18:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:11

And Joab said unto the man that told him
That gave the above account of him:

and, behold, thou sawest [him];
in reality; or, "didst thou see him?" is it a fact?

and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground;
kill him on the spot, that he might have dropped from the tree to the ground:

and I would have given thee ten [shekels] of silver;
on the news of it, for doing it, which was near twenty four shillings of our money; Josephus says ^F9 fifty shekels; the Arabic version has it ten thousand talents of silver, too great a sum by far:

and a girdle?
which was a mark of great honour, and a token of a commission under him, and of investing: him with a military office; see ( 1 Samuel 18:4 ) ; it used to be given as an honorary reward to soldiers that behaved well, as on the contrary it was reckoned a reproach to be ungirt, or the girdle to be taken away ^F11.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F9 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 10. sect. 2.)
F11 Vide Lydium de re militare, l. 3. c. 6.

2 Samuel 18:11 In-Context

9 Soothly it befelled, that Absalom, sitting on a mule, came against the servants of David; and when the mule had entered under a thick oak, and great, the head of Absalom cleaved to the oak; and when he was hanged betwixt heaven and earth, the mule, on which he sat, passed (forth). (And it befell, that Absalom, sitting on a mule, came toward David's men; and when the mule had entered under a great thick oak, Absalom's head got caught in the branches; and while he hung in the air above the ground, the mule, on which he sat, went forth.)

10 And some man saw this, and told it to Joab, and said, I saw Absalom hanged on an oak (and said, I saw Absalom hung up in an oak).

11 And Joab said to the man that told to him, If thou saw him, why piercedest thou not him through to the earth, and I should have given to thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle? (And Joab said to the man who told him this, If thou saw him thus, why didest thou not pierce him through to the ground, and then I would have gladly given thee ten silver shekels, and a girdle.)

12 And he said to Joab, Though thou paidest in mine hands a thousand pieces of silver, I would not send mine hand into the son of the king; for while we heard, the king commanded to thee, and to Abishai, and to Ittai, and said, Keep ye to me the child Absalom. (And he said to Joab, Though thou paidest me a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king's son; for while we heard, the king commanded to thee, and to Abishai, and to Ittai, and said, For my sake, do not ye harm the young man Absalom.)

13 But and though I had done fool hardily against my life (But if I had acted so foolishly against my own life), this might not be hid from the king, and thou wouldest stand on the contrary side.