Discovery Box2 Samuel 14:24-33 
Context14:24 But the king said, “Let him go over 1 to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over 2 to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.
14:25 Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. 3 From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance. 4 14:26 When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long 5 and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds 6 according to the king’s weight. 14:27 Absalom had 7 three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a very attractive woman. 8
14:28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king’s face. 14:29 Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come. 14:30 So he said to his servants, “Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire.” 9 So Absalom’s servants set Joab’s 10 portion of the field on fire.
14:31 Then Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?” 14:32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent a message to you saying, ‘Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: 11 “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.”’ Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!”
14:33 So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king 12 summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom 13 bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him. 14
1 tn Heb “turn aside.”
2 tn Heb “turned aside.”
3 tn Heb “Like Absalom there was not a handsome man in all Israel to boast exceedingly.”
4 tn Heb “there was not in him a blemish.”
5 tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”
6 tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).
7 tn Heb “and there were born.”
8 tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And she became a wife to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bore to him Abia.”
9 tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And the servants of Absalom burned them up. And the servants of Joab came to him, rending their garments. They said….”
10 tn The word “Joab’s” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
11 tn Heb “saying.”
12 tn Heb “he.” Joab, acting on behalf of the king, may be the implied subject.
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “Absalom.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
