But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.

2 SAMUEL 13:37KJV
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2 Samuel 13:37 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 13:37 mean?

2 Samuel 13:37 shows a family split by violence and grief. After Absalom had Amnon killed, Absalom escaped to another kingdom, while his father David mourned Amnon’s death. The verse places Absalom’s flight beside David’s continuing sorrow.

Talmai was king of Geshur and Absalom’s grandfather through his mother, Maacah (2 Samuel 3:3). Absalom therefore went to a ruler who was also a close relative. “Every day” emphasizes that David’s grief continued rather than passing quickly.

Why 2 Samuel 13:37 matters

  • David’s mourning is for Amnon, the son who has died, not a report that Absalom is dead. David had received a false report that all his sons had been killed, but learned that Amnon alone had died (2 Samuel 13:30–33).
  • Absalom’s destination helps explain where he could remain after the killing. Geshur was ruled by his grandfather, and Absalom stayed there three years (2 Samuel 13:38).
  • The verse sets grief alongside a later longing for Absalom. The next verse says that David longed to go to Absalom after being comforted concerning Amnon’s death (2 Samuel 13:39).

Where else these words appear

“Talmai” Hebrew H8526 · used in 6 verses

  • Numbers 13:22 And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were.(Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
  • Joshua 15:14 And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
  • 2 Samuel 3:3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

“Geshur” Hebrew H1650 · used in 9 verses

  • Joshua 13:13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
  • 2 Samuel 13:38 So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
  • 2 Samuel 15:8 For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.

“Ammihud” Hebrew H5989 · used in 10 verses

  • Numbers 1:10 Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
  • Numbers 7:53 And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
  • Numbers 34:28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.

“mourned” Hebrew H56 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
  • Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
  • Jeremiah 23:10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.