There are several men named Korah in the Bible. The one we know best is the Levite Korah who rebels against Moses and God. Because of the uprising he leads, God kills Korah and his family—and presumably his three sons. Therefore, it’s not likely this Korah’s sons—that is, his descendants—who we read about in the […]
The Two Sons of Moses and Zipporah Moses and Zipporah have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The oldest is Gershom (1). His name means a foreigner there because Moses says he’s a foreigner in a foreign land. The younger son is Eliezer (2). His name means God is my helper. Moses acknowledges God as the […]
The Next King? David’s first four sons are Amnon, Kileab, Absalom, and Adonijah (1). Each one has a different mother, making them all half-brothers. Absalom kills Amnon for raping their sister Tamar. Then Absalom dies in a coup attempt. The Bible only mentions Kileab once, so he likely does nothing noteworthy nor notorious. As a […]
In Service to the King Abishag is a young, beautiful Shunammite woman. She’s carefully selected to attend to King David in his old age. Despite her sleeping next to him to keep him warm, their relationship isn’t sexual—though I’m sure people thought otherwise. When the king dies, we might assume her ordeal is over. But […]
Commander for Life In Absalom’s brief coup attempt against his father, he appoints Amasa (1) as commander of his rebel troops. Amasa is the first cousin of Joab, who commands David’s army. During the rebellion, Joab kills Absalom. This occurs despite David’s explicit command to spare his son’s life. Though doing so ends the coup […]
A Disgraced Counselor Ahithophel is King David’s counselor. Yet when Absalom attempts his coup against his father, Ahithophel shows no sign of loyalty to David and aligns himself with Absalom. Ahithophel gives Absalom advice, which we later find out is correct. But Hushai—working under David’s direction to foil Ahithophel—provides a conflicting recommendation, albeit for David’s […]
Hushai is an Arkite. The Bible tells us little about the Arkites, other than that they descend from Noah’s grandson Canaan. This makes Hushai a foreigner in Israel, a non-Jew. Yet he is also loyal to King David, serving as his confidant. When Absalom attempts a coup against David, the king flees for his life. […]
A Loyal but Overzealous Army Commander Abishai is the brother of Joab, commander of King David’s army. Scripture tells us that Abishai is one of David’s mighty warriors, a subcommander of his army, and credited with impressive military victories. He’s also zealous for David, perhaps too much so. Or maybe he has a thirst for […]
A Priest with Shifting Loyalties When Doeg the Edomite, under the order of King Saul, kills Ahimelek and eighty-five other priests, only Ahimelek’s son Abiathar escapes. Abiathar flees to David, who offers him sanctuary. Abiathar takes the ephod with him. This likely refers to the ephod Moses made for the priests to wear (Exodus 28). […]
Tamar (3) is the daughter of Absalom. She is most beautiful. That’s all we know about her. We can assume Absalom named her after her Aunt Tamar, her father’s sister whom her Uncle Amnon raped. This aunt was taken in by her dad, where she lived in desolation. By sharing her aunt’s name, Absalom’s daughter […]