2 Samuel 17:21

21 After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice 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 Then the man’s wife took a covering, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain over it so nobody would know a thing.

20 When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.

21 After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”

22 So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.

23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.