And Hushai said to Absalom
In answer to his questions:
nay, but whom the Lord, and his people, and all the men of Israel
choose:
here again he speaks very ambiguously; for this circumlocution, or descriptive character of the king of Israel, better agrees with David, whom he might bear in mind, than with Absalom; for the Lord had chosen David, and he was anointed by his order, and all the people of Israel had chosen and anointed him likewise; but as for Absalom, it was only a part of them that had declared for him, nor was there any evidence of the Lord's choosing him; though Hushai undoubtedly would be under stood of him, and as interpreting the voice of the people to be the voice of God:
his will I be, and with him will I abide;
though he designed no such thing, which was a great piece of dissimulation and hypocrisy; and if he meant David, it was a piece of deceit and equivocation: there is a various reading in the first clause; we follow the marginal reading, (wl) , "to him" or "his", but the textual reading is (al) , "not": and both may be taken in by rendering the words by an interrogation, "shall I, or should I not be his" F4? I will; that is, be his servant, faithfully obey his commands, be closely attached to him, and continue with him as a loyal subject.
This feature is for PLUS subscribers only. Join PLUS today to access these tools and more.
JOIN PLUSThis feature is for PLUS subscribers only. Join PLUS today to access these tools and more.
JOIN PLUSThis feature is for PLUS subscribers only. Join PLUS today to access these tools and more.
JOIN PLUSCreate a free account to start a reading plan, or join PLUS to unlock our full suite of premium study tools.