2 Samuel 16:14

16:5-14 David bore Shimei's curses much better than Ziba's flatteries; by these he was brought to pass a wrong judgment on another, by those to pass a right judgment on himself: the world's smiles are more dangerous than its frowns. Once and again David spared Saul's life, while Saul sought his. But innocence is no defence against malice and falsehood; nor are we to think it strange, if we are charged with that which we have been most careful to keep ourselves from. It is well for us, that men are not to be our judges, but He whose judgment is according to truth. See how patient David was under this abuse. Let this remind us of Christ, who prayed for those who reviled and crucified him. A humble spirit will turn reproaches into reproofs, and get good from them, instead of being provoked by them. David the hand of God in it, and comforts himself that God would bring good out of his affliction. We may depend upon God to repay, not only our services, but our sufferings.

And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary,.... With their journey, and through grief and trouble at what they met with: and refreshed themselves there: that is, at Bahurim, with food and rest; which revived their spirits, and put as it were new life and soul into them, as the word used signifies. Josephus (y) says, when David came to Jordan, he refreshed his weary men. (y) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 4.

(14) Came weary. —The sentence seems to require the mention of some place, and the clause “refreshed themselves there” to imply that a place has already been mentioned. The word for weary is, therefore, generally taken as a proper name, Ayephim, which was probably a mere caravansary.

14 . came weary ] There is no place mentioned to which there at the end of the verse can refer. It is clear from ch. 2 Samuel 17:18 , that the halting-place was not Bahurim, but some place beyond it. We must suppose that the name of the place has fallen out of the text, or that the word for weary should be taken as a proper name to Ayêphîm . No such place is known, but it would be an appropriate name for a caravansary or resting-place for travellers.

Verse 14. - Weary . Evidently the name of a place; for David "refreshed himself there." It was probably a caravanserai, the full name of which was, "Rest for the weary," but gradually the title was shortened down to the last word, "Weary," Hebrew Ayephim , which the Revised Version puts as a proper name in the margin. 2 Samuel 16:14

The "people" is the term especially applied in this narrative to David's followers 2 Samuel 15:17 ; 2 Samuel 16:14 ; 2 Samuel 17:2 ; 2 Samuel 18:1-2 ; 2 Samuel 19:2-3 . They crossed by the ford, while David and his household, accompanied by Barzillai and Chimham, came over in the ferry.

The king came with his train, pursued in this manner, to Ayephim, and refreshed himself there. The context requires that Ayephim should be taken as the name of a place. If it were an appellative, signifying weary, there would be no information as to the place to which David came, and to which the word שׁם (there) distinctly refers. Bahurim cannot be the place alluded to, for the simple reason that, according to 2 Samuel 17:18 , the place where David rested was a considerable distance beyond Bahurim, towards the Jordan, as we may see from the fact that it is stated there that the priests' sons, who were sent to carry information to David of what was occurring in Jerusalem, hid themselves in a well at Bahurim from the officers who were following them, and consequently had to go still further in order to convey the news to David; so that it is out of the question to supply this name from 2 Samuel 16:5 . It is true that we never meet with the name Ayephim again; but this applies to many other places whose existence is not called in question. (Note: The meaning of the word, wearied or weariness, does not warrant any conjectures, even though they should be more felicitous than that of Bttcher, who proposes to alter Ayephim into Ephraim, and assumes that there was a place of this name near Mahanaim, though without reflecting that the place where David rested was on this side of the Jordan, and somewhere near to Gilgal or Jericho (2 Samuel 17:16. and 2 Samuel 17:22).)