(37) Went to Talmai.--His maternal grandfather. (See Note on 2Samuel 3:2-5.) This verse may be considered parenthetical:--The king's sons came . . . and wept sore. ("Only Absalom fled and went to . . . Geshur.") In this case the omission of "David" in the latter clause of the verse is explained, as the nominative is easily supplied from 2Samuel 13:36.

For his son every day.--Amnon is certainly the son here meant, for whom David continually mourned until his grief was gradually assuaged by the lapse of time.

Verses 37, 38. - So Absalom fled. The triple repetition of these words, and the fragmentary style, make it probable that we have here an abridgment of a longer narrative. So in ver. 35 the words probably are a summary of a more circumstantial account of Absalom's doings after his young men had slain Amnon. (On Talmai and Geshur, see notes on 2 Samuel 3:3.)

13:30-39 Jonadab was as guilty of Ammon's death, as of his sin; such false friends do they prove, who counsel us to do wickedly. Instead of loathing Absalom as a murderer, David, after a time, longed to go forth to him. This was David's infirmity: God saw something in his heart that made a difference, else we should have thought that he, as much as Eli, honoured his sons more than God.But Absalom fled,.... As before related, but here repeated for the sake of what follows:

and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur: his mother's father, see 2 Samuel 3:3, where he might hope for protection and safety:

and David mourned for his son every day; or "all the days" (q), i.e. of the three years Absalom was in Geshur, about the end of which he was comforted concerning Amnon, as the following verses show. Some think it was for Absalom he mourned, but rather for Amnon. The reason why he mourned for him, when he did not for his child by Bathsheba, who died, because that was an infant, this a grown man, and heir to his crown, and was slain by the sword of his brother, and so fulfilled a threatening to himself on account of his own sin, which, hereby no doubt, was brought fresh to his mind.

(q) "cunctis diebus", V. L. "omnibus diebus", Pagninus, Montanus.