Absalom

Absalom was the third son of King David, born to Maacah, daughter of the king of Geshur. He was renowned as the most handsome man in Israel—"from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him." His thick hair, cut annually, weighed two hundred shekels.

Absalom's story turned dark when his half-brother Amnon violated his sister Tamar. David was furious but did nothing. Absalom waited two years, then orchestrated Amnon's murder at a sheep-shearing feast. He fled to Geshur for three years before Joab engineered his return to Jerusalem. Yet David refused to see Absalom for two more years, deepening the rift.

The unresolved tension fueled Absalom's ambition. He stationed himself at the city gate, intercepting those seeking the king's justice, subtly suggesting David neglected them: "Oh that I were made judge in the land!" Over four years, Absalom "stole the hearts of the men of Israel." He then declared himself king at Hebron, forcing David to flee Jerusalem.

Absalom's rebellion succeeded militarily but ended in the forest of Ephraim. Riding under a great oak, his famous hair caught in the branches, leaving him suspended. Joab found him hanging and thrust three darts through his heart, against David's explicit orders to deal gently with the young man. David's grief is among Scripture's most heartbreaking moments: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"