Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying by En Rogel; and a female servant used to go and tell them; and they went and told king David. For they might not be seen to come into the city. But a boy saw them, and told Absalom. Then they both went away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down there. The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out crushed grain on it; and nothing was known. Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house; and they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” When they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
Parallel Translations
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Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying by En Rogel; and a female servant used to go and tell them; and they went and told king David. For they might not be seen to come into the city.
But a boy saw them, and told Absalom. Then they both went away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down there.
The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out crushed grain on it; and nothing was known.
Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house; and they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” When they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
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Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.
Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
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Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; and a maid-servant used to go and tell them; and they went and told king David; for they might not be seen to come into the city.
But a lad saw them, and told Absalom; and they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; and they went down thither.
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed groats thereon; and nothing was known.
And Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house; and they said: 'Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' And the woman said unto them: 'They are gone over the brook of water.' And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
Cross-references (18)
- 2 Samuel 15:36 (v17) Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son. Send to me everything that you shall…
- Joshua 15:7 (v17) The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that faces the ascent of Adummim, which is…
- Joshua 18:16 (v17) The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of…
- 2 Samuel 3:16 (v18) Her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go! Return!” and he returned.
- 2 Samuel 15:27 (v17) The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son,…
Show all 16 cross-references
- Exodus 1:19 (vv19–20) The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the…
- 2 Samuel 16:5 (v18) When king David came to Bahurim, behold, a man of the family of Saul’s house came out, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out…
- Joshua 2:4-24 (vv17, 19) The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from. About the time of…
- Joshua 2:3-5 (v20) Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy…
- Joshua 2:22-23 (v20) They went and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the…
- 1 Samuel 19:12-17 (v20) So Michal let David down through the window. He went away, fled, and escaped. Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a…
- 1 Samuel 21:2 (v20) David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me to do something, and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the…
- 1 Samuel 27:11-12 (v20) David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, “Lest they should tell about us, saying, ‘David did this, and this…
- 2 Samuel 15:34 (v20) but if you return to the city, and tell Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. As I have been your father’s servant in time past, so I…
- 2 Samuel 19:16 (v18) Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.
- 1 Kings 1:9 (v17) Adonijah killed sheep, cattle, and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel; and he called all his brothers, the king’s…
16 distinct cross-references across this passage (18 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 20 Or, the well of Rogel.
Or, the well of Rogel.
Meaning, the message from their fathers.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–20 2Sa 17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel;…
2Sa 17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.
Ver. 17. And a wench went.] She went to Enrogel, that is, the Fuller’s fountain, - where those two were by their parents’ appointment, under pretence of fetching water or washing clothes there, - and carried intelligence. Thus David’s safety depended upon the faithfulness of a wench. God delighteth to help his servants "with a little help," as it is in Dan 11:34.
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 On vv17–20 En-rogel, or, the fuller’s well; a place near Jerusalem,…
En-rogel, or, the fuller’s well; a place near Jerusalem, Jos 15:7; 18:16.
A wench went and told them; pretending to go thither to wash some clothes,
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 On vv17–20 Nevertheless, a lad saw them, and told Absalom,.... Saw…
Nevertheless, a lad saw them, and told Absalom,.... Saw them conversing with the girl, and departing for David's army; according to Josephus (o), they were some horsemen that saw them about two furlongs or a quarter mile from Jerusalem, and acquainted Absalom with it:
but they went both of them away quickly; made all the haste they could with their message to David:
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and came to a man's house in Bahurim; where very probably they had been informed David had been, whither he came weary, and had refreshment, Sa2 16:14; or rather, perceiving they were discovered and pursued, they turned in hither, the first place they came to, for safety:
which had a well in his court; which they observed, and was the reason of their turning in:
whither they went down; to hide themselves from their pursuers, it being dry, as sometimes wells were in the summertime: Josephus says (p), a woman let them down by a rope.
(o) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 7. (p) Ibid.
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 On vv17, 19, 20 Enrogel - Or, the fullers well. A place near…
Enrogel - Or, the fullers well. A place near Jerusalem, Josh. xv, 7; xviii, 16. Wench - Pretending to go thither to wash some cloaths, or to draw water.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v17 Verse 17. En-rogel] The fullers' well; the place where…
Verse 17. En-rogel] The fullers' well; the place where they were accustomed to tread the clothes with their feet; hence the name עין ein, a well, and רגל regel, the foot, because of the treading above mentioned.
And a wench went and told them] The word wench occurs nowhere else in the Holy Scriptures: and, indeed, has no business here; as the Hebrew word שפחה shiphchah, should have been translated girl, maid, maid-servant. The word either comes from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] a maid, or the Belgic wunch, desire, a thing wished for: multum enim ut plurimum Puellae a Juvenibus desiderantur, seu appetuntur. So Minsheu. Junius seems more willing to derive it from wince, to frisk, to be skittish, c., for reasons sufficiently obvious, and which he gives at length. After all, it may as likely come from the Gothic wens or weins, a word frequently used in the gospels of the Codex Argenteus for wife. Coverdale's Bible, 1535, has damsell. Becke's Bible, 1549, has wenche. The same in Cardmarden's Bible, 1566 but it is maid in Barker's Bible, 1615. Wench is more of a Scotticism than maid or damsel; and King James probably restored it, as he is said to have done lad in Ge 21:12, and elsewhere. In every other place where the word occurs, our translators render it handmaid, bondmaid, maiden, womanservant, maidservant, and servant. Such is the latitude with which they translate the same Hebrew term in almost innumerable instances.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 2Sa 17:18-19. Nevertheless a lad saw them — Who…
2Sa 17:18-19. Nevertheless a lad saw them — Who knew them to be favourers of David, and observed that they waited there with design to gain intelligence, and possibly saw the girl speaking privately to them. But they went away quickly — Suspecting by the observation which the lad made, and his after conduct, that they were discovered. And came to a man’s house in Bahurim — Turning out of the public road, as Josephus explains it, they made haste to this village. Which had a well in his court, whither they went down — For at that time of the year their wells were in many places dry, or had little water in them. And spread ground corn thereon — Under pretence of drying it by the sun, which shows that it was summer- time. Thus the woman effectually concealed them.
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 On vv17–20 En-rogel - See the marginal reference.
En-rogel - See the marginal reference.
A wench - Hebrew “the maid servant,” namely, of the high priest, either Zadok or Abiathar, or possibly one employed in some service in the temple courts. (1Sa 2:22 note.)
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And they went and told king David - As related afterward 2Sa 17:21. Here mentioned by anticipation.
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 On vv17–20 Robel, near Jerusalem, on the east. (Menochius) --- Maid,…
Robel, near Jerusalem, on the east. (Menochius) --- Maid, under the pretence of washing linen. (St. Jerome, Trad.)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv17–18 by En-rogel--the fuller's well in the neighborhood of Jerusalem,…
by En-rogel--the fuller's well in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, below the junction of the valley of Hinnom with that of Jehoshaphat.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–20 17. Jonathan and Ahimaaz] Hushai had evidently communicated David’s…
17. Jonathan and Ahimaaz] Hushai had evidently communicated David’s plan to Zadok and Abiathar, and commissioned the young men to be in waiting at a convenient place.
En-rogel] That is, “The Fuller’s Fountain,” probably the modern “Fountain of the Virgin,” in the valley of the Kidron, just outside the city on the south-east. It was close to “the stone of Zoheleth” (1Ki_1:9), which has been identified with the cliff Zahweileh, on which the modern village of Siloam stands. Others however suppose En-rogel to be the deep and ancient well known as “Job’s Well,” near the junction of the valleys of the Kidron and Hinnom. En-rogel was a land-mark on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Jos_15:7; Jos_18:16).
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they might not be seen] For it was notorious that the high-priests were on David’s side. They knew that their movements would be watched, as the next verse shews was the case.
a wench] The maid-servant: the definite article probably denotes a particular servant belonging to the household of one of the high-priests. She could go to the fountain for water without exciting suspicion. Wench, found here only in the E. V., means a girl, usually one of low birth.
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 On vv17, 19, 20 (17) En-rogel.—A fountain just outside the city, on the…
(17) En-rogel.—A fountain just outside the city, on the boundary between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah (Jos_15:7; Jos_18:16). There are two localities which claim to represent it, each of which has its earnest advocates: the “Fountain of the Virgin,” on the western slope of the valley of the Kidron; and “Job’s Well” just below the junction of the valleys of the Kidron and Hinnom. The latter answers much better to the description in Joshua, but either will suit the present passage. The loyalty of the high priests to David must have been well known, and it would have been quite unsafe for their sons to start from the city itself as bearers of tidings to David; even with all their care they were pursued. Their hiding-place, however, was well chosen. as women resorted to the fountains to draw water, so that communications could be had without attracting observation.
A wench.—The maid-servant, the definite article probably indicating some well-known maid of the high priest. The word wench is not found elsewhere in the English Bible.
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 On vv17–20 Stayed by En-rogel. The two youths were posted at…
Stayed by En-rogel. The two youths were posted at En-rogel, that is, the "Fuller"s spring," near Jerusalem (Jos_15:7; 1Ki_1:9) and probably the place now known as "Job"s Well," situated at the point where the valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom meet. They were placed there because, though they would have been admitted into the city, they would scarcely have been allowed to leave it. Instead of wench a term less disrespectful when the Authorized Version was made than it is now the Hebrew has the maidservant. Probably the maid is meant whose usual duty it was to fetch water for domestic purposes, and thus her journey to the well would excite no suspicion.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 19 Jonathan ... Ahimaaz
Jonathan ... Ahimaaz
See how you translated these men's names in 2 Samuel 15:27. (See: How to Translate Names)
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When the message came
Here the "message" is spoken of as coming to them, when really it is the woman who came to then bringing the message. AT: "When she brought them a message" (See: Metonymy)
this time
"one time"
So Jonathan and Ahimaaz went away
It is implied that they found out that the young man had told Absalom about them being there. This can be stated clearly. AT: "Jonathan and Ahimaaz found out what the young man had done, so they went away" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
spring of Rogel ... Bahurim
These are the name of places, both near Jerusalem. Bahurim is a small town. (See: How to Translate Names)
they descended
"they lowered themselves and hid"
translationWords
Jonathan
servant
cistern
court
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17–18 17:17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz: See 15:27, 36. • The…
17:17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz: See 15:27, 36. • The location of En-rogel is uncertain, but it cannot have been too far east of Jerusalem.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.