About
Absalom was David’s third son and brother to Tamar. His mother was Maakah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (1 Chronicles 3:2). He was the most handsome man in the land, with a thick head of hair and no blemish in his appearance (2 Samuel 14:25-26).
Backstory
Absalom was deeply affected by the rape of his sister Tamar by their half-brother Amnon. He exacted revenge by entrapping him and having him killed at a sheep-shearing event outside the city (2 Samuel 13).
Following the murder, Absalom fled to his grandfather Talmai to give his father, King David, time to mourn. He stayed for three years. While David longed to go to him, he did not take any steps to reconcile with him.
Joab, David’s nephew and head of the army, mimicked what Nathan did when confronting David about Bathsheba: he had a woman pretend to be a grieving mother whose son had murdered his brother. She claimed to want to bring her son home but feared the clan would kill him, too. David urged her to bring him home and offered protection.
The woman then revealed that Joab was behind the story since he wanted to change the current situation. David acquiesced to bringing Absalom back but said he needed to go to his own house and could not see his face. This went on for two years.
Absalom sent for Joab, but he refused to come. So Absalom had his servants set his fields on fire to get his attention. Joab again intervened so David welcomed Absalom back (2 Samuel 14).
Absalom began forming a conspiracy against David by offering to give people justice — the same justice his sister had been denied. This led to a populist insurrection and caused David to flee from Jerusalem. Absalom raped his father’s concubines on the palace rooftop to humiliate him (2 Samuel 15).
In the battle to regain control, David urged his men not to kill Absalom. But Joab found Absalom in a moment of vulnerability, when his hair was caught in an oak tree. He thrust three javelins through his heart. Joab’s armor bearers surrounded him and killed him. They threw him into a pit in the forest and piled rocks on top of the body.
Before his death, Absalom erected a pillar in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, since he had no son to carry on the memory of his name (2 Samuel 18).
David went into deep mourning over Absalom’s death. Rather than experiencing the thrill of victory, the men returned in shame 2 Samuel 19).