II Samuel 19:11

When these words of all Israel were reported to David, he sent to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, saying, "Speak to the elders of Judah, why will ye be the last to bring back the king to his palace? ... Ye are my brethren, my bones and flesh (i.e., my blood relations): why then," etc.? The last clause of Sa2 19:11, "the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house," is a circumstantial clause inserted in the midst of David's words, to explain the appeal to the men of Judah not to be the last. In the lxx, and some Codices of the Vulgate, this sentence occurs twice, viz., at the end of Sa2 19:10, and also of Sa2 19:11; and Thenius, Ewald, and Bttcher regard the clause at the end of Sa2 19:10 as the original one, and the repetition of it at the close of Sa2 19:11 as a gloss. But this is certainly a mistake: for if the clause, "and the speech of all Israel came to the king to his house (at Mahanaim)," ought to stand at the close of Sa2 19:10, and assigns the reason for David's sending to Zadok and Abiathar, Sa2 19:11 would certainly, or rather necessarily, commence with המּלך ויּשׁלח: "The word of all Israel came to the king, and then king David sent," etc. But instead of this, it commences with שׁלח דּיד והמּלך, "But king David sent." This construction of the sentence decidedly favour the correctness of the Hebrew text; whereas the text of the Septuagint, apart altogether from the tautological repetition of the whole of the sentence in question, shows obviously enough that it is nothing more than a conjecture, by which the attempt was made to remove the difficulty occasioned by the striking position in which the circumstantial clause occurred.

We left David's army in triumph and yet David himself in tears: now here we have, I. His return to himself, by the persuasion of Joab (Sa2 19:1-8). II. His return to his kingdom from his present banishment. 1. The men of Israel were forward of themselves to bring him back (Sa2 19:9, Sa2 19:10). 2. The men of Judah were dealt with by David's agents to do it (Sa2 19:11-14) and did it (Sa2 19:15). III. At the king's coming over Jordan, Shimei's treason is pardoned (Sa2 19:16-23), Mephibosheth's failure is excused (Sa2 19:24-30), and Barzillai's kindness is thankfully owned, and recompensed to his son (Sa2 19:31-39). IV. The men of Israel quarrelled with the men of Judah, for not calling them to the ceremony of the king's restoration, which occasioned a new rebellion, an account of which we have in the next chapter (Sa2 19:40-43).

19:11-12 When David realized that the northern tribes would welcome him (19:9-10), he sent emissaries to goad Judah, his own tribesmen, into welcoming him as well. See also study note on 19:41-43.