He was King David’s favorite son, and the most wayward. He was handsome and appealing to both men and women, and had such a mane of hair that whenever he cut it, the clippings weighed five pounds (2 Sam. 14:26).
Absalom repaid his doting father by plotting to seize his throne. David and his court had to flee, for it appeared Absalom’s popularity was enough to make him king.
Absalom’s rebellion almost succeeded, but David still had some fine fighting men. One of them, Joab, found Absalom in a ticklish spot: He had ridden his mule under a tree and his head was caught in the branches.
Joab found the would-be king dangling in midair. He three three spears into Absalom’s heart.
David’s grief over his son is one of the most tearful stories in the Bible: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” (2 Sam. 18:33).
