II Samuel 14:13 · Bible study
2 Samuel 14:13 Commentary: The Wise Woman's Trap
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why the woman of Tekoa calls David's refusal to restore Absalom an act against God's people and a self-condemnation.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The woman confronts David's inconsistency: he pardons a stranger's son but refuses to restore his own banished heir, Absalom.
- Key words: chashav (devised/planned), implies deliberate intention; ashem (guilty), one liable for a guilt offering; nadach (banished), thrust away, outcast.
- Main debate: Whether “people of God” refers to the nation of Israel (most commentators) or specifically to Absalom and his supporters (Gill citing Abarbinel).
- Theological theme: Self-condemnation through one's own words; the mercy principle applied to self.
- Best use: A sermon or study on consistency in grace, or on the way God uses indirect means to expose hidden sin.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The woman asked, “Why have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, since he has not brought back his own banished son?
WEB World English Bible 2000
The woman said, “Why then have you devised such a thing against the people of God? For in speaking this word the king is as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring home again his banished one.
KJV King James Version 1769
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou devised such a thing against the people of God? for in speaking this word the king is as one that is guilty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished one.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And the woman saith, `And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against God's people? and the king in saying this thing, is as one guilty, in that the king does not bring back his banished one.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And the woman said: Why hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God, and why hath the king spoken this word, to sin, and not bring home again his own exile?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Entonces la mujer dijo: ¿ Por qué pues piensas tú otro tanto contra el pueblo de Dios? que hablando el rey esta palabra, es como culpado, por cuanto el rey no hace volver á su fugitivo.
Então a mulher disse: Por que pois pensas tu outro tanto contra o povo de Deus? que falando o rei esta palavra, é como culpado, porquanto o rei não faz voltar a seu fugitivo.
La femme dit: Pourquoi penses-tu de la sorte à l’ égard du peuple de Dieu, puisqu’ il résulte des paroles mêmes du roi que le roi est comme coupable en ne rappelant pas celui qu’ il a proscrit?
Das Weib sprach: Warum bist du also gesinnt wider Gottes Volk? Denn da der König solches geredet hat, ist er wie ein Schuldiger, dieweil er seinen Verstoßenen nicht wieder holen läßt.
En de vrouw zeide: Waarom hebt gij dan alzulks tegen Gods volk gedaan? Want daaruit, dat de koning dit woord gesproken heeft, is hij als een schuldige, dewijl de koning zijn verstotene niet wederhaalt.
Riprese la donna: “E perché pensi tu nel modo che fai quando si tratta del popolo di Dio? Dalla parola che il re ha ora pronunziato risulta esser egli in certo modo colpevole, in quanto non richiama colui che ha proscritto.
Rzekła tedy niewiasta: I czemużeś umyślił podobną rzecz przeciw ludowi Bożemu? albowiem król mówi to słowo, jakoby był winny, ponieważ nie chcesz przywrócić, królu, wygnańca swego.
Он сказал: говори. И сказала женщина: почему ты так мыслишь против народа Божия? Царь, произнеся это слово, обвинил себя самого, потому что не возвращает изгнанника своего.
婦人 說：「王為何也 起意 要害 神 的民呢？王 不 使 那逃亡的人 回來，王 的這 話 就是自證己錯了！
And the woman said, Why have you had such a thought about the people of God? (for in saying these very words the king has put himself in the wrong because he has not taken back the one whom he sent far away.)
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Samuel 14:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The woman springs her trap. Having secured the king's promise to spare her fictional son, she now applies the principle directly: David's unwillingness to bring back Absalom contradicts the mercy he just extended. Clarke says David, “willing to pardon the meanest of his subjects,” refuses the same clemency to his own son, “the hope of the nation and heir to the throne.” The Cambridge Bible agrees: the promise of protection to her son was “a condemnation of his own conduct toward Absalom.” Gill calls it a self-contradiction, the king swears that one who killed his brother should not die, yet he seeks the death of his own son for the same crime. The woman's claim that this is “against the people of God” reflects the nation's desire: Absalom is the heir, and his exile harms the whole community. Commentators note the rhetorical skill: the woman forces David to see his inconsistency without directly accusing him. Matthew Henry observes that Joab chose a wise woman to “feign herself a mourner” so David would be softened before the blow fell.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: David has just granted mercy to a fictional murderer; the woman applies that same principle to his real situation, showing that his refusal to restore Absalom contradicts his own verdict and harms the nation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of “people of God” (עַם אֱלֹהִים) | All agree the phrase identifies Israel as the covenant community, and that David's action affects the whole nation. | Clarke, Cambridge and JFB take it as the nation desiring Absalom's return. Gill notes an alternative reading (from the rabbi Abarbinel) that “people of God” refers to Absalom and his supporters, a minority view. |
| Is David guilty or merely inconsistent? | All commentators see David as self-condemned by his own verdict in the parable case. | Some (Wesley, Cambridge) focus on the inconsistency; Clarke calls David “to blame.” Gill emphasizes that David's oath to protect the widow's son directly contradicts his intent regarding Absalom, making him legally faulty (אָשֵׁם, <em>ashem</em>). |
| Role of Joab in the narrative | All note that Joab orchestrated the entire encounter to force David's hand. | Matthew Henry praises Joab's wisdom; other traditions (not in supplied excerpts) have criticized Joab's manipulation, but the supplied sources do not moralize on this point. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Two years have passed since Absalom murdered his half-brother Amnon for the rape of their sister Tamar (2 Sam 13:22-29). Fearing David's justice, Absalom fled to his maternal grandfather Talmai, king of Geshur, and remained there three years (2 Sam 13:37-38). David mourned his son daily but took no action, neither to punish nor to pardon. The impasse weighed on the nation: Absalom was the crown prince, and his absence unsettled the succession.
Joab, David's commander, perceived that “the king's heart was toward Absalom” (14:1). He devised a strategy: bring a wise woman from Tekoa, a town known for its sages (Amos 1:1), to present a fictitious case. She dressed as a mourner and told David that her two sons fought in the field; one killed the other; now the family demanded blood vengeance, leaving her without an heir. David swore by the Lord that not a hair of her son would fall (vv. 8-11).
Only then did the woman pivot. Her direct address in v.13 follows the pattern of Nathan's parable (2 Sam 12:1-7), where the king unwittingly pronounces sentence on himself. Here, the method is gentler but equally sharp: David has just endorsed mercy for a murderer; why withhold it from his own son, whom the nation longs to see restored? The phrase “people of God” (עַם אֱלֹהִים) ties Israel's identity to divine covenant, David's private decision had public consequences for the whole covenant community.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for II Samuel 14:13. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The main translational choices concern how to render the phrase “as one who is guilty” (WEB) or “as one that is faulty” (KJV) from the single Hebrew word אָשֵׁם (ashem).
Reception History
This episode has been read across Christian tradition as an example of wise confrontation and parabolic reasoning. Early church writers such as Chrysostom cited the woman of Tekoa as a model of rhetorical skill in service of truth. The Reformers (Calvin, Luther's lectures) noted the parallel with Nathan's parable, emphasizing that kings are not above the moral law, they can be held accountable through the testimony of their own words. In Puritan exposition, the woman's method was studied as a pastoral tool for reaching a hardened conscience. More recently, the passage has been used in preaching on the nature of God's mercy: where David's restoration of Absalom was partial and fraught, God's restoration of sinners through Christ is complete.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The parable sets the trap. David, like us, is quick to see mercy for others' failures but slow to apply it to his own.
- The application reveals self-condemnation. The woman's “Why?” forces David to see his inconsistency; the same standard he used for a stranger should govern his treatment of his son.
- The outcome is hope. David eventually brings Absalom home, though the full reconciliation remains incomplete, pointing to a greater King who fully restores the banished.
Five-point outline
- Context of Exile: Absalom's crime and flight (13:37-38)
- Joab's Strategy: A wise woman and a feigned story (14:1-3)
- The King's Verdict: Mercy for the stranger (14:8-11)
- The Pivot: “Why have you devised such a thing against the people of God?” (14:13)
- The Self-Condemnation: David's words convict him (Gill, Cambridge, Clarke).
Illustration hooks
- A parent who asks a child to apologize to a sibling while refusing to apologize to their own spouse, same inconsistency, different scale.
- A church leader publicly teaches grace in Sunday sermon but privately holds grudges against a fellow elder.
- Seeing a traffic violation on the news and demanding punishment, only to realize you've broken the same law yesterday and were let off with a warning.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I tell when I am being inconsistent in my own standards of grace and justice?
- Does God sometimes confront me through indirect means, a story, a friend's comment, a Scripture, rather than a direct command?
- If David could show mercy only after a nudge, how can I cultivate a heart that forgives before being cornered?
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows how we can be blind to our own double standards until something, or someone, holds up a mirror. The wise woman of Tekoa does just that: she gets David to pronounce mercy for a stranger, then asks why he won't extend that same mercy to his own son.
Discussion questions
- What do we learn about David's heart from the fact that Joab had to orchestrate this intervention (14:1-2)?
- The woman calls David's refusal “against the people of God.” Why would the king's private decision be a public matter?
- Read the woman's words in v.13. What is the logic of her argument? How does she connect the fictional case to David's real situation?
- Compare this story to Nathan's confrontation in 2 Samuel 12. What is similar about the way these confrontations work? What is different?
- The Hebrew verb for “devised” (חָשַׁב, chashav) can mean “plan” or “account.” How does that word choice deepen the charge against David?
- In what areas of life do you find yourself applying a different standard to others than to yourself?
- David eventually brings Absalom home but never fully heals the relationship (14:24). What does this incomplete restoration teach us about human forgiveness versus God's?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Judges 20:2 | The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword. |
| II Samuel 7:8 | Now therefore tell my servant David this: ‘Yahweh of Armies says, “I took you from the sheep pen, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people, over Israel. |
| II Samuel 12:7 | Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. |
| II Samuel 13:37 | But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day. |
| II Samuel 13:38 | So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. |
| I Kings 20:40 | As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be. You yourself have decided it.” |
| I Kings 20:42 | He said to him, “Yahweh says, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will take the place of his life, and your people take the place of his people.’” |
| Luke 7:42 | When they couldn’t pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights the woman's pointed contrast: David readily grants mercy to a stranger through a fabricated story but withholds it from his own son Absalom. Her argument is that the king's clemency should extend even more to the heir to the throne than to a private citizen.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator points out David's inconsistency: he acknowledged that exceptions to the punishment for murder were possible, yet he refused to extend that same exception to his own son Absalom. By promising protection to another woman's son, David actually condemned his own harsh treatment of Absalom.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Then the woman sayde, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? or why doeth the King, as one which is faultie, speake this thing, that he will not bring againe his banished?
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights the king's inconsistency: David swore to protect the woman's son yet failed to bring home his own banished son Absalom. The woman's question exposes this fault, showing that the king contradicts his own promise by his inaction.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights the woman's shrewd rhetorical move: she uses David's own pardon of her son, who killed his brother, to expose the king's inconsistency in refusing to restore Absalom for the same crime. The commentator notes her argument that the entire nation now sees Absalom as the heir and has a common interest in his return, far outweighing a private family loss.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists that the king's heart was set against Absalom, not favorably toward him. He bases this on David's continuing refusal to see Absalom for two years after his return and the
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the woman's argument that David's mercy toward her supposed son condemns his harshness toward Absalom. David was so inclined to spare his own son that he overlooked how different the two cases were, gladly applying the favorable judgment to Absalom.