2 Samuel 14:28

Study note

Setting — The narrator describes Absalom’s condition in Jerusalem following his return and the birth of his children, just before he attempts to bypass Joab to reach King David.

The words — פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ (pənê hamméleḵ) = face of the king [H6440, H4428]; שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים (śənāṯayim yāmîm) = two years [H8141, H3117].

The thread — The phrase “see the face of the king” recurs in 1 Samuel 25:32 and 2 Samuel 15:8 to denote formal access to royal authority, while the two-year delay mirrors other biblical periods of waiting before covenant fulfillment.

Why it lands — It records a factual estrangement that demands the reader track the growing political and familial rupture before the narrative shifts to Absalom’s next move.

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.