2 Samuel 17:18

18 But one day a boy happened to see them, and he told Absalom; so they hurried off to hide in the house of a certain man in Bahurim. He had a well near his house, and they got down in it.

2 Samuel 17:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:18

Nevertheless, a lad saw them, and told Absalom
Saw them conversing with the girl, and departing for David's army; according to Josephus ^F15, they were some horsemen that saw them about two furlongs or a quarter mile from Jerusalem, and acquainted Absalom with it:

but they went both of them away quickly;
made all the haste they could with their message to David:

and came to a man's house in Bahurim;
where very probably they had been informed David had been, whither he came weary, and had refreshment, ( 2 Samuel 16:14 ) ; or rather, perceiving they were discovered and pursued, they turned in hither, the first place they came to, for safety:

which had a well in his court;
which they observed, and was the reason of their turning in:

whither they went down;
to hide themselves from their pursuers, it being dry, as sometimes wells were in the summertime: Josephus says {p}, a woman let them down by a rope.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 7.
F16 Ibid.

2 Samuel 17:18 In-Context

16 Hushai added, "Quick, now! Send a message to David not to spend the night at the river crossings in the wilderness, but to cross the Jordan at once, so that he and his men won't all be caught and killed."

17 Abiathar's son Jonathan and Zadok's son Ahimaaz were waiting at the spring of Enrogel, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, because they did not dare be seen entering the city. A servant woman would regularly go and tell them what was happening, and then they would go and tell King David.

18 But one day a boy happened to see them, and he told Absalom; so they hurried off to hide in the house of a certain man in Bahurim. He had a well near his house, and they got down in it.

19 The man's wife took a covering, spread it over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it, so that no one would notice anything.

20 Absalom's officials came to the house and asked the woman, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They crossed the river," she answered. The men looked for them but could not find them, and so they returned to Jerusalem.