Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Samuel 15:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
David leaves ten concubines to keep the house; later violence against them makes this royal decision ethically consequential.
The report is enough: David orders flight to save the city
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Samuel 15:13–18. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 15:13–18
Read 2 Samuel 15:16 with 15:13–18. The wording “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which…” supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: A messenger announces Israel's allegiance to Absalom, David orders immediate flight, takes his household, and leaves ten concubines to keep the house.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “David Flees and Leaves Ten Women Behind,” 2 Samuel 15:16 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Samuel 15:7–12 establishes this prior movement: After a textually disputed interval Absalom invokes a vow, sends secret messengers, recruits Ahithophel, and gains a widening following. 2 Samuel 15:13–18 continues the narrative consequence; that demonstrated relationship, rather than sequence alone, explains its placement.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: A messenger announces Israel's allegiance to Absalom, David orders immediate flight, takes his household.
- Developing movement or outcome: leaves ten concubines to keep the house.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which…”
In plain language: David leaves ten concubines to keep the house; later violence against them makes this royal decision ethically consequential.
2 Samuel 15:16 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence by recording “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which….” This line matters because David leaves ten concubines to keep the house; later violence against them makes this royal decision ethically consequential.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material textual, literary, historical, royal-power, violence, consent, trauma, covenant, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Samuel 15:16 does not permit the wording “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. This verse does not excuse sexual coercion, erase consent, blame the person harmed, or turn prophecy, household status, or royal power into moral permission.
What Remains True
Power remains accountable for the people it exposes, takes, silences, injures, or kills; truthful memory keeps their bodies, testimony, agency, and cost visible. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: A messenger announces Israel's allegiance to Absalom, David orders immediate flight, takes his household, and leaves ten concubines to keep the house. In 2 Samuel 15:16, the concrete line “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Samuel 15:16's role in 15:13–18. Paraphrase “And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which…”, name the ancient royal or household horizon, state one material uncertainty, keep one vulnerable or affected person visible, and identify one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Samuel 15:13–18 — David Flees and Leaves Ten Women BehindSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 15:13-18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 15:13-18
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 564–565, translation and all translator notes attached to 15:13-18
Open source ↗