Context No. 146 of 4322 · 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 19:38-43: in context

38The king answered, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to you. Whatever you request of me, that I will do for you.” 39All the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over. Then the king kissed Barzillai and blessed him; and he returned to his own place. 40So the king went over to Gilgal, and Chimham went over with him. All the people of Judah brought the king over, and also half the people of Israel. 41Behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to the king, “Why have our brothers the men of Judah stolen you away, and brought the king and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him?” 42All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because the king is a close relative to us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? Or has he given us any gift?” 43The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, “We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more claim to David than you. Why then did you despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king?” The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

Absalom's revolt has collapsed, and David is coming back to Jerusalem. This passage is the return, and it goes wrong immediately.

First a good moment. Barzillai, the wealthy old man from Gilead who had supplied the king in exile, declines to come to court, saying he is eighty and can no longer taste what he eats or hear the singers. He asks only that his servant Chimham go instead. The king kisses him and blesses him, and Barzillai goes home.

Then the argument. The men of Judah have escorted the king across the Jordan, and the men of Israel arrive demanding to know why their brothers stole the king away. Judah answers that the king is a close relative of ours. Israel counters that they have ten shares in the king and were the first to speak of bringing him back. And the text notes that the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. Within a few verses a man named Sheba blows a trumpet and the northern tribes walk out. The kingdom that just survived a civil war splits again over who got to hold the boat. What argument about precedence am I in, and what is it actually about?

Sources

2 Samuel 19:31-39: Barzillai declining the court and sending Chimham in his place
2 Samuel 19:41-43: the quarrel between Judah and Israel over escorting the king
2 Samuel 20:1-2: Sheba's revolt, which follows immediately