Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 14

The woman persuades David to promise to help

2 Samuel 14:8-11

When David had heard the woman’s story, he tried to send her away. He would deal with the matter, he said (14:8).

With that reply, David may have been testing whether the woman’s account was true (compare 1 Kings 3:16-27). The woman could have lied about whether her son intended to kill his brother. If so, she would want to leave David as soon as possible. She would not want David to ask her anything else about the matter.

However, this woman would not leave David yet. Instead, she freely chose to blame herself for the death. She refused to allow David to accept any responsibility in this matter. She was doing this because she, too, wanted to test David. She wanted to see whether he really did support her (14:9).

David’s answer was to insist that he really did want to help her. He promised to support her against anyone who opposed her (14:10).

So, the woman urged David to make a serious promise in front of God about this matter. Nothing less than such a promise could satisfy her. She had already told him that her son’s life was in danger. Their relatives intended to kill him. Her only hope was for the king to make a serious promise, in front of God, to keep her son safe.

At last, David agreed to support her fully. He made his promise in front of God. He would defend the life of her son (14:11).

Next part: The wise woman advises David (2 Samuel 14:12)

Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.