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ABsalom [meaning father of peace!]
Contrary to his name, Absalom was NOT a man of PEACE...
His personal vanity and disloyalty
caused great strife and open warfare in the royal family...
Absalom while making a hasty retreat riding a mule[!] got his
LONGhair caught in the branches of an oak tree...
Then they ran Absalom through with 3 javelins.[ouch!]
His body was then thrown into a pit in the forest
...The rebellion, and Absalom's life, were over.
2 Samuel 18 actually says he got his head caught in the branches of a tree he was riding under. It doesn't say he got his hair caught. He did have long hair, and people have jumped to this conclusion as a result.
......Okay..OK!...so it says "head" (hmmmm...that one
didn't slip by you!]
....but...
.......HAVE A HEART!!! Please consider the man's PRIDE!...
..I mean, he was a Great WARRIOR, after all, and...
....how would YOU like to have the whole World thinking
..that you got your HEAD..stuck in a tree while riding mule?!!!
.....Doesn't look too good does it???!!!
...So maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt?
Ok...not trying to stir the pot but:
Sh'mu'el Bet (2 Samuel)18:9-10
Avshalom (Absalom) happened to meet some of David's servants. Avashalom was riding his mule, and as the mule walked under the thick branches of a big terebinth tree (oak like), his hair got caught in the terebinth, so that he was left hanging between earth and sky, as the mule went on from under him.
Avshalom was witnessed hanging in the tree by his hair. Just wondering if anyone else has a different translation?
And for those that don't believe, I'm not trying to offend. Just responding to a post.
You didn't mention what translation that was.
NIV:
Now Absalom happened to meet David's men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom's head got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."
Darby:
And Absalom found himself in the presence of David's servants. And Absalom was riding upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of the great terebinth, and his head caught in the terebinth, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
And a man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth.
KJV:
And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.
NASV:
Now Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. For Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. And (1) his head caught fast in the oak, so he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him kept going.
When a certain man saw it, he told Joab and said, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak."
Youngs Literal Translation:
And Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that [is] under him hath passed on.
And one man seeth, and declareth to Joab, and saith, `Lo, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.'
I can't find a version that says hair.
Seriously, any vegetative growth small enough to entangle a human head or its hair would, if not breaking outright, bend downward several feet from the body's weight. The head of a man riding a mule is only two to three feet higher than if he were standing, so his feet would have landed on the ground.
Having an engineering degree can ruin lots of fairy tales. That one made an interesting story though....
I think it depends on the tree. I certainly think it would be possible, even likely if it were a local live oak tree. Also, another tree could be holding up the other end of the branch. I'll post some actual measurements from local trees that are used for climbing to illustrate when I have some time.
My thought was that any branch limber enough to spring back and thereby be able to envelop you would also be limber enough to bend downward quite a bit. If I were you, I'd carry either a cell phone or a pair of scissors in case on your mule ride you prove me wrong. Personally, I'd opt for the cell phone. :-)
Why would it be necessary for it to spring at all? The way I picture the situation is that Absalom rode the mule towards a branch with a fork in it. The fork caught him in the throat (dude, open your eyes), stopping him, while the mule continued.
If it didn't clamp on, what slips in would slip right back out, particularly if it were swinging back and forth and now pulling downward with 200 pounds of force. Beyond that, a man riding into brush will duck to protect his eyes, presenting the top of his head to the branches (not catchable in a V), and at a height not much taller than the mule's head if it is at all. His head in that case may only be five feet above the ground. There's also the situation that, to run headon into a V, one must be riding not tangential to the tree trunk but straight at it, and mules are quite stubborn about not doing that.
As for entanglement instead of head entrapment, anything that would be small and numerous enough to entangle enough hair to hold you up, would be small enough to break or bend.
All this adds up to earn a "highly improbable" rating here, but do take that cell phone. And I'd carry a "do not cut" card in your wallet for the EMTs. :-)
Well, this is probably a rather pointless debate, but here are my responses to your comments.
Not necessarily. His neck could have been skewered. The branch could have been pointing upwards somewhat, as is the custom for tree branches.
Brush is different from a heavy branch. I can testify to the fact that overhead branches can seemingly appear from nowhere. On my drive to work a few years ago I drove into one. Normally you don't look up for obstacles while driving. I did actually see the branch before I hit it, but it was too late to react. Now this particular branch was not one that would have arrested me had I been on a mule. Rather, I would have received a nasty poke in the eye.
Also, if you've done any hiking through brush (I know you have, Bill), you know that you can run into one branch while in the process of ovoiding the previous one.
But maybe he had just done this to avoid another branch and was just raising his head again after clearing it when the next branch came.
I don't agree with this at all. This would be true only if branches always grew directly away from the tree. Such is generally the case for conifers but not for oaks. Oak branches tend to meander quite a bit.
Remember, Absalom supposedly had about 5 pounds of hair (I know, another exaggeration). And bark is sufficient to take a firm hold on hair.
Yes, I agree with highly improbable, but possible.
Yeah, but it's been fun!
The main thing that happens in brush is my hair gets tangled in it, but I don't get trapped, because not that many strands get tangled at any one time. The few strands that get tangled at particular moment just get pulled out or broken. Yuck.
I don't usually go for ponytails, but I make an exception for hiking in, or trimming, brush. ;-)
Bill
But NOT an African swallow.........you guys are great. By the way I have it here in Hebrew and it is hair. Perhaps just a few strands in a strategic location that would have been painful to pull away from.
[quote] " By the way I have it here in Hebrew and it is hair. Perhaps just a few strands in a strategic location that would have been painful to pull away from." ~Greenleaf
.....hmmmmm...I was thinking that since 4 chapters earlier(2 Samuel 14:25) they were making a 'big deal' out of Absalom's hair
it was sort of 'setting us up' for what was to follow
in Chapter 18?
"Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for
his beauty as Absalom;
And when he cut the hair of his head...for at the end of every year he
used to cut it; when it was heavy on him he cut it...
he weighed the hair of his head,
200 shekels by the king's weight."
....but I cannot TRUST that translation:
"...went beneath the thick boughs of a great oak tree,
and his hair caught in the branches. His mule went on and left
him dangling in the air."
....then again in verse 12 it says:
"For a million dollars I wouldn't do it."
.....te..he
.
..... Absalom used to cut his hair once a year, and the
..clippings "weighed 200 shekels after the king's weight,"
...i.e. 100 oz. (avoirdupois).
It would be a fine head of hair which weighed five ounces, but the ...mere clippings of Absalom's hair weighed 43,800 grains or
....MORE than 100 oz.!
(2 Samuel 14:25)
Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for
his beauty as Absalom;
from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was
no blemish in him...
And when he cut the hair of his head...for at the end of every year he
used to cut it; when it was heavy on him he cut it...
he weighed the hair of his head,
200 shekels by the king's weight (over 100 oz.)
What does a picture of the movie character Conan sitting on his throne have to do with a religious character named Absalom who got his head stuck in a tree?
Absalom [meaning father of peace!]
Arnold looked great with long hair. Circa 82-85.