2 Samuel 18:12

And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:9-18 Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ten shekels - (About 25 shillings.) The word "shekel" is understood, as in Genesis 20:16; Genesis 37:28. See the Exodus 38:24 note.

A girdle - Girdles were costly articles of Hebrew dress used to put money in Matthew 10:9, and given as presents 1 Samuel 18:4.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11, 12. Joab said unto the man that told him, … I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle—that is, would have raised him from the ranks to the status of a commissioned officer. Besides a sum of money, a girdle, curiously and richly wrought, was among the ancient Hebrews a mark of honor, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of military merit. This soldier, however, who may be taken as a fair sample of David's faithful subjects, had so great a respect for the king's wishes, that no prospect of reward would have tempted him to lay violent hands on Absalom. But Joab's stern sense of public duty, which satisfied him that there could be neither safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, nor security to him and other loyal subjects, so long as that turbulent prince lived, overcame his sensibilities, and looking upon the charge given to the generals as more befitting a parent than a prince, he ventured to disobey it.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Or, take heed what (for so the Hebrew pronoun mi is sometimes used, as Judges 13:17) ye do with the young man. He expresseth David’s sense, though not his words.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the man said unto Joab,.... Disdaining his proposal:

though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand; or such a sum should be offered to me; the Arabic version is a million:

yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son; to smite him, and slay him:

for in our hearing the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai; his three generals:

saying, beware that none touch the young man Absalom; so as to slay him; they were charged to abstain from it themselves, and to watch and observe others, and keep them from doing it.

Geneva Study Bible

And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. Beware that none touch] Or, Have a care, all of you, of the young man Absalom: lit. as in the margin, whosoever ye be. But the Sept. and Vulg. read for my sake, as in 2 Samuel 18:5, in place of whosoever.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - Though I should receive. The Hebrew text expresses the horror of the man at Joab's proposal much more vividly than the tame correction of the Massorites admitted into the Authorized Version: "And I, no! weighing in my palm a thousand of silver, I would not put forth my hand against the son of the king." 2 Samuel 18:12

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

But the man replied, "And I ... not weighing a thousand shekels in my hand ... might not stretch out my hand to the king's son," i.e., I could not do it for a reward of a thousand shekels. This is the meaning of the Chethib ולא; the Masoretes, on the other hand, have substituted ולוּ, which is the reading adopted in most of the ancient versions, and the one preferred by the majority of expositors: "if I weighed ... I would not," etc. But there is no necessity for this alteration, as the Chethib is quite in accordance with the character of the words. "For before our ears the king commanded" (cf. 2 Samuel 18:5): מי שׁמרוּ, "take care whoever (it be) of the boy Absalom." On this use of מי, see Ewald, 104, d., a. The Keri לי is merely a conjecture, notwithstanding the fact that all the versions follow it, and that one of the Codices in Kennicott has לי. "or," continued the man (2 Samuel 18:13), "should I have acted deceitfully towards his life (i.e., have slain him secretly, which he calls שׁקר, cheating, because it was opposed to the king's open command): and nothing remains hidden from the king; ... thou wouldst have set thyself in opposition to me," i.e., have risen up against me before the king. The middle clause is a circumstantial one, as the fact that וכל־דּבר is placed first clearly shows; so that it cannot be regarded as introducing the apodosis, which really follows in the clause commencing with ואתּה.