Bible Strands
2 Samuel 14:25
Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Absalom’s physical appearance immediately after David permits his return to his own house but denies him an audience. This statement occurs during Absalom’s two-year period of living in Jerusalem without seeing the king.
The words — The Hebrew יָפֶה (ya.Peh) literally means "handsome," and לְ/הַלֵּל (le./ha.Lel) means "to praise," combining to declare him "handsome and highly praised." The text explicitly states he lacked a single flaw from head to foot, presenting a factual claim about his appearance before noting his subsequent isolation.
The thread — The exact phrase "from the sole of his foot to the top of his head" appears in Isaiah 1:6, Deuteronomy 28:35, and Job 2:7 to describe complete bodily affliction. Here the biblical author inverts that formula to declare physical perfection rather than disease or judgment.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to separate external attractiveness from internal character without assuming divine approval. It asks the reader to note how human admiration for appearance can coexist with relational rebellion and impending consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
- Deuteronomy 28:35 The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
- Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
- 1 Samuel 9:2 And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
- Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- Ephesians 5:27 and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.