When he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year’s end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king’s weight.
Parallel Translations
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When he cut the hair of his head (now it was at every year’s end that he cut it; because it was heavy on him, therefore he cut it); he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king’s weight.
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And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.
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And when he polled his head — now it was at every year's end that he polled it; because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it — he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king's weight.
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Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 14:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ezekiel 44:20 “ ‘ “They shall not shave their heads, or allow their locks to grow long. They shall only cut off the hair of their heads.
- 2 Samuel 18:9 Absalom happened to meet David’s servants. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and earth; and the mule that was under him went on.
- 1 Corinthians 11:14 Doesn’t even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
- Genesis 23:16 Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the current merchants’ standard.
- Leviticus 19:36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
- Isaiah 3:24 It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a wearing of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.
- Ezekiel 45:9-14 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and plunder, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people,” says the Lord Yahweh. “You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer. Its measure shall be the same as the homer. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina. “ ‘ “This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley; and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, one tenth of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer;)
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces after half an…
Which weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces after half an ounce the shekel.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 14:26 And when he polled his head, (for…
2Sa 14:26 And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled [it]: because [the hair] was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.
Ver. 26. And when he polled his head.] He had a pride in his hair, and might well have feared some such fearful disease as is the Plica Polonica. The Romans abhorred those that wore long hair. Our Henry I repressed that vanity, though a gaiety of no charge, as undecent; and all other dissoluteness. {a}
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He weighed the hair of his head.] It was not worth so much, as some sense it, but it weighed above three pounds, at sixteen ounces to the pound, when yearly polled.
{a} Dan., Hist.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Whereas ordinarily the hair of a man’s head which…
Whereas ordinarily the hair of a man’s head which grows in a year’s space comes not to half so much. But some men’s hair grows much faster, and is much heavier, than others. But others understand this not of the weight, but of the price of his hair, which was sold by him that polled it at that rate.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when he polled his head,.... Or cut off…
And when he polled his head,.... Or cut off the hair of it; for that was one thing, a good head of hair which he had, that made him look very comely and beautiful:
for it was at every year's end that he polled it; or cut it off once a year; but the Jews say (w) he was a perpetual Nazarite:
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because the hair was heavy upon him, and therefore he polled it; it grew so very thick and long in one year's time, that he was obliged to cut it; and what might add to the weight of it, its being oiled and powdered; and, as some say, with the dust of gold, to make it look yellow and glistering:
he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, after the king's weight; and a shekel being the weight of half an ounce of avoirdupois weight, as Bishop Cumberland (x) has shown from various writers, the weight of his hair must be an hundred ounces; which was a very great weight indeed on his head. Some think that the price it was sold at, and not the weight of it, is meant; which they suppose was sold to women for ornament about their temples, and the money given either to the poor, or for the use of the sanctuary; and reckoning a shekel at two shillings and sixpence, as some do, the value of it came to twenty five pounds of our money; but the above mentioned writer (y) reduces it to about two shillings and four pence farthing; which makes the value somewhat less; but inasmuch as it is not so probable that a person of such rank should sell his hair, nor does it appear that any, such use was made of hair in those times as suggested; and this being said to be according to the king's weight or stone, by which all weights were to be regulated, it is best to understand this of the weight, and not of the price of his hair; which, according to Josephus (z), was five pounds; but, according to the above account, it must be six pounds and a quarter. The Jews say (a) this weight was according to what the inhabitants of Tiberias and Zippore used, but do not tell us what it was.
(w) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Nazir, c 1. sect. 2. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 194. 3. Gloss. T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 10. 2. (x) Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 103. (y) Ibid. p. 104. (z) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 8. sect. 5. (a) T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 10. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Weighed - Others understand this not of the weight,…
Weighed - Others understand this not of the weight, but of the price of his hair.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. When he polled his head] Not at…
Verse 26. When he polled his head] Not at any particular period, but when the hair became too heavy for him. On this account of the extraordinary weight of Absalom's hair, see the observations at the end of this chapter. 2Sa 14:30.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 14:26. When he polled his head, &c. —…
2Sa 14:26. When he polled his head, &c. — In those days hair was accounted a great ornament, and the longer it was, the more it was esteemed. And therefore it is no wonder that Absalom, who was proud, and courted popularity, should let his grow to a great length, as this rendered him still more beautiful in the people’s eyes. It was at every year’s end that he polled it — The Hebrew here,מקצ ימים לימים, mekets jamim lajamim, does not properly signify, at every year’s end, but rather, at the return of a certain season. Houbigant renders the passage, For there were certain seasons when he polled it, that he might deliver himself from the weight; and when he polled it, the weight was two hundred shekels. This weight of hair, if computed by the Jewish shekel, according to Bochart, amounts to three pounds two ounces of our weight, which certainly is prodigious, considering that only a part of it was cut off, on account of its being grown too long. Some, however, understand the expression, not of the weight, but of the price of his hair. But the remark of Bishop Patrick here seems worthy of notice: That, “when the books of Samuel were revised, after the Babylonish captivity, such weights were mentioned as were then known to them; and therefore, when the historian speaks of this weight of Absalom’s hair, he adds, by way of explanation, that it was after the king’s weight — That is, after the weight of the king of Babylon, whose shekel was only one-third of that of the Jews; and thus this large quantity of hair, which has given so much occasion to the enemies of revelation to ridicule the sacred text, is reduced so as not to seem at all enormous. Besides, we should recollect that the hair, being in those days reckoned a great ornament, was perfumed with large quantities of fragrant oils, and powdered with gold-dust, which would make it more heavy than we could otherwise imagine; and further we should remark, that it is very evident from the peculiar manner in which it is mentioned in the sacred text, that there must have been something extremely singular, even at that time, in this large quantity of Absalom’s hair.” — See Dr. Dodd, and Saurin’s 5th Dissert.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Two hundred shekels ... - The exact weight cannot…
Two hundred shekels ... - The exact weight cannot be determined. If these “shekels after the king’s weight” were the same as “shekels of the sanctuary,” the weight would be about 6 lbs., which is incredible; “twenty” shekels is more probable.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain A year. Hebrew and Septuagint, "from the end of…
A year. Hebrew and Septuagint, "from the end of the days to days." --- Chaldean, "as it was convenient." But the Vulgate seems the best, (Calmet) and is followed by the Protestant version. (Haydock) --- Sicles, including all his hair. The Hebrews wore their hair very long. It does not commonly grow above four inches in a year; so that the hair which was cut off could not weigh 200 sicles. (Calmet) --- Weight. Hebrew, "after the king’s stone," Beeben; but one manuscript has Boshkol, with the Septuagint, "after the king’s sicle (Kennicott) weight," at Babylon, as Pelletier supposes that this work was written towards the end of the captivity. He allows that Absalom’s hair might weigh almost 31 ounces. Some women wear above 32 ounces, if we may believe the hair-dressers. Some suppose that r (200) has been substituted instead of d (4) or c, (20) &c. But all are not convinced that the Hebrew formerly marked the numbers by letters. Septuagint have, "100 sicles," (Calmet) which some attempt to reconcile with the common reading, by saying, that they speak of the sicles of the sanctuary, which were double the weight of the king’s sicles. Yet the Alexandrian and Vatican copies agree with the Vulgate: (Haydock) and of this distinction of weights there is no proof. The Rabbins assert that the value, and not the weight, of Absalom’s hair is given; (Calmet) and that he made a present of his hair to some of his friends, who sold it to the ladies of Jerusalem, to adorn their heads. (Sanctius) --- Tirinus adopts this sentiment, and ridicules those who say that the weight is meant; as he says, 200 sicles would be equivalent to 8¾ Roman pounds, which comes near to Arbuthnot’s calculation in English. (Haydock) --- Bochart reduces the weight to four such pounds, each consisting of twelve ounces; and he supposes that the hair was so heavy, on account of the gold dust with which it was covered, according to the fashion of those times. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] viii. 1.) --- But this weight would be only accidental. (Calmet) --- Josephus ([Antiquities?] vii. 8.) intimates, that Absalom’s hair was "cut every eight days," or "for the space of eight days." It is quite incredible that it should weigh 200 sicles, or five minæ of Alexandria, each consisting of twelve ounces. The Latin interpreter reads, "every eight months." (Calmet) --- St. Epiphanius and Hero have 125 sicles, or about 31 ounces. (Haydock) --- The Babylonian sicle, here mentioned, was only the third part of that used by the Hebrews. (Du Hamel)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. Polled his head — Cut or clipped off…
26. Polled his head — Cut or clipped off the superabundant growth of the hair.
At every year’s end — Literally, from the end of days to days; that is, from time to time.
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Two hundred shekels after the king’s weight — The king’s shekel is supposed to have been less than the common shekel, and Bochart makes the weight of two hundred shekels equal to three pounds and two ounces avoirdupois. Others think there is an error in the text caused by the former use of letters for numbers, and the transcriber’s mistaking one for another. Thus, ד=4, ר=200, ל=30; and one of these might easily have been mistaken for another. It is impossible positively to solve the difficulty, but in any case it is clear that the weight of Absalom’s hair was surprisingly great, and this was regarded as adding to his beauty. “The hair of men will grow as thick as that of women, and perhaps thicker; and if we may judge from the cues of the Chinese, which sometimes reach to the ground, it will grow as long; and such hair, if of proportionate bulk, must, one would think, weigh at least three or four pounds. Indeed, we have read the well known case of a lady whose hair reached the ground, and weighed upon her head (and therefore without including the weight of the parts nearest the scalp) upwards of four pounds.” — Kitto.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 25–27. Absalom’s person and family
25–27. Absalom’s person and family
26. polled] From poll, the head, comes the verb to poll, to cut the hair.
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two hundred shekels after the king’s weight] If the royal shekel was the same as the sacred shekel, two hundred shekels would be about six pounds, an extraordinary weight. But perhaps the royal shekel was smaller, or as is so often the case with numbers, there may be some error in the text. It was not considered effeminate for men to wear their hair long: the Nazarites did so (Num_6:5), and Josephus says that Solomon’s body-guard had long flowing hair. Modern Arabs frequently allow the hair to grow to its natural length.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) Two hundred shekels.—The value of the shekel “after…
(26) Two hundred shekels.—The value of the shekel “after the king’s weight” is unknown. If it was the same with the shekel of the sanctuary, the weight mentioned would be about six pounds; if only half as much, the weight would still be very extraordinary. Some clerical error has probably arisen in copying the number in the MSS.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Two hundred shekels after the king"s weight. Unless the…
Two hundred shekels after the king"s weight. Unless the royal shekel was smaller than the shekel of the sanctuary, the weight of Absalom"s hair would be six pounds. But we cannot believe that the king"s shekel was not full weight; for to imagine this is to suppose that the king had tampered with the coinage; for the shekel was a coin as well as a weight, being originally a fixed quantity of silver. As a matter of fact, David had amassed too much silver to have need of resorting to what is the expedient of feeble and impoverished princes. Nor can we grant an error in the number; for the versions all agree with the Hebrew, so that any mistake must, at all events, be of great antiquity. Josephus says that Solomon"s body guard wore long hair powdered with gold dust, and undoubtedly Absalom"s hair was something extraordinary. (2Sa_18:9) But six pounds is so enormous a weight that it is just possible that some ancient copyist has enlarged the number, to make it accord with a legend current among the people, in which this feature of Absalom"s beauty had been exaggerated.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:26 cut his hair only once a year: Absalom’s…
14:26 cut his hair only once a year: Absalom’s hair, an aspect of his attractiveness, ended up being a deadly snare for him (see 18:9-15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.