And: while the Hebrew text has only the ordinary conjunction here, Good News Translation tries to capture the surprise element in the story by translating here “suddenly.”
Chanced to meet: literally “was met by….” The meeting was almost certainly an accidental one, as the Revised Standard Version rendering indicates. The wording of Revised Standard Version and most other English versions makes it sound as if the chance meeting of Absalom and David’s men occurred before Absalom’s head was caught in the tree and, in fact, this meeting may have initiated the ride that resulted in this accident. Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, has the chance encounter occurring after Absalom’s head was caught. But this seems less likely than the way most versions relate the story.
Mule: see 13.29; Psa 32.9.
A great oak: literally “the great tree.” The use of the definite article in Hebrew may be an indication that, by the time the story was written, the tree was well known to all the readers and hearers of the story. On the other hand, it is common for Hebrew to use a definite article even when the writer is not referring to a specific known object or person. For this reason many translations say “a great oak [or, terebinth]” (for example, New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, New American Bible). While the term found here is often used to refer to an oak tree, it could also be an elm or a terebinth (New American Bible, Anchor Bible, Goldman). Since the particular kind of tree is not really important to the story, it is possible to translate as in Contemporary English Version, “a huge tree.”
His head caught fast: the exact way in which Absalom’s head was caught in the tree is not provided by the writer. The Jewish historian Josephus, writing in the first century of our era, says that, since Absalom’s mule was galloping along, “he was lifted up by the unsteady motion, and his hair became entangled in a rugged tree with great branches extending far out, and in this strange fashion he remained suspended.” (Josephus, k Antiquitiesk* 7.239). According to 14.26 Absalom had long hair. Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, which says “his hair got caught in the terebinth” (New American Bible is similar).
Some more modern scholars have speculated that he may have been caught by the neck in a forked branch of the tree. If it is possible to leave the details to the readers’ imagination, this is certainly acceptable. But in those languages where translators are forced to decide, there is reason to believe that the ancient historian was correct. The writer may well have intended the reader to think back to the passage about Absalom’s long hair (14.26).
Left hanging: this is the reading of all the ancient versions and a manuscript from Qumran; and it is recommended by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, which gives it a {C} rating. Nearly all modern translations are based on this reading. The Masoretic Text has a form of the verb “to give,” but it is uncertain how it should be translated here. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, following the Hebrew text, says “he was held.”
Between heaven and earth: a literal rendering of this graphic expression may not give the desired meaning in some languages. Several English versions abandon this expression and depict Absalom as being left hanging “in midair” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version as well as Good News Translation). In some other languages this may be better expressed as “with his feet off the ground” or “without touching the earth.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .