2 Samuel 13:23
New International Version
Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal Hazor near the border of Ephraim, he invited all the king’s sons to come there.

New Living Translation
Two years later, when Absalom’s sheep were being sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king’s sons to come to a feast.

English Standard Version
After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

Berean Standard Bible
Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

King James Bible
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

New King James Version
And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; so Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

New American Standard Bible
Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons to celebrate.

NASB 1995
Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

NASB 1977
Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

Amplified Bible
Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons [to a party].

Christian Standard Bible
Two years later, Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Two years later, Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

American Standard Version
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

Contemporary English Version
Two years later, Absalom's servants were cutting wool from his sheep in Baal-Hazor near the town of Ephraim, and Absalom invited all of the king's sons to be there.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass after two years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Two years later Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal Hazor near Ephraim. He invited all the king's sons.

Good News Translation
Two years later Absalom was having his sheep sheared at Baal Hazor, near the town of Ephraim, and he invited all the king's sons to be there.

International Standard Version
Two full years later, Absalom took some men to Baal-hazor near Ephraim to shear his sheep. He also invited all of the king's sons to come.

Majority Standard Bible
Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

NET Bible
Two years later Absalom's sheepshearers were in Baal Hazor, near Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king's sons.

New Heart English Bible
It happened after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

World English Bible
After two full years, Absalom had sheep shearers in Baal Hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And it comes to pass, after two years of days, that Absalom has shearers in Ba‘al-Hazor, which [is] near Ephraim, and Absalom calls for all the sons of the king.

Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass, after two years of days, that Absalom hath shearers in Baal-Hazor, which is with Ephraim, and Absalom calleth for all the sons of the king.

Smith's Literal Translation
And it will be for two years of days, and shearers will be to Absalom in Baal-Hazor, which is with Ephraim: and Absalom will call for all the king's sons.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And it came to pass after two years, that the sheep of Absalom were shorn in Baalhasor, which is near Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons:

Catholic Public Domain Version
Then, after the time of two years, it happened that the sheep of Absalom were being shorn in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim. And Absalom invited all the sons of the king.

New American Bible
Two years went by. It was sheep-shearing time for Absalom in Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

New Revised Standard Version
After two full years Absalom had sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Now from season to season, Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And from time to time Abishlum had Shearers in Baal Khatsur which is with Aphrim, and Abishlum invited all the sons of the King
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass at the end of two whole years, that they were shearing sheep for Abessalom in Belasor near Ephraim: and Abessalom invited all the king's sons.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Absalom's Revenge on Amnon
23Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king. 24And he went to the king and said, “Your servant has just hired shearers. Will the king and his servants please come with me?”…

Cross References
Genesis 37:12-14
Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. / Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied. / Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,

1 Samuel 25:2-3
Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. / His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

2 Samuel 14:30-31
Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. / Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?”

1 Kings 4:23
ten fat oxen, twenty range oxen, and a hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened poultry.

Genesis 38:12-13
After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah. / When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

1 Samuel 16:11
And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

2 Samuel 3:2-5
And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; / his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; / his fourth was Adonijah, the son of Haggith; his fifth was Shephatiah, the son of Abital; ...

2 Samuel 15:7-10
After four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I have made to the LORD. / For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’” / “Go in peace,” said the king. So Absalom got up and went to Hebron. ...

1 Kings 1:9
And Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fattened calves near the stone of Zoheleth, which is next to En-rogel. He invited all his royal brothers and all the men of Judah who were servants of the king.

2 Samuel 12:11
This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.

2 Samuel 11:1
In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 18:18
During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.

1 Chronicles 27:27
Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the produce of the vineyards for the wine vats.

Matthew 21:33-41
Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey. / When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. / But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ...

Luke 15:11-32
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. / The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. / After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep shearers in Baalhazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons.

A.

Genesis 38:12,13
And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite…

1 Samuel 25:2,4,36
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel…

2 Kings 3:4
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

invited

1 Kings 1:9,19,25
And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by Enrogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants: …

Jump to Previous
Absalom Ab'salom Absalom's Baal Border Cutting Ephraim E'phraim Feast Full Hazor Invited King's Later Shearers Sheep Sheepshearers Sheep-Shearers Wool
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Absalom Ab'salom Absalom's Baal Border Cutting Ephraim E'phraim Feast Full Hazor Invited King's Later Shearers Sheep Sheepshearers Sheep-Shearers Wool
2 Samuel 13
1. Amnon loving Tamar, by Jonadab's counsel feigning himself sick, ravishes her.
15. He hates her, and shamefully turns her away
19. Absalom entertains her, and conceals his purpose
23. At a sheep-shearing among all the king's sons, he kills Amnon
31. David grieving at the news, is comforted by Jonadab
37. Absalom flies to Talmai at Geshur














Two years later
This phrase marks a significant passage of time since the events of Amnon's assault on Tamar, Absalom's sister. The Hebrew word for "years" is "שָׁנִים" (shanim), indicating a period of waiting and simmering resentment. In the biblical narrative, time often serves as a tool for divine justice or human plotting. Absalom's patience over these two years suggests a calculated approach to his eventual revenge, highlighting the deep-seated anger and bitterness that can fester over time.

Absalom’s sheepshearers
Sheepshearing was a significant event in ancient Israel, often associated with festivity and celebration. The Hebrew term "גֹּזְזִים" (gozzim) refers to those who shear sheep, a task that was both labor-intensive and communal. This setting provides a backdrop for Absalom's plan, as such gatherings were customary times for feasting and hospitality, making it an opportune moment for Absalom to execute his scheme under the guise of a celebration.

Baal-hazor
This location, "בַּעַל חָצוֹר" (Baal-hazor), is identified as a place near Ephraim. The name itself suggests a high place or a fortified area, with "Baal" often associated with a lord or master, and "hazor" meaning village or enclosure. Archaeologically, Baal-hazor is thought to be a site of strategic importance, which may have been chosen by Absalom for its seclusion and suitability for hosting a large gathering without immediate oversight from the king.

near Ephraim
Ephraim was a significant tribal territory in Israel, known for its central location and fertile land. The mention of Ephraim situates the event geographically, indicating that Absalom's activities were within a region of influence and power. Historically, Ephraim was a prominent tribe, often associated with leadership and strength, which may underscore Absalom's ambitions and his desire to assert his own authority.

he invited all the sons of the king
This invitation is a critical element of Absalom's plan. The Hebrew verb "קָרָא" (qara) means to call or invite, suggesting a formal and deliberate action. By inviting all the king's sons, Absalom creates a scenario where his actions will have maximum impact. This phrase highlights the familial and political dynamics at play, as Absalom seeks to manipulate the situation to his advantage, setting the stage for the unfolding drama of revenge and the subsequent consequences for David's household.

(23) Absalom had sheepshearers.--Absalom had now silently nourished his revenge for "two full years." No doubt he chose also to give full opportunity for his father to punish Amnon's iniquity if he would; and by this long quiet waiting he so far disarmed suspicion that he was able to carry out his purpose. Sheepshearing always was, and still is, a time of feasting. (Comp. 1Samuel 25:2.) The situation of Baalhazor and of Ephraim are quite unknown, but Absalom's property was probably not many miles from Jerusalem.

Verse 23. - Absalom had sheep shearers in Baal-hazor. The sheep shearing was a usual occasion for feasting and holiday keeping (see 1 Samuel 25:2, 8). Baal-hazor was apparently the name of Absalom's estate, situated near the town Ephraim (2 Chronicles 13:19), which, according to Eusebius, lay about eight miles north of Jerusalem. As Ephraim was near the wilderness of Judah, it was probably the same town as that to which our Lord withdrew (John 11:54). The phrase beside, literally, near, Ephraim, shows that it must be the town, and not the tribal territory, which is here meant. Two full years; Hebrew, years of days.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Two years later,
לִשְׁנָתַ֣יִם (liš·nā·ṯa·yim)
Preposition-l | Noun - fd
Strong's 8141: A year

when Absalom’s
לְאַבְשָׁל֔וֹם (lə·’aḇ·šā·lō·wm)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 53: Absalom -- 'my father is peace', two Israelites

sheepshearers
גֹֽזְזִים֙ (ḡō·zə·zîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1494: To cut off, to shear a, flock, shave the hair, to destroy an enemy

were
וַֽיְהִי֙ (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

at Baal-hazor
חָצ֖וֹר (ḥā·ṣō·wr)
Preposition | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1178: Baal-hazor -- 'possessor of a court', a city between Ephraim and Benjamin

near
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Ephraim,
אֶפְרָ֑יִם (’ep̄·rā·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

he
אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם (’aḇ·šā·lō·wm)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 53: Absalom -- 'my father is peace', two Israelites

invited
וַיִּקְרָ֥א (way·yiq·rā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7121: To call, proclaim, read

all
לְכָל־ (lə·ḵāl)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the king’s
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

sons.
בְּנֵ֥י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son


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OT History: 2 Samuel 13:23 It happened after two full years that (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 13:22
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