2 Samuel 17:21

21 And it cometh to pass, after their going on, that they come up out of the well, and go and declare to king David, and say unto David, `Rise ye, and pass over hastily the waters, for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.'

2 Samuel 17:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:21

And it came to pass after they were departed
The servants of Absalom:

that they came up out of the well;
the sons of the priests, being informed by the woman that they were gone; Josephus ^F19 says they were drawn up by the woman with a rope:

and went and told King David;
who was now in the plain of the wilderness, perhaps near Jericho, and not a great way from Jordan, to whom they related the whole of their message:

and said unto David;
as they were directed:

arise, and pass quickly over the water;
the river Jordan:

for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you;
to come with twelve thousand men, and fall upon him that very night; and it was not certain his counsel would be rejected; and therefore it was advisable for David to prepare against the worst.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 7. Hudson. not. in ib.

2 Samuel 17:21 In-Context

19 and the woman taketh and spreadeth the covering over the face of the well, and spreadeth on it the ground corn, and the thing hath not been known.

20 And the servants of Absalom come in unto the woman to the house, and say, `Where [are] Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' and the woman saith to them, `They passed over the brook of water;' and they seek, and have not found, and turn back to Jerusalem.

21 And it cometh to pass, after their going on, that they come up out of the well, and go and declare to king David, and say unto David, `Rise ye, and pass over hastily the waters, for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.'

22 And David riseth, and all the people who [are] with him, and they pass over the Jordan, till the light of the morning, till one hath not been lacking who hath not passed over the Jordan.

23 And Ahithophel hath seen that his counsel was not done, and he saddleth the ass, and riseth and goeth unto his house, unto his city, and giveth charge unto his household, and strangleth himself, and dieth, and he is buried in the burying-place of his father.