ElizabethanDrama.org

presents

the Annotated Popular Edition of

DAVID AND BETHSABE

by George Peele

Performed c. 1596
First Published 1599

Featuring complete and easy-to-read annotations.

Annotations and notes © Copyright ElizabethanDrama.org, 2019
This annotated play may be freely copied and distributed.

The love of King David and Fair Bethsabe.
With the Tragedie of Absalon.
As it hath ben diuers times plaied on the stage.
Written - by George Peele.
LONDON,
Printed by Adam Islip.
1599
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:	INTRODUCTION to the PLAY
David and his Family:	George Peele's David and Bethsabe is the only history
	play (of the era's approximately 600 extant dramas) to be
David, King of Israel and Judah.	adopted totally from the Bible, specifically retelling much of
Cusay, a lord, and follower of David.	the story of King David. Though the characters constantly
	appeal to God, Peele knowingly and gleefully focuses on all
Amnon, son of David by Ahinoam	the elements of David's tale that he knew his audience would
Jethray, Servant to Amnon.	enjoy the most - murder, rape, incest, adultery and war.
Chileab, son of David by Abigail.	Written in iron-fisted and rigorously unwavering iambic
Absalon, son of David by Maacah.	pentameter, yet containing in almost every line a touch of
Thamar, daughter of David by Maacah.	alliteration, David shows off Peele's great skill as a poet, and
Adonia, son of David by Haggith.	possesses a number of passages, especially in the Prologue
Salomon, son of David by Bethsabe.	and opening scene, of undeniable beauty and grace.
Joab, captain of the host to David, and nephew of	NOTE on the TEXT'S SOURCE
David and son of his sister Zeruia.
Abisai, nephew of David and son of his sister Zeruia.	The text of the play is taken from Alexander Dyce's
Amasa, nephew of David and son of his sister Abigail;	1874 edition of David and Bethsabe, cited below at #3.
also captain of the host to Absalon.
Jonadab, nephew of David and son of his brother	NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS
Shimeah; also friend to Amnon.
	Mention of Dyce, Bullen, Keltie, Blistein and Manly
Other Characters:	in the annotations refers to the notes provided by each
	of these editors in their respective editions of this play,
Urias, a warrior in David's army.	each cited fully below.
Bethsabe, wife of Uriah.	The most commonly cited sources are listed in the
Maid to Bethsabe.	footnotes immediately below. The complete list of
	footnotes appears at the end of this play.
Nathan, a prophet.	1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.
Sadoc, high-priest.	2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words.
Ahimaas, his son.	London, New York: Penguin, 2002.
Abiathar, a priest.	3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical
Jonathan, his son.	Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London:
Achitophel, chief counsellor to Absalon.	George Routledge and Sons: 1874.
	4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. II.
Ithay, a Captain from Gath.	Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.
Semei.	5. Keltie, John S. The Works of the British Dramatists.
Hanon, King of Ammon.	Edinburgh: William P. Nimmon, 1873.
Machaas, King of Gath.	6. Blistein, Elmer, ed. The Works of George Peele
Woman of Thecoa.	(Charles T. Prouty, gen. ed.). New Haven: Yale University
	Press, 1970.
Messenger, Soldiers, Shepherds, and Attendants.	22. Manly, John Charles. Specimens of Pre-Shakspe-
Concubines to David.	rean Drama, Vol. II. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1897.
Chorus.

A: Background: Saul and the Rise of David.

Saul was Israel’s first king. Having led his people to numerous military victories, Saul finally fell into the Lord’s disfavour when, in attacking the Amalekites, he ignored God’s injunction to “have no compassion on them, slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxe and sheepe, camel and asse” (1 Samuel 15:3). Samuel instead captured the Amalekite king Agog alive, and his soldiers saved the enemy's best lambs, sheep and oxen in order to sacrifice them to the Lord.

God, angry (“Beholde, to obey, is better then sacrifice”, 1 Sam. 5:22), rejected Saul, and chose David, son of Jesse, a shepherd boy, to become Israel's next king. The Lord’s spirit deserted Saul, and was replaced by an evil spirit, which tormented (“vexed”) him; Saul took the advice of his servants and sent for David, a known musician, and when David played his harp for Saul during his fits of madness, the evil spirit left the old king.

Saul kept David in his household, and David grew up to be a strong military leader; but Saul, jealous of the younger man, tried for years to kill David, but to no avail, as David was protected by the Lord. David spent years in hiding, until Saul was finally killed – he actually fell on his own sword – during a battle with the Philistines, at which point David fulfilled his destiny to become king of Israel.

After ruling from the city of Hebron for the first seven and a half years of his reign, David founded a new capital for Israel at Jerusalem; here he built a Palace, and here he also housed the Ark of the Covenant, thus making Jerusalem Israel's combined political and religious center.⁹ Israel's second king continued to roll up military victories, finding further glory as a slayer of all of Israel’s enemies - the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammonites, and the Syrians.

Our play begins as Israel's army, under the command of David's nephew Joab, is besieging the Ammonite city of Rabbah, located about 40 miles north-east of Jerusalem. David is not with the army, but rather at home, in the Palace. To this point in the Biblical account, David has never done anything wrong in the eyes of the Lord.

B: 16th Century Bibles Available to Peele.

George Peele had several Bibles to use as potential sources for David and Bethsabe. A close comparison of the play's text to various passages in the different Bibles makes it clear that the Bishop's Bible of 1568 was Peele's primary go-to version, but he did also borrow from other Bibles as the spirit moved him.

The close degree to which Peele followed the Bible verse-by-verse as he wrote much of David, especially in a number of the longer speeches, is striking. So much so, that your editor decided to include in the notes many of the Bible verses adopted by Peele so that you, the reader, may enjoy the comparisons; indeed, it is pleasing and easy to imagine Peele sitting with quill in hand and an open Bible on his desk or table, glancing frequently at each successive verse as he wrote line after line of his play.

For the record, here is a list of the various Bibles Peele had to choose from in the mid-1590's as he composed David:

1. The Wycliffe Bible was the first English language Bible, a translation composed, at least in part, by the theologian John Wycliffe in the 1380's. Wycliffe died in 1384 before finishing his project, but others completed the Bible for him. The Wycliffe editions are handwritten, as they predate Gutenberg's invention of the printing press by more than half a century.

2. The Tyndale Bible, written by William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536), was the first Bible printed in the English language; Tyndale only completed the New Testament and the first five books of the Old before being strangled and burned at the stake for his heresy of publishing a Bible in a vernacular language.

3. The Coverdale Bible, published by Miles Coverdale (1488-1568), a disciple of Tyndale's, in 1535, completed Tyndale's translation, and was hence the first complete printed English translation of the Bible.

4. The Matthew Bible was published in 1537 by another Tyndale follower, John Rogers (c.1500-1555), who worked under the pseudonym Thomas Matthew. Rogers was the first Englishman to translate the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew languages, rather than from the Latin Vulgate Bible, as earlier translators had done.
In 1539, Richard Taverner (1505-1575) published what became known as the Taverner Bible, a modestly revised version of the Matthew Bible.

5. The Great Bible, initially published in 1539, was the first authorized English language version of the Bible. The project was overseen by Thomas, Lord Cromwell (Henry VIII's secretary), and Miles Coverdale; the resulting Bible borrowed heavily from previous translations.

6. The Geneva Bible was first published in completed form in 1560 by the Church of Geneva in Switzerland. It was the first Bible to add numbered verses to the Chapters. This was the Bible most used by Shakespeare.

7. The Bishop's Bible of 1568 was basically revised version of the Great Bible, published under the authorization of Elizabeth I.

All Biblical quotations in the annotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Bishop's Bible.

This Note was prepared in large part from information appearing in the website GreatSite.com.²³

C: the Strange Case of Multiple Spellings of Proper Names Within David and Bethsabe.

The 1599 original quarto of David and Bethsabe contains myriad printer's errors; the most striking of these mistakes is that many of the proper names are spelled in two or more different ways throughout the quarto.
An additional curiosity is that there is a difference in the preponderance of spellings based on whether the name appears between the two Choruses of the play (the second section) or in the first and third sections that occur before the first and after the last Chorus respectively. (To make this easy to follow, let's call the first section, which comprises about the first 800 lines of the play, up to the first Chorus, Section I; Section II comprises the approximately 1400 lines between Chorus I and II; and Section III the final 450 lines from Chorus II to the end).

Here is a list of the major offenders:

1. The name of the woman known in modern times as Bathsheba is spelled Bethsabe only in Section I, mostly Bersabe in Section II, and mostly Bethsabe in Section III.

2. The capital city of the Ammonites is spelled Rabath only in Section I, and only Rabba in Section II.

3. Absalon appears almost exclusively as Absolon in Section I, about twice as many times as Absalon over Absolon in Section II, and Absalon only in Section III.

4. The name of the King of the Ammonites is spelled Ammon only in Section I, but mostly Hannon in Section II.

5. Abisai's name appears in multiple ways throughout the play: Abisai, Abisay, Abyssus and Abyshai.

With respect to the sharp difference between the way most of these names are spelled in Section II on the one hand and the outer sections I and III on the other, David Editor John Manly provides a simple explanation: to wit, Section II was set or printed by a different person than the one who prepared the outer sections.

As to how and why such blatant discontinuities could occur, no one knows, but it provides a good example of the lack of quality control, and a seeming absence of any proof-reading, that plagues early copies of Elizabethan plays.

D: Peele's Choice of Proper Names for David.

Another intriguing feature of David and Bethsabe is that Peele does not appear to have borrowed his spellings for the characters' names from the same Bible.

For example, Rabath appears this way only in the Wycliffe Bible, and Rabba is from the Bishop's and Coverdale Bibles; we also have Bethsabe (Bishop's only) and Bersabe (Wycliffe only).

Many of the name choices appear in multiple Bibles; Isboseth, for example, is found in the Bishop's, Coverdale, and Geneva Bibles.

On the other hand, Peele's spelling for Ammon (David's son), Ithay, and both spellings for the Ammonite king - Ammon and Hannon - appear in none of the Bibles at all.

Of course, the modern reader has enough to do to focus on following the densely allusive and poetical language of the play to have to worry about dealing with multiple spellings of the major characters' names; so, in order to minimize confusion, I have settled on the following spellings for this edition of the play:

1. Bethsabe for David's lover and later wife.

2. Rabbah for the capital city of the Ammonites, following Dyce.

3. Absalon for David's third son.

4. Hanon for the king of the Ammonites.

5. Abisai for David's nephew.

In addition, this edition will employ Amnon for David's first son, following Dyce, which is the spelling found in all the Bibles (other than the Wycliffe).

E. Peele's Use of Alliteration.

Alliteration has a long and noble history in English poetry. The earliest English epic poems, such as Beowulf and the later Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, were written in densely alliterative lines (but without regular meter).

Peele uses alliteration almost continuously throughout the play. While the notes point out some of the more dramatic and interesting of the examples, you may wish to note as you read the healthy proportion of lines in the play which contain even just a pair of alliterative words, and sometimes two pairs.

Examine, for example, the following four lines chosen more or less at random from David's first speech; every line contains an alliterative pair of words:

Of moss that sleeps with sound the waters make

For joy to feed the fount with their recourse;

Let all the grass that beautifies her bower

Bear manna every morn instead of dew…

F. Settings, Scene Breaks and Stage Directions.

The original quarto of David and Bethsabe did not identify scene settings, nor were there any scene breaks; we have generally adopted the setting suggestions of Manly; the scene break suggestions are the editor's
As is our normal practice, some stage directions have been added, and some modified, for purposes of clarity. Most of these minor changes are adopted from Dyce.

	DAVID AND BETHSABE
	By George Peele
	Performed c. 1596
	First Published 1599
	PROLOGUS.	Prologus: the Prologue, sometimes called a Chorus, is a device used to introduce the play to an audience, and is recited by a single actor. The first part (lines 1-15) of the Prologue consists primarily of an extolling of David's musicianship. In the second part (lines 16-23), the narrator asks for inspiration from the Muses to inspire him as he tells his tale in order to raise or elevate the minds of his readers.
1	Of Israel's sweetest singer now I sing,	1: the Prologue may indeed be sung; the singer will sing about David, Israel's second king, who was also famous for his skill as a musician. Blistein notes that only the Geneva Bible refers to David as "the sweete singer of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1), but he misidentifies the sourced verse as Psalms 23:1.
2	His holy style and happy victories;	2: holy style = could mean "the excellence of his expression". happy victories = ie. (many) military victories, which demonstrate the favour shown him by the Lord.
	Whose Muse was dipt in that inspiring dew	3-4: David's sublime musical skills were inspired by a Muse. The Muses were the nine goddesses who protected the various arts; artists were often described as being inspired by a Muse. Terpsichore was the name of the Muse of choral dance and song.
4	Arch-angels stillèd from the breath of Jove,	4: Arch-angels = numbering seven, the arch-angels comprised a specific class of angels who took part in the affairs of humanity (see the note at line 8 below).^7 Note how Peele easily mixes pagan and Christian imagery. stillèd = distilled. Jove = the name of the Roman king of the gods was often used to refer to the Christian God.
	Decking her temples with the glorious flowers	= adorning her brows.
6	Heavens rained on tops of Sion and Mount Sinai.	6: Heavens = Heavens and Heaven will almost always be pronounced as a monosyllable, with the medial v omitted: Hea'ns. Sion = ie. Zion, originally a fortress on the top of a hill in south-east Jerusalem, then used, as here, to mean the hill itself; eventually Zion came to refer to the city of Jerusalem, and then the nation or people of Israel as a whole.^8 Mount Sinai = the mountain on the Sinai Peninsula where Moses received the Ten Commandments.^8,9
	Upon the bosom of his ivory lute	= a small plucked instrument, usually used to describe an early guitar; in the Bible, however, David is always described as playing a harp, which he was believed to pluck with his fingers, and not a pick (Lockyer, p. 734).^9
8	The cherubins and angels laid their breasts;	= the beings known generically as angels are divided into 3 classes (called hierarchies), each of which contained 3 sub-classes (called choirs); the second hierarchy is named the counselors, of which the cherubim are the second choir; the third hierarchy is called the messengers, whose first choir is comprised of the arch-angels (see the note at line 6) and second choir the angels.^7
	And, when his consecrated fingers strook	= sacred, sanctified.^2 = ie. struck.
10	The golden wires of his ravishing harp,	10: wires = pronounced with two syllables: WI-yers. ravishing = entrancing;^1 ravishing is also pronounced with two syllables: RAV-'shing.
	He gave alarum to the host of Heaven,	11: gave alarum = "raised an alarm for", or "raised a call to arms to", ie. alerted. host of Heaven = ie. the angels; though the phrase was often used to refer to the stars and planets.
12	That, winged with lightning, brake the clouds, and cast	= archaic language for "broke through". = tossed.
	Their crystal armour at his conquering feet.	13: a line in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Part One, describes "angels in their crystal armours" who "fight a doubtful battle".
14	Of this sweet poet, Jove's musiciän,
	And of his beauteous son, I prease to sing.	15: his beauteous son = ie. Absalon, the beautiful third son of David, whose tale here complements that of David and Bethsabe. prease = press, ie. endeavor, strive.^1
16	Then help, divine Adonai, to conduct	= alternate title for God, used as a substitute for his "ineffable name";^1 St. Jerome employed this epithet in Exodus 6:3 of his famous Latin translation of the Bible known as the Vulgate: "qui apparui Abraham Isaac et Iacob in Deo omnipotente et nomen meum Adonai non indicavi eis". Adonai is pronounced as a three-syllable word, with the stress on the second syllable: a-DON-ai.
	Upon the wings of my well-tempered verse	= pleasant, agreeable.^1
18	The hearers' minds above the towers of Heaven,	= pronounced as a mono-syllable.
	And guide them so in this thrice-haughty flight,	= ie. lofty flight; thrice is simply an intensifier.
20	Their mounting feathers scorch not with the fire	20-21: "so that they do not get burned by the fire that only
	That none can temper but thy holy hand:	thou, God, can control and moderate." There is an allusion here to the mythological story of Daedalus and Icarus, who were being held prisoner by King Minos on the island of Crete: Daedalus built wings for his son Icarus and himself to use to escape Crete; Daedalus warned the boy not to fly too close to the sun, but Icarus ignored his father, and in his pride flew too high; the sun melted the wax holding the feathers of his wings together, and he plunged to his death into the sea.
22	To thee for succour flies my feeble Muse,	22: the narrator's Muse will not be up to the job to inspire him to tell his tale with enough skill, and so the Muse (and hence the narrator himself) asks God to assist her.
	And at thy feet her iron pen doth use.	= ie. a chisel to engrave or carve out her poetry;^24 pens of
24		iron are mentioned frequently in the literature of the time; the Bible mentions iron pens in Job 19:24 and Jeremiah 17:1. Note that the Prologue ends with a rhyming couplet; important speeches, the last speeches of characters in a scene, and scenes in and of themselves often signaled their conclusions by use of a rhyming couplet.
	The Prologue-speaker, before going out, draws a
26	curtain and discovers Bethsabe, with her Maid,	= reveals.
	bathing over a spring:
28	she sings, and David sits above viewing her.
		The Prologue: Peele's Prologue was held in high enough regard to be included in later collections of religious - and especially Jewish - poems and the such; examples include 1913's The Hebrew Anthology and The Standard Book of Jewish Verse of 1917.
	SCENE I.
	The Royal Palace, Jerusalem.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene I: 2 Samuel 11:1-6. Scene Settings: the original 1599 edition does not provide locations for the scenes; I have largely adopted those suggested by Manly.
	David sitting on the Palace roof,	Entering Characters: David is the King of Israel; he
	watching Bethsabe below bathing over a spring.	would perhaps appear to the audience on the balcony at the back of the stage. Bethsabe is a beautiful woman whose husband Urias is in the Israelite army, which is at present besieging the Ammonite capital city of Rabbah, about 40 miles north-east of Jerusalem.
	THE SONG.	124: The Song is sung by Bethsabe; note that the song is comprised of rhyming couplets (except perhaps for the final two lines).
1	Hot sun, cool fire, tempered with sweet air,	= moderated.
2	Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair:	2: fair = beautiful. shadow = screen (from the sun). white hair = no doubt meaning blond or golden; the OED identifies some specific usages of white to mean "pale-yellow"; such light colouring would support the suggestion of the song that the singer owns a light complexion that is too delicate to stand the strong Middle-Eastern sun. Note the coupled antonyms in the first two lines: hot and cool, black and white.
	Shine, sun; burn, fire; breathe, air, and ease me;
4	Black shade, fair nurse; shroud me, and please me:
	Shadow, my sweet nurse, keep me from burning,
6	Make not my glad cause cause of mourning.	6: "do not let that for which I have reason to rejoice - my fair complexion (which in Elizabethan times was considered most attractive) - become a liability by burning in the hot sun." Note the wordplay in doubling-up the use of cause in this line, a feature greatly favoured by Peele.
	Let not my beauty's fire	7-10: these lines give us a good example of dramatic irony: the audience knows that David is watching, and about to seduce Bethsabe, while Bethsabe herself remains ignorant of her immediate fate. 7-8: note how fire, which Bethsabe previously used to describe the sun, is in line 7 used to describe her own beauty, which may inflame the passion of anyone who might see her.
8	Inflame unstaid desire,	= immoderate, unrestrained.
	Nor pierce any bright eye	9-10: "nor come into the field of vision of any man who
10	That wandereth lightly.	happens to be glancing around." pierce = penetrate. lightly = unthinkingly; but light also was used to mean wanton or unchaste.^1
12	Beth. Come, gentle Zephyr, tricked with those perfumes	12-26: Bethsabe's first speech is an apostrophe to Zephyr, the west wind of mythology. tricked = adorned.
	That erst in Eden sweetened Adam's love,	13: the wind is described as having refreshed Eve (Adam's love) in the Garden of Eden. erst = formerly, once upon a time.
14	And stroke my bosom with thy silken fan:	= balmy, soft.^1
	This shade, sun-proof, is yet no proof for thee;	15: Bethsabe's shade is safe from the sun, but cannot stop the wind from entering. no proof = ie. not impenetrable.^1
16	Thy body, smoother than this waveless spring,
	And purer than the substance of the same,
18	Can creep through that his lances cannot pierce:	= ie. that which. = ie. the sun's. Note the miniature metaphor in this line comparing the sun's rays breaking through the vegetation to a soldier's lance piercing an object like a body.
	Thou, and thy sister, soft and sacred Air,	= properly speaking, there was no deity of the air per se, as there were for the various winds.
20	Goddess of life, and governess of health,	= another word for goddess.^2
	Keep every fountain fresh and arbour sweet;	= shady retreat, ie. a bower, formed by encircling trees, shrubs and vines.^1
22	No brazen gate her passage can repulse,	22: no brass (brazen) gate can stop the air from passing through it.
	Nor bushly thicket bar thy subtle breath:	23: bushly thicket = dense growth of brush; bushly may be a typo for bushy or even bosky, as bushly exists nowhere else in literature.^3 subtle = fine or delicate.^1
24	Then deck thee with thy loose delightsome robes,	24: deck thee = "dress yourself" (especially with beautiful or rich garments).^1 delightsome = delightful; delightsome was a popular word in the 17th century.
	And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes,
26	To play the wantons with us through the leaves.	= the phrase carries the sense of "behave playfully" or
		"flirt".^1
28	David. What tunes, what words, what looks, what wonders pierce
	My soul, incensèd with a sudden fire?	= inflamed; note how David returns to the fire imagery of
30	What tree, what shade, what spring, what paradise,	the Prologue and the Song.
	Enjoys the beauty of so fair a dame?
32	Fair Eva, placed in perfect happiness,	32: "beautiful Eve, set in Eden"; note the use of Eva for Eve for purposes of meter. 32-36: briefly, even Eve with her heavenly singing did not bring more joy to Adam then Bethsabe is giving to David with her speech and music.
	Lending her praise-notes to the liberal heavens,	33: ie. "praising generous (liberal) Heaven in song".
34	Strook with the accents of arch-angels' tunes,	34: sung in the sublime style or manner of, or perhaps ac- companied by, the arch-angels. strook = struck.
	Wrought not more pleasure to her husband's thoughts	= worked, ie. brought.
36	Than this fair woman's words and notes to mine.
	May that sweet plain that bears her pleasant weight	= could mean "meadow".^1
38	Be still enamelled with discoloured flowers;	= beautified by colour. = ie. multi-coloured, variegated.^1
	That precious fount bear sand of purest gold;	= fountain, ie. spring.
40	And, for the pebble, let the silver streams	= ie. in place of the pebbles.
	That pierce earth's bowels to maintain the source,	= ie. keep the spring filled with water.
42	Play upon rubies, sapphires, chrysolites;	= name given generically to any of various green gems.^1
	The brims let be embraced with golden curls	= waters.^1 = ie. surrounded.
44	Of moss that sleeps with sound the waters make	= note the lack of subject-verb agreement with curls and sleeps.
	For joy to feed the fount with their recourse;	= ie. the waters' flow.
46	Let all the grass that beautifies her bower	= shady retreat.
	Bear manna every morn instead of dew,	= the food miraculously provided for the Israelites in the wilderness during their exodus from Egypt.
48	Or let the dew be sweeter far than that
	That hangs, like chains of pearl, on Hermon hill,	= the highest peak in the Anti-Lebanus mountains that lie on the border between Syria and Lebanon; the reference is from Psalms 133:3: "It is also like unto the dew of Hermon, which falleth down the hill of Zion." Unless otherwise noted, all Biblical quotes in the notes are from the 1568 Bishop's Bible, Peele's most frequent source, with modernized spelling.
50	Or balm which trickled from old Aaron's beard. −	50: from Psalms 133:2: "It is like unto a precious ointment poured upon the head, which runneth down upon the beard, even upon Aaron's beard, which also runneth down the skirts of his garments". Aaron was the brother of Moses, and the first high priest of the Hebrew nation.^9
	Cusay, come up, and serve thy lord the king.	51: his lyrical interlude complete, David calls for his servant.
52
	Enter Cusay above.	Entering Character: Cusay, a lord and retainer of David's,
54		appears on the roof, ie. the balcony at the rear of the stage.
	Cusay. What service doth my lord the king command?
56
	David. See, Cusay, see the flower of Israel,	= ie. Bethsabe.
58	The fairest daughter that obeys the king	= meaning only that she is one of the king's subjects.
	In all the land the Lord subdued to me;
60	Fairer than Isaac's lover at the well,	60: Isaac was the son of Abraham, who instructed his oldest servant to return to Abraham's home in Mesopotamia to find Isaac a wife. Arriving at a well outside the city of Padan Aram, the servant asked the Lord for a sign; a young woman, named Rebecca (who turned out to be the grand-daughter of Abraham's brother) happened by, who gave the servant water, and from this act the servant new this was his gal. (Genesis 24).
	Brighter than inside-bark of new-hewn cedar,	61: because wood of the cedar, the famous evergreen tree, was used to build David's Palace, he would be familiar with the appearance of cut cedar trees (2 Sam. 5:11); (it is unclear how flattering it would be to Bethsabe to be compared to a tree's innards).
62	Sweeter than flames of fine-perfumèd myrrh,	= myrrh is a resin extracted from certain trees, used in perfume (see e.g. Proverbs 7:17); earlier editors note that fine probably should be fire, to go with flames.
	And comelier than the silver clouds that dance	= more graceful;^2 comlier is pronounced with two syllables here: COM-lier.
64	On Zephyr's wings before the King of Heaven.	= Zephyr is the west wind, mentioned earlier by Bethsabe in her first spoken line in Scene I at line 12.
66	Cusay. Is it not Bethsabe the Hethite's wife,	66-67: Bethsabe = Bethsabe will always be stressed on its
	Urias now at Rabbah siege with Joab?	first syllable: BETH-sa-be. Hethite = ie. the Hittites, a people who flourished in Asia Minor from 1900 to 1200 B.C., but at the time of David's reign (1010 - 970 B.C.),^10 had a presence in Palestine.^9 Urias = Bethsabe's husband; at this moment, Urias, an officer in David's army, was with the besieging army at Rabbah.
68		Rabbah = the first seven times the city is mentioned in the original edition, it is spelled Rabbath, as it appears in the Wycliffe Bible; the remaining eleven times, it is spelled Rabba, as it appears in both the Bishop's and Coverdale Bibles; I have chosen to follow Dyce's decision to print Rabbah, the Geneva Bible's spelling, everywhere (the KJV would also go on to use Rabbah). Joab = a nephew of David, and commander-in-chief of David's army.^9
	David. Go know, and bring her quickly to the king;
70	Tell her, her graces hath found grace with him.	70: in this punning line, graces means "good qualities" and
		grace means "favour".
72	Cusay. I will, my lord.
74	[Exit.]
76	David. Bright Bethsabe shall wash, in David's bower,	76-82: David's brief soliloquy both begins and ends with a rhyming couplet; his speech also gives time for Cusay to go downstairs to Bethsabe.
	In water mixed with purest almond-flower,	= the almond tree's light-pink blossoms appear before the tree leaves.^9
78	And bathe her beauty in the milk of kids:	= young goats.
	Bright Bethsabe gives earth to my desires;	= ie. "is a living embodiment of".^1
80	Verdure to earth; and to that verdure flowers;	= ie. "gives verdure"; verdure refers to green vegetation generally.^1
	To flowers sweet odours; and to odours wings	= flowers is pronounced as a single syllable here.
82	That carry pleasures to the hearts of kings.	79-82: a chain of connections of "the house that Jack built"
		variety: Bethsabe gives wings to the sweet smell (odours) that she gives to the flowers that she gives to the verdure that she gives to the earth that she gives to David's desires.
84	Enter Cusay, below, to Bethsabe,
	she starting as something affright.	85: Bethsabe is startled at Cusay's appearance.
86
	Cusay. Fair Bethsabe, the King of Israel
88	From forth his princely tower hath seen thee bathe;
	And thy sweet graces have found grace with him:
90	Come, then, and kneel unto him where he stands;
	The king is gracious, and hath liberal hands.	= ie. is generous.
92
	Beth. Ah, what is Bethsabe to please the king?	= who.
94	Or what is David, that he should desire,	94-95: Bethsabe is censorious: basically, "why would David
	For fickle beauty's sake, his servant's wife?	want to commit the sin of taking Urias' (his servant's) wife
96		just because he is attracted by her beauty?" Bethsabe describes her beauty as fickle, meaning "changeable", because it is so transitory (a common trope in Elizabethan drama).
	Cusay. David, thou know'st, fair dame, is wise and just,
98	Elected to the heart of Israel's God;	= selected; to this point in David's history, he has been fully in God's favour.
	Then do not thou expostulate with him	= remonstrate.^2
100	For any action that contents his soul.
102	Beth. My lord the king, elect to God's own heart,	102-4: much debated lines, primarily revolving around who
	Should not his gracious jealousy incense	his in line 103 and whose in line 104 refer to: they could
104	Whose thoughts are chaste: I hate incontinence.	mean God, but Keltie suggests Bethsabe has Urias in mind. gracious jealousy = perhaps an oxymoron; gracious suggests showing favour; jealousy is a common attribute ascribed to God, who tolerates no unfaithfulness; but if Urias is meant, the meaning of jealousy is more obvious. incense = provoke, kindle. ^1,5 chaste: I = an early editor cited by Bullen suggested replacing the colon and I with and.
106	Cusay. Woman, thou wrong'st the king, and doubt'st his honour,	= suspects; Cusay, who has never yet seen David act in any manner that could be called wicked, finds Bethsabe's resistance to appear before the king blameworthy.
	Whose truth maintains the crown of Israel,
108	Making him stay that bade me bring thee straight.	= wait. = commanded. = right away.
110	Beth. The king's poor handmaid will obey my lord.	110: Vivien Westbrook, in her book Long Travail and
		Great Paynes,^11 notes the similarity of Bethsabe's response to Cusay to that which the Virgin Mary responded in part to the angel in Luke 1:38 ("Behold the handmaiden of the Lord"); Peele's intent, she argues, is to completely exonerate Bethsabe for what David will do to her. (See her introduction, p. xxxiv).^11
112	Cusay. Then come, and do thy duty to his grace;
	And do what seemeth favour in his sight.	113: ie. "and do that which will deserve his favour".
114
	[Exit, below, with Bethsabe.]
116
	David. Now comes my lover tripping like the roe,	= moving lightly or nimbly. = a small species of deer.
118	And brings my longings tangled in her hair.	= desires.^1 = perhaps a subtle bit of foreshadowing of the ultimate fate of David's son Absalon.
	To joy her love I'll build a kingly bower,	= enjoy, clearly suggestive. = shady and leafy retreat.
120	Seated in hearing of a hundred streams,	= within the sound.
	That, for their homage to her sovereign joys,	121: homage = reverence shown.^1 sovereign = greatest.^1 joys = Dyce suggests the meaning is "charms".
122	Shall, as the serpents fold into their nests	= "like the way", or "just as".
	In oblique turnings, wind the[ir] nimble waves	123: oblique turnings = literally "slanting revolutions".^1 their = ie. the hundred streams of line 20.
124	About the circles of her curious walks;	= delicate, careful, or prompted by curiosity.^1
	And with their murmur summon easeful sleep
126	To lay his golden sceptre on her brows. −	= ie. personified Sleep's.
	Open the doors, and entertain my love;	127-9: David commands his servants.
128	Open, I say, and, as you open, sing,	entertain = receive as a guest.^1
	Welcome, fair Bethsabe, King David's darling.
130
	Enter, above, Cusay, with Bethsabe.
132
	Welcome, fair Bethsabe, King David's darling.
134	Thy bones' fair covering, erst discovered fair,	134: Thy bones' fair coverings = a unique description of Bethsabe' skin; Elmer Blistein, in his notes to our play contained in The Dramatic Works of George Peele, observes that the imagery of bones is a favourite of Peele's, who mostly uses them in a figure of speech known as a metonymy (meaning that bones is used to represent something else, usually the human body) (p. 259);^6 indeed, bones appears 15 times in our play. erst discovered fair = previously revealed to be beautiful.
	And all mine eyes with all thy beauties pierced:	135: And = as Dyce notes, And perhaps means "have", or else a line may have dropped out, another common printer's error. pierced = this is already the fifth time Peele has used pierce / pierced in the play; there will be eight appearances in all.
136	As Heaven's bright eye burns most when most he climbs	136-9: just as the sun is the strongest when it is at its highest point in the sky, so Bethsabe scorches, ie. inflames, David's soul. Heaven's bright eye = common poetic description of the sun. he = ie. the sun.
	The crookèd zodiac with his fiery sphere,	137: crooked = curved, referring to the path of the sun.^6 zodiac = the celestial belt along which the planets, the sun and the moon appear to revolve around the earth; we may note that though Copernicus had announced a century earlier that the sun was in fact the center of the solar system, Elizabethan authors continued to describe the heavens as rotating around the earth. fiery sphere = the word sphere likely simply refers to the geometric shape of the sun. However, in the plays of the era, spheres was primarily used to describe a Ptolemaic view of the universe, in which the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars were imagined each to occupy a particular and literal celestial sphere around the earth, the spheres all concentric, and each rotating around the earth as they carry the heavenly bodies with them; thus fiery sphere may describe the sphere containing the sun. We may note that there was an alternate conception of the heavens, one in which the universe comprised a different set of concentric spheres, four in total; each sphere was composed of one of the four elements all matter was believed to be made up of, to wit (from the outermost to the innermost), fire, air, water and earth; in this sense fiery sphere could be used to refer to the largest and furthest sphere (see line 138).
138	And shineth furthest from this earthly globe;
	So, since thy beauty scorched my conquered soul,	= scorched connects with burns (line 136) and fiery (line 137).
140	I called thee nearer for my nearer cure.	140: David puns on nearer: the first nearer means "closer" (the modern meaning), and the second means "most direct way (to cure me)."^1
142	Beth. Too near, my lord, was your unarmèd heart	142-3: "I was already too near to you, when your heart,
	When furthest off my hapless beauty pierced;	unprotected as it was (as if by armour), was pierced by my luckless (hapless) beauty."
144	And would this dreary day had turned to night,	= if only.
	Or that some pitchy cloud had cloaked the sun,	= black.
146	Before their lights had caused my lord to see	= ie. the light of the day and the sun both. = ie. permitted.
	His name disparaged and my chastity!	147: "both his reputation and my honour disgraced." Note how awkwardly the sentence is written to fit the iambic meter: a more standard arrangement of the words - "His name and my chastity disparaged" - does not work metrically.
148
	David. My love, if want of love have left thy soul	=lack.
150	A sharper sense of honour than thy king,	= ie. with a. = ie. "than that possessed by your king".
	(For love leads princes sometimes from their seats,)	= ie. kings. = from their thrones, a metaphor for "to behave in ways inappropriate for a monarch".
152	As erst my heart was hurt, displeasing thee,	152-3: "then, as earlier I had displeased you, which gave me
	So come and taste thy ease with easing me.	pain, come and give relief to my injury while getting a taste of pleasure yourself." Suddenly, David, who is decreasingly subtle, sounds like a bullying pervert. Note that David again has finished a speech with a rhyming couplet.
154
	Beth. One medicine cannot heal our different harms;	155-8: Bethsabe picks up on David's talk of injuries and responds to his sleazy offer with a dense medical metaphor of her own. 155: Bethsabe points out (1) their injuries are of a different nature, as David's are self-inflicted, and (2) thus cannot be cured by a single act. Note that medicine is disyllabic: MED-'cin.
156	But rather make both rankle at the bone:	= fester.^2
	Then let the king be cunning in his cure,	157: "so why don't you find a more clever way to heal your wound".
158	Lest flattering both, both perish in his hand.	158: "so as to prevent you from successfully beguiling or
		misleading both of us, which would cause us both to die through your fault."
160	David. Leave it to me, my dearest Bethsabe,
	Whose skill is cónversant in deeper cures. −	= ie. David means himself here.
162	And, Cusay, haste thou to my servant Joab,	= hurry.
	Commanding him to send Urias home
164	With all the speed can possibly be used.
166	Cusay. Cusay will fly about the king's desire.
168	[Exeunt.]	David Recalls Urias: in the Bible, David sends for Urias only after finding out that Bethsabe is pregnant with his (David's) child; his purpose in doing so is to have Urias sleep with his wife so that he will believe the child is his. This delicate factor is omitted in our play, so that David's motive in sending for the soldier would be technically unclear at this point in the play. The Dialogue Between David and Bethsabe: in the Bible, there is no conversation between the king and his new mistress; it is all invented by Peele, which allows him to portray Bethsabe as entirely innocent in the matter, wholly unwilling to submit to David's sexual aggression. Here are the Bible's relevant lines (2 Sam. 11:2-6): "^2 And in an evening-tide, David arose out of his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's palace, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. ^3And David sent to enquire what woman she should be: and one said, Is not this Bethsabe the daughter of Eliam, and wife to Urias the Hethite: ^4And David sent messengers, and took her away: and she came in unto him, and he lay with her...and returned unto her house. ^5And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said: I am with child. ^6And David sent to Joab, saying: Send me Urias the Hethite. And Joab sent Urias to David."
	SCENE II.
	Before the Walls of the City of Rabbah, the Capital City of Ammon.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene II: 2 Sam. 12:26-28. Backstory to Scene II: when King Nahas of the neighbouring kingdom of Ammon died, David, in a gesture of friendship, sent some ambassadors to Rabbah, the Ammonite capital, to express Israel's condolences; but the new Ammonite king, Nahas' son Hanon, was convinced by his advisors that the messengers were really spies, so Hanon stripped them of their clothing ("cut off their garments in the middle, even hard unto the buttocks of them"; 2 Sam. 10:4), and in the ultimate act of humiliation, shaved off half their beards, before sending them packing. (2 Sam. 10:1-4).
		David recognized an insult when he saw one, and he sent his army to fight the Ammonites; led by Joab, the Israelite army engaged the Ammonites in battle outside the gates of Rabbah, while the mercenary Syrian army Hanon had hired just for the occasion ran away, then returned, and then were crushed as well by the Israelites. (2 Sam. 10:5-18) The Syrians consequently made peace with the Israelites; the following spring, the Israelites returned to Ammon and defeated the Ammonites; the Israelites then went on to besiege their capital city Rabbah. (2 Sam. 10:19, 11:1).
	Enter Joab, Abisai, Urias, and others, with drum and ensign.	Entering Characters: Joab is the commander-in-chief of the Israelite army; since he is the son of David's sister Zeruia, Joab is a nephew of David's. Abisai is Joab's brother; he is one of Israel's greatest warriors, and leader of a group of soldiers known as the "Mighty Soldiers", who showed unwavering loyalty to David (the Bible refers to them also as "The Thirty", though they numbered 37). Urias, Bethsabe's husband, was a member of The Thirty. (2 Sam. 23:18-19, 38). ensign = the soldier who carries the army's banner.
1	Joab. Courage, ye mighty men of Israel,
2	And charge your fatal instruments of war	= load.^1 = death-dealing weapons.
	Upon the bosoms of proud Ammon's son[s],	= the men or soldiers of Ammon, the name of the nation the Israelites are fighting.
4	That have disguised your king's ambassadors,	4-5: see the introductory note entitled Backstory to Scene II
	Cut half their beards and half their garments off,	at the beginning of this scene above. disguised = changed the appearance of, or disfigured.^1
6	In spite of Israel and his daughters' sons!	= "in defiance of" or "in scorn of".
	Ye fight the holy battles of Jehovah,	7: Ye = old plural form of you. Jehovah = common Old Testament name for God.
8	King David's God, and ours, and Jacob's God,	= Jacob was one of a pair of twin sons of the aforementioned Isaac and Rebekah. Peele uses the expression Jacob's God seven times in the play (two of those times righteous and jealous appear between Jacob's and God) and Jacob's ruler once. The expression is metrically clean and can be used to easily complete the ten-syllable count of a line. The phrase had been used repeatedly by Thomas Sternholde (1500-1549) in his important translation of the Psalms into English verse; the work, originally called Versification of Certain Chapters of the Proverbs of Solomon, was reprinted multiple times, and, in the words of the National Biography, "has had a larger circulation than any work in the language, except the authorised version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer."^14
	That guides your weapons to their conquering strokes,	= who.
10	Orders your footsteps, and directs your thoughts	= manages, directs.
	To stratagems that harbour victory:	= contain, comprise.^1
12	He casts his sacred eyesight from on high,
	And sees your foes run seeking for their deaths,	13: "in order to avoid".
14	Laughing their labours and their hopes to scorn;	14: God laughs at the enemies' efforts and scorns their expectations (hopes). Blistein notes that to laugh one to scorn was a common trope in the Bible; e.g. 2 Kings 19:21.
	While 'twixt your bodies and their blunted swords	= between. = ie. the edge removed to make the enemy's swords ineffective.
16	He puts on armour of his honour's proof,	= tested power, or impenetrability.^1
	And makes their weapons wound the senseless winds.	17: the sense is that the enemy's swords, thanks to God's
18		intervention, will only be good for slashing at the wind. senseless = without possession of the physical senses, ie. unable to feel. Bullen notes the similarity between this line and one in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Part One (Act III.ii): "and make your strokes to wound the senseless lure."
	Abis. Before this city Rabbah we will lie,
20	And shoot forth shafts as thick and dangerous	= arrows.
	As was the hail that Moses mixed with fire,	21-23: allusion to the seventh Plague of Egypt, in which the
22	And threw with fury round about the fields,	Lord sent hail mixed with thunder and lightning (fire)
	Devouring Pharaoh's friends and Egypt's fruits.	against the land of the Pharaoh, destroying the crops of this agricultural nation. (Exodus 9:19-26).
24
	Urias. First, mighty captains, Joab and Abisai,	25-28: Urias recommends they assault the city's water supply. Joab is always pronounced with two syllables (JO-ab), while Abisai, as noted earlier, has three (a-BI-sai).
26	Let us assault, and scale this kingly tower,
	Where all their conduits and their fountains are;	= a disyllable: CON-duits.
28	Then we may easily take the city too.	25-28: commentators have long explained that Rabbah had a fortified upper town, in which most of the population lived, and a lower town, where the stream that supplied the city with its water was located. Capturing the city's source of water puts its citizens in a particularly perilous situation.
		Except for the Matthew Bible, all the contemporary Bibles describe the water source as the city of waters or water city (2 Sam. 12:27); Peele, however, seems to have borrowed his idea of a kingly tower from the Matthew Bible, which calls the water supply "the castle from whence they had their water."
30	Joab. Well hath Urias counselled our attempts;
	And as he spake us, so assault the tower:	= spoke to, ie. recommends to.
32	Let Hanon now, the king of Ammon's son[s],
	Repulse our conquering passage if he dare.
34
	Enter Hanon, Machaas, and others, upon the walls.	Entering Characters: Hanon is the king of Ammon; Machaas is the King of Gath, a Philistine city located about 30 miles south-west of Jerusalem. Machaas appears as an ally of the Ammonite monarch. What follows is what had become one of the fabulous conventions of Elizabethan literature, in which the leaders of two armies, prior to battle, approach each other and exchange hilariously infantile insults. This mutual taunting between foes first appeared in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine plays. The idea may have been inspired by the actual practice of English armies during times of civil war to send demands of surrender to each other before battle.
36
	Hanon. What would the shepherd's-dogs of Israel	= Hanon plays on the phrase shepherd's dog, a common expression used to refer to a sheep dog; shepherd is a reference to David, who as a young man worked as the shepherd of his family; to call another a dog was a serious insult in Elizabethan times.
38	Snatch from the mighty issue of King Ammon,	38: "take from the children (ie. citizens) of the king of Ammon". At 2 Sam. 10:19, the Bibles all refer to the "children of Ammon": see the note in the next line.
	The valiant Ammonites and haughty Syrians?	= proud or high-minded Syrians, the name used to collectively identify all the allies of the Ammonites;^6 we may note that the Bible asserts that the Syrians had made peace with the Israelites prior to the siege of Rabbah, "and so the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more" (2 Sam. 10:19).
40	'Tis not your late successive victories	= ie. "recent series of".
	Can make us yield, or quail our courages;	= intimidate, dispirit.^1
42	But if ye dare assay to scale this tower,	= attempt, assault.^1
	Our angry swords shall smite ye to the ground,	= ie. off of the tower.
44	And venge our losses on your hateful lives.	= avenge. = odious.^1
46	Joab. Hanon, thy father Nahas gave relief	46-47: the Bible, at 2 Sam. 11:2, states that David had sent
	To holy David in his hapless exile,	emissaries to Hanan to express his condolences for the new king at the death of his father, King Nahas, who had "shown kindness unto me"; but what the nature of that kindness was is described nowhere in the Bible. Commentators have suggested that when David was in exile during the period when he was running from Saul's persecution, he found sanctuary in Moab, where Nahas, as the king of neighbouring Ammon, also kindly received David at the time; Nahas did this, goes the theory, as a snub to Saul and Israel, the Ammonites' longtime enemy. Note that Hanon, showing at least a modicum of respect, has addressed Joab as you, but Joab, showing his disdain for the Ammonite, does not reciprocate, choosing instead to address the king with the highly insulting thou; Machaas, in addressing Joab, follows the Israelite's lead.
48	Livèd his fixèd date, and died in peace:	= "and lived to his appointed time"; the idea is that he died a natural death, rather than prematurely falling in a war.
	But thou, instead of reaping his reward,
50	Hast trod it under foot, and scorned our king;	= "stepped all over it".
	Therefore thy days shall end with violence,
52	And to our swords thy vital blood shall cleave.	= life-sustaining.^2 = adhere.
54	Mach. Hence, thou that bear'st poor Israel's shepherd's- hook,	54: Machaas, reminding Joab once again of David's humble beginnings, compares Joab to a shepherd, and thus indirectly likens the Israelites to sheep, being led to slaughter. Hence = "go away!" or "begone!"
	The proud lieutenant of that base-born king,	55: proud = arrogant. lieutenant = a military officer acting in the name of a superior.^1
56	And keep within the compass of his fold;	56: "and stay within the boundary of David's sheep's pen (fold)"; Machaas is highly disrespectful of the Israelite king.
	For, if ye seek to feed on Ammon's fruits,	57-58: Machaas scorns the attempts of the Israelites to defeat and plunder both the Ammonites' and their the allies' lands.
58	And stray into the Syrians' fruitful meads,	= meadows.
	The mastives of our land shall worry ye,	59: mastives = ie. mastiffs, large guard dogs. worry = seize by the throat and tear to pieces; the verb to worry was commonly used to describe dogs attacking sheep.^1
60	And pull the weesels from your greedy throats.	= windpipes. = rapacious.^1
62	Abis. Who can endure these pagans' blasphemies?
64	Urias. My soul repines at this disparagement.	= complains, feels discontent.^2
66	Joab. Assault, ye valiant men of David's host,	= "attack!" = army.
	And beat these railing dastards from their doors.	= abusive cowards.
68
	[Assault, and they win the tower;
70	and then Joab speaks above.]
72	Thus have we won the tower, which we will keep,
	Maugre the sons of Ammon and of Syria.	= "notwithstanding the power of".^1
74
	Enter Cusay below.
76
	Cusay. Where is Lord Joab, leader of the host?
78
	Joab. Here is Lord Joab, leader of the host.
80	Cusay, come up, for we have won the hold.	= stronghold or fortress.^2
82	Cusay. In happy hour, then, is Cusay come.	= hour is disyllabic here: HOW-er (we may note that the
		first syllable actually sounded more like ho at the time).
84	Cusay goes up.
86	Joab. What news, then, brings Lord Cusay from the king?
88	Cusay. His majesty commands thee out of hand	= immediately.^1
	To send him home Urias from the wars,
90	For matter of some service he should do.
92	Urias. 'Tis for no choler hath surprised the king,	92-93: "I hope that no anger has seized (surprised)^1 the king
	I hope, Lord Cusay, 'gainst his servant's truth?	which has caused him to suspect my loyalty (truth) to him?" choler = also known as yellow bile, one of the four humours, or fluids, which in the Middle Ages were believed to comprise the human body (the others being blood, phlegm and black bile). An excess of yellow bile was thought to cause irritability or bad temper.
94
	Cusay. No; rather to prefer Urias' truth.	= ie. promote Uriah for his loyal service.
96
	Joab. Here, take him with thee, then, and go in peace;
98	And tell my lord the king that I have fought	98-104: these lines are adopted from 2 Sam. 12:28.
	Against the city Rabbah with success,
100	And scalèd where the royal palace is,
	The conduit-heads and all their sweetest springs:	= reservoirs or water sources.^1
102	Then let him come in person to these walls,	102-6: Joab knows that the residents of Rabbah will soon be desperate without fresh water, and so wants David to come finish the job and capture the city proper himself, so that he may reap the glory of having done so, before the Ammonites surrender; this is an honourable offer by Joab.
	With all the soldiers he can bring besides,
104	And take the city as his own exploit,
	Lest I surprise it, and the people give	= seize.^1
106	The glory of the conquest to my name.
108	Cusay. We will, Lord Joab; and great Israel's God
	Bless in thy hands the battles of our king!
110
	Joab. Farewell, Urias; haste away the king.	= hurry away to.
112
	Urias. As sure as Joab breathes a victor here,
114	Urias will haste him and his own return.	= hurry himself; note how Urias generally refers to himself
		in the third person, a common manner of speaking in Elizabethan drama.
116	[Exeunt Cusay and Urias.]
118	Abis. Let us descend, and ope the palace' gate,	= open.
	Taking our soldiers in to keep the hold.	119: Abisai suggests they strengthen their defenses now that
120		they have captured the tower.
	Joab. Let us, Abisai: − and, ye sons of Judah,
122	Be valiant, and maintain your victory.	= valiant is disyllabic: VAL-yant.
124	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE III.
	The House of Amnon in Jerusalem,	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene III: 2 Sam. 13:1-7.
	Enter Amnon, Jonadab, Jethray, and Amnon's Page.	Entering Characters: Amnon is the oldest son of David, by his first wife Ahinoam; Jethray is Amnon's servant. Jonadab is a nephew of David, the son of his brother Shimeah, and thus a first-cousin to Amnon; Jonadab is described at 2 Sam. 13:3 as a "friend" of Amnon's, which implies the pair are "bosom buddies". We may note that Peele spelled Amnon's name as Ammon (the Coverdale Bible's spelling) throughout the play; but because this is too easy to confuse with Ammon when it refers to the land of the Ammonites, I have chosen to follow Dyce in using the more common version of the name, with an 'n'.
1	Jonad. What means my lord, the king's belovèd son,	1-8: Jonadab inquires as to why Amnon, who has at his disposal everything that can give a man joy and peace of mind, looks so unwell.
2	That wears upon his right triumphant arm	2-3: Jonadab compares the power that Amnon wields to a
	The power of Israel for a royal favour,	favour, ie. a token of affection, such as a glove or hand- kerchief, that a woman gives a man to wear.^1 That = who. power = pronounced in one syllable; Israel is di- syllabic.
4	That holds upon the tables of his hands	4-5: Jonadab then compares all the honour possessed by
	Banquets of honour and all thought's content,	Amnon to a feast he may consume at his leisure.
6	To suffer pale and grisly abstinence	6: the independent clause begun in line 1 ("What means my
	To sit and feed upon his fainting cheeks,	lord") is finally continued here, after a round of dependent
8	And suck away the blood that cheers his looks?	clauses (lines 1.5-5). 6-8: personified abstinence is imagined to be drinking away Amnon's blood, causing his sallow appearance; abstinence also contrasts with Banquets in line 5. suffer (line 6) = allow. grisly (line 6) = grim.^2
10	Amnon. Ah, Jonadab, it is my sister's looks,	10f: Amnon explains that he appears bloodless because he
	On whose sweet beauty I bestow my blood,	is love-sick, consumed with his desire for his half-sister Thamar, the daughter of David with his third wife Maacah.
12	That makes me look so amorously lean;	= an interesting pairing of words: Amnon is gaunt in his love-sickness. The Geneva and Coverdale Bibles describe Amnon as lean at 2 Sam. 13:4; the other Bibles use the word "consumed".
	Her beauty having seized upon my heart,
14	So merely consecrate to her content,
	Sets now such guard about his vital blood,
16	And views the passage with such piercing eyes,
	That none can scape to cheer my pining cheeks,
18	But all is thought too little for her love.	13-17: difficult lines: Amnon's heart, which is completely
		(merely) dedicated to serving Thamar, keeps watch (with its piercing eyes) over the blood which passes through it with such diligence that none of the blood can leave the heart to flow to Amnon's cheeks to give it colour. merely (line 14) = the original quarto prints merrily here, properly corrected by all editors to merely. his vital blood (line 15) = its life-giving blood. scape (line 16) = escape. pining (line 16)= wasted-away.^2
20	Jonad. Then from her heart thy looks shall be relieved,
	And thou shalt joy her as thy soul desires.	= enjoy; Jonadab, who is described at 2 Sam. 13:3 as a "very subtle (ie. crafty)^1 man", has a plan to help his friend get his half-sister.
22
	Amnon. How can it be, my sweet friend Jonadab,	22-23: compare 2 Sam. 13:2: "And he was so sore vexed,
24	Since Thamar is a virgin and my sister?	that he fell sick for his sister Thamar; for she was a
		virgin, and he thought it hard for him to do any thing to her."
26	Jonad. Thus it shall be: lie down upon thy bed,
	Feigning thee fever-sick and ill-at-ease;	27: "pretend you are sick with a fever and in discomfort;" the phrase ill at ease can be traced back to the 14th century.^1
28	And when the king shall come to visit thee,
	Desire thy sister Thamar may be sent	= request that. = ie. half-sister.
30	To dress some dainties for thy malady:	30" "to prepare (dress) some delicious food for you in your sickness"; in 2 Sam.13:5, Jonadab's advice adds that she should be asked to prepare the food in Amnon's presence.
	Then when thou hast her solely with thyself,	= alone.
32	Enforce some favour to thy manly love.	32: Jonadab is euphemistically suggesting Amon should rape Thamar.
	See where she comes: entreat her in with thee.	33: "look, here she comes; ask her to go inside with you."
34
	Enter Thamar.	Entering Character: Thamar is David's daughter with
36		Maacah.
	Tham. What aileth Amnon, with such sickly looks
38	To daunt the favour of his lovely face?	= the sense is, "blemish the attractiveness".
40	Amnon. Sweet Thamar, sick, and wish some wholesome cates	40: sick = ie. "I am sick". wish = desire. cates = delicacies.
	Dressed with the cunning of thy dainty hands.	41: "prepared by you with your skillful and artful hands."
42
	Tham. That hath the king commanded at my hands;
44	Then come and rest thee, while I make thee ready	= ie. "yourself". = "prepare for you".
	Some dainties easeful to thy crazèd soul.	= soothing. = impaired by illness.^1
46
	Amnon. I go, sweet sister, easèd with thy sight.
48
	[Exeunt Thamar, Amnon, Jethray, and Page.]	Thamar's Arrival: note how the scene jumped from Amnon planning to ask David to send Thamar to him immediately to Thamar's appearance before him, she having already been instructed by David to go to the prince. This lack of continuity is too jarring to be deliberate, and the editors generally agree that there is a missing scene here.
50
	Jonad. Why should a prince, whose power may command,	51-54: in the first part of this soliloquy, Jonadab notes the
52	Obey the rebel passions of his love,	irony of Amnon, who has the power to order anyone to do anything, allows himself to be controlled by his own lust.
	When they contend but 'gainst his consciënce,
54	And may be governed or suppressed by will? −	54: Jonadab suggests that Amnon should be able to keep his emotions in check; the undesirability of losing control of one's feelings was a common theme in Elizabethan drama.
	Now, Amnon, loose those loving knots of blood,	55-57: Jonadab returns to the image of Amnon's blood being stopped up, causing him to lose the colour in his countenance. loose = release, free. loving knots of blood = the clumping of Amnon's blood, caused by his love for Thamar, which hence cannot flow; Jonadab plays with the expression love-knot, which refers to a complex knot, either literal or figurative, which represents true love.^1
56	That sucked the courage from thy kingly heart,	= the original quarto prints an ambiguous sokte here, which could be soaked or locked, but I have adopted Dyce's reading of sucked.
	And give it passage to thy withered cheeks.
58	Now, Thamar, ripened are the holy fruits	58f: Jonadab shows his hypocrisy here; his expressed pity for what is about to happen to Thamar seems disingenuous considering he was the one who devised the scheme to help Amnon get access to Thamar.
	That grew on plants of thy virginity;
60	And rotten is thy name in Israel:	60: meaning Thamar is about to lose her honour and good name throughout Israel; rotten contrasts with ripened in line 58.
	Poor Thamar, little did thy lovely hands
62	Foretell an action of such violence	= predict.
	As to contend with Amnon's lusty arms
64	Sinewed with vigour of his kindless love:	= strengthened. = unnatural, ie. lacking natural feeling, as one would have for one's kin.
	Fair Thamar, now dishonour hunts thy foot,	65: dishonour = ie. because she will no longer be a virgin despite her unmarried status. hunts thy foot = ie. it will chase her wherever she will go.
66	And follows thee through every covert shade,	= concealing.
	Discovering thy shame and nakedness,	= revealing.
68	Even from the valleys of Jehosaphat	68: Even = like most disyllabic words with a medial "v", Even is pronounced as a monosyllable, with the "v" essentially omitted: E'en. Jehosaphat = a part of the Kidron Valley, lying on the eastern slope of Jerusalem.
	Up to the lofty mounts of Lebanon;	69-70: the mountains of Lebanon were famous for their cedar trees.
70	Where cedars, stirred with anger of the winds,	70-71: the personified cedar trees of Lebanon spread the news of Thamar's dishonour.
	Sounding in storms the tale of thy disgrace,	= proclaiming.
72	Tremble with fury, and with murmur shake
	Earth with their feet and with their heads the heavens,
74	Beating the clouds into their swiftest rack,	74-75: the trees reveal Thamar's condition to the clouds,
	To bear this wonder round about the world.	which will quickly scatter around the world and repeat what they have heard. rack = moving masses of vapour (Dyce); an interesting word used by writers to specifically describe fast-moving clouds.^1
76
	[Exit.]	Jonadab's Pity: we may notice how unfair the world is to Thamar, who will lose her maidenhead, and thus her reputation, through no fault of her own, while Amnon does not have to worry himself about his reputation suffering in the same way.
	SCENE IV.
	Outside the Door to Amnon's House.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene IV: 2 Sam. 13:15-20. Thamar's Violation: we may note that Peele has chosen not to depict the actual rape of Thamar (2 Sam. 13:11-14), but only its immediate aftermath, on stage.
	Re-enter Amnon thrusting out Thamar, and Jethray.
1	Amnon. Hence from my bed, whose sight offends my soul	= "get away"
2	As doth the parbreak of disgorgèd bears!	2: "as does the vomit of bears"; one of the most disturbing similes in the canon; parbreak means "vomit", and disgorged means "having vomited".^1
4	Tham. Unkind, unprincely, and unmanly Amnon,
	To force, and then refuse thy sister's love,
6	Adding unto the fright of thy offence
	The baneful torment of my published shame!	= destructive.^1 = proclaimed or well-known.^1
8	O, do not this dishonour to thy love,
	Nor clog thy soul with such increasing sin!
10	This second evil far exceeds the first.	4-10: since she has been robbed of her virginity, the least
		Amnon can do is let her remain with him, so she does not have to show her shamed self to the world; Amnon's refusal to do this, which in a sense would at least demonstrate his willingness to take responsibility for his actions, is, she says, a worse failing than his rape of Thamar itself. Compare Thamar's brief speech at 2 Sam. 13:16: "There is no cause: This evil that thou putteth me away, is greater than the other that thou diddeth unto me."
12	Amnon. Jethray, come thrust this woman from my sight,
	And bolt the door upon her if she strive.	= fights or argues, ie. resists.
14		Compare 2 Sam. 13:17: "(Amnon) called his boy that served him, and said: 'Put away this woman from me, and bolt the door after her.'"
	[Exit.]
16
	Jeth. Go, madam, go; away, you must begone;
18	My lord hath done with you: I pray, depart.	= finished. = ie. please.
20	[Shuts her out. − Exit.]
22	Tham. Whither, alas, ah, whither shall I fly,	= to where. = flee.
	With folded arms and all-amazèd soul?	23: folded arms = ie. her arms wrapped around herself.^1 all-amazed = completely stunned or dumbfounded.^2
24	Cast as was Eva from that glorious soil,	= thrown out. = ie. Eve. = land, region.
	(Where all delights sat bating, winged with thoughts,	= fluttering, a term from falconry, used with winged.
26	Ready to nestle in her naked breasts,)
	To bare and barren vales with floods made waste,	27-29: Thamar describes the land outside Eden to where she and Adam were banished. vales = valleys.
28	To desert woods, and hills with lightening scorched,	= ie. lightning, pronounced as normal with two syllables.
	With death, with shame, with hell, with horror sit;	= Dyce feels sit is in error, but is stumped as to what the
30	There will I wander from my father's face;	right word was that was intended here.
	There Absalon, my brother Absalon,
32	Sweet Absalon shall hear his sister mourn;
	There will I lure with my windy sighs	33: lure = recall from flight, another term from falconry; lure is disyllabic here: LU-er; Dyce and others replaced the original word which appeared here, live, with lure. windy = airy, like breath.^1
34	Night-ravens and owls to rend my bloody side,	= ravens is pronounce in one syllable: ra'ens. = tear.
	Which with a rusty weapon I will wound,
36	And make them passage to my panting heart.	= give the birds a path. After this line, Thamar may pause, as she contemplates, but is unable to act on, her suicide wish - but she would need to be holding a dagger in her hands; alternately, she may be simply asking why she stands there talking instead of moving on; see the note below at line 46.
	Why talk'st thou, wretch, and leav'st the deed undone?
38	Rend hair and garments, as thy heart is rent
	With inward fury of a thousand griefs,
40	And scatter them by these unhallowed doors,	= unholy doors, ie. the doors of Amnon's house.
	To figure Amnon's resting cruëlty,	= represent or signify. = Bullen wonders if wresting, meaning twisting or tearing, is intended here.
42	And tragic spoil of Thamar's chastity.	= spoil is pronounced as a one-syllable word.
44	Enter Absalon.	Entering Character: Absalon is Thamar' brother, and David's third son.
46	Abs. What causeth Thamar to exclaim so much?	= cry out;^2 we may note the example here of the stage
		convention of a character, while alone on-stage, describing his or her thoughts and emotions out loud to no one in particular, but which may conveniently be overheard by any who are nearby.
48	Tham. The cause that Thamar shameth to disclose.
50	Abs. Say; I thy brother will revenge that cause.	= "tell me."
52	Tham. Amnon, our father's son, hath forcèd me,	= raped.
	And thrusts me from him as the scorn of Israel.
54
	Abs. Hath Amnon forcèd thee? by David's hand,	55-56: by David's…with him = a double, and therefore
56	And by the covenant God hath made with him,	stronger, oath; Elizabethan characters often made vows on body parts.
	Amnon shall bear his violence to hell;	= "carry his violent act with him".
58	Traitor to Heaven, traitor to David's throne,
	Traitor to Absalon and Israel!
60	This fact hath Jacob's ruler seen from Heaven,	= (evil) deed. = ie. God.
	And through a cloud of smoke and tower of fire,	61-64: the flood of pronouns can sometimes make an Elizabethan sentence hard to follow; here, Absalon is describing God causing Amnon to suffer a destructive crash as he drives his chariot.
62	As he rides vaunting him upon the greens,	62: "as Amnon, boasting (vaunting), rides his chariot through the greenery". vaunting him = this is an example of the grammatical construction known as the ethical dative, in which the superfluous pronoun him adds emphasis to the clause.
	Shall tear his chariot-wheels with violent winds,
64	And throw his body in the bloody sea;
	At him the thunder shall discharge his bolt;	= its.
66	And his fair spouse, with bright and fiery wings,	66: a lovely poetical description of lightning; in fact, it is so lovely, Peele will use his spouse again in line 68 to describe lightning. his = its.
	Sit ever burning on his hateful bones:
68	Myself, as swift as thunder or his spouse,
	Will hunt occasion with a secret hate,	= seek an opportunity.
70	To work false Amnon an ungracious end. −
	Go in, my sister; rest thee in my house;
72	And God in time shall take this shame from thee.
74	Tham. Nor God nor time will do that good for me.
76	[Exit.]	76: Absalon remains on-stage for the next scene. Absalon Responds to Thamar's Report of her Rape: in the Bible, Absalon actually tries to soothe Thamar, not revealing to her his seething at Amnon: "Now yet still be my sister, he is thy brother, let not this grieve thine heart." (2 Sam. 13:20). Two verses later, we learn what Absalon really feels: "And Absalom said unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad; howbeit, Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar." (2 Sam. 13:22). The first part of verse 22 indicates that Absalon did not give Amnon any reason to know how he felt about him; this will be important, because Absalon will need Amnon to not have his guard up if he (Absalon) is going to exact revenge on his half-brother.
	SCENE V.
	Jerusalem.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene V: lines 1-64: 2 Sam. 13:21, 23-27; after that, 2 Sam. 11:7-15.
	Enter David with his train.	= retinue; as noted above, Absalon has remained on the stage from the end of the last scene.
1	David. My Absalon, what mak'st thou here alone,	= "are you doing".
2	And bears such discontentment in thy brows?
4	Abs. Great cause hath Absalon to be displeased,
	And in his heart to shroud the wounds of wrath.	= conceal.
6
	David. 'Gainst whom should Absalon be thus displeased?
8
	Abs. 'Gainst wicked Amnon, thy ungracious son,
10	My brother and fair Thamar's by the king,
	My step-brother by mother and by kind:	= nature or familial relation.
12	He hath dishonoured David's holiness,
	And fixed a blot of lightness on his throne,	= ie. affixed. = stain or taint. = wantonness or lewdness.^2
14	Forcing my sister Thamar when he feigned
	A sickness, sprung from root of heinous lust.
16
	David. Hath Amnon brought this evil on my house,
18	And suffered sin to smite his father's bones?	= allowed. = punish or give a blow to;^1 note also the nice alliteration in this line.
	Smite, David, deadlier than the voice of Heaven,	19-23: David addresses himself with an imperative, instruct- ing himself to strike at Amnon.
20	And let hate's fire be kindled in thy heart:
	Frame in the arches of thy angry brows,	21-23: the sense is that David hopes to approach Amnon with such a fierce look upon his face as to frighten him terribly. Frame = Manly, not unreasonably, prefers Flame, given the use of fire and kindled in the previous line.
22	Making thy forehead, like a comet, shine,	22: the sense of the simile is, "so that my countenance produces such a glare".
	To force false Amnon tremble at thy looks.
24	Sin, with his sevenfold crown and purple robe,	24: Personified Sin is imagined as a monarch; its sevenfold, or seven-layered, crown, alludes to the seven deadly sins which Sin rules over. Note that seven is pronounced as a single syllable: se'en.
	Begins his triumphs in my guilty throne;
26	There sits he watching with his hundred eyes	26-27: the sense is that Sin sees everything; the conceit of
	Our idle minutes and our wanton thoughts;	a hundred eyes comes from a commonly-referred to Greek myth, in which a hundred-eyed monster named Argus was assigned to keep watch over Zeus' girlfriend Io, whom his jealous wife had turned into a cow; the idea was that even when Argus was sleeping, at least some of his eyes would always be open. idle = empty, wasted. wanton = lewd.
28	And with his baits, made of our frail desires,	28-29: a fishing metaphor: our innermost desires are the
	Gives us the hook that hales our souls to hell:	bait Sin uses to catch our souls (by leading us to commit sinful actions) and send them to hell.
30	But with the spirit of my kingdom's God	30-31: now David vows, with God's help, to thrust out the usurper Sin from his throne.
	I'll thrust the flattering tyran from his throne,	= archaic form of the word tyrant.^1
32	And scourge his bondslaves from my hallowed court	= drive away.^1 = slaves, referring to the seven deadly sins, or any who have fallen under the power of Sin.
	With rods of iron and thorns of sharpened steel.	= there are several references to a rod of iron in the Bible (e.g. Psalms 2:9). An iron rod is symbolic of the severity with which a sovereign must rule over, and even crush, his enemies.^25
34	Then, Absalon, revenge not thou this sin;
	Leave it to me, and I will chasten him.	= punish. The Bible says only this on David's receiving the news of Thamar's rape: "But when King David heard of all these things, he was very wroth." (2 Sam. 13:21).
36
	Abs. I am content: then grant, my lord the king,	37-39: Absalon invites David with his court to attend a sheep-shearing festival on Absalon's property.
38	Himself with all his other lords would come
	Up to my sheep-feast on the plain of Hazor.	= ie. Baal-Hazar, a place north-east of Jerusalem which 2
40		Sam. 13:23 says is near the city of Ephraim.
	David. Nay, my fair son, myself with all my lords
42	Will bring thee too much charge; yet some shall go.	42: "will be too great an expense for you; but some of my court will go."
44	Abs. But let my lord the king himself take pains;	= make an effort (to attend).
	The time of year is pleasant for your grace,
46	And gladsome summer in her shady robes,	= pleasant.^1
	Crownèd with roses and with planted flowers,	= Dyce suggests the intended word here was painted, meaning "colourful", since the combination painted flower(s) was so common in the literature of the era.
48	With all her nymphs, shall entertain my lord,	= ie. personified Summer's.
	That, from the thicket of my verdant groves,	= green with vegetation.^1
50	Will sprinkle honey-dews about his breast,	= ie. the sweet dew that appears on certain plants.^1
	And cast sweet balm upon his kingly head:
52	Then grant thy servant's boon, and go, my lord.	= request.
54	David. Let it content my sweet son Absalon,
	That I may stay, and take my other lords.
56
	Abs. But shall thy best-belovèd Amnon go?	57: Absalon asks if he may invite Amnon to the festival. It is certainly strange that David is not suspicious that Absalon would want to ask the man who just raped his sister to a party; in the Bible's telling, though, this sheep-shearing took place two years after the rape of Thamar, so that by this time, neither David nor Amnon would have any reason to be leery of Absalon's motives.
58
	David. What needeth it, that Amnon go with thee?	59: "Why do you want Amnon to attend the festival?"
60		Absalon does not answer this question.
	Abs. Yet do thy son and servant so much grace.
62
	David. Amnon shall go, and all my other lords,
64	Because I will give grace to Absalon.
66	Enter Cusay and Urias, with others.	66: the scene switches to the royal palace.^22
68	Cusay. Pleaseth my lord the king, his servant Joab
	Hath sent Urias from the Syrian wars.
70
	David. Welcome, Urias, from the Syrian wars,
72	Welcome to David as his dearest lord.
74	Urias. Thanks be to Israel's God and David's grace,	74-75: Urias is no doubt relieved that David is pleased to see
	Urias finds such greeting with the king.	him; see Scene II.92-93.
76
	David. No other greeting shall Urias find
78	As long as David sways th' elected seat	= governs. = the chosen seat, ie. the seat God chose David for.
	And consecrated throne of Israel.
80	Tell me, Urias, of my servant Joab;	= about.
	Fights he with truth the battles of our God,
82	And for the honour of the Lord's anointed?	= David means himself here; when David was young, God
		told the prophet Samuel that He had chosen David to succeed Saul as Israel's king; Samuel anointed David at 1 Sam. 16:13.
84	Urias. Thy servant Joab fights the chosen wars
	With truth, with honour, and with high success,
86	And, 'gainst the wicked king of Ammon's sons,
	Hath, by the finger of our sovereign's God,	= ie. by the power of God; the expression finger of God appears multiple times in the Bible.
88	Besieged the city Rabbah, and achieved	= won or reached.^5
	The court of waters, where the conduits run,
90	And all the Ammonites' delightsome springs:
	Therefore he wisheth David's mightiness
92	Should number out the host of Israel,	92: ie. should gather an army in Israel.
	And come in person to the city Rabbah,
94	That so her conquest may be made the king's,
	And Joab fight as his inferior.	= subordinate.
96
	David. This hath not God and Joab's prowess done	97f: David pours the flattery on Urias.
98	Without Urias' valours, I am sure,
	Who, since his true conversion from a Hethite
100	To an adopted son of Israel,
	Hath fought like one whose arms were lift by Heaven,
102	And whose bright sword was edged with Israel's wrath.	= sharpened.
	Go, therefore, home, Urias, take thy rest;
104	Visit thy wife and household with the joys	= we remember that David has called Urias home for the sole purpose of giving him an opportunity to sleep with Bethsabe, so that he will think his wife's baby-to-be is his, and not David's.
	A victor and a favourite of the king's
106	Should exercise with honour after arms.	= battle.
108	Urias. Thy servant's bones are yet not half so crazed,	108-115: Urias honourably refuses to go home to his wife so long as his comrades in arms remain on the field; nor is his body so broken down (crazed) or weak that he should seek rest for the little fighting he has done so far.
	Nor constitute on such a sickly mould,	= framed or made from.
110	That for so little service he should faint,
	And seek, as cowards, refuge of his home:
112	Nor are his thoughts so sensually stirred,	= ie. aroused with the idea of sex.
	To stay the arms with which the Lord would smite	= ie. hold back.
114	And fill their circle with his conquered foes,	= ie. his arms' embrace.
	For wanton bosom of a flattering wife.	= "to be replaced by the sexually-charged bosom of a beguiling wife."
116
	David. Urias hath a beauteous sober wife,	117-124: some discreditable reasoning from David: if Urias does not go home to his wife when he has a chance to, Bethsabe, young, impressionable and hurt, might take her resentment out on Urias by sleeping with another man, ruining her reputation. beauteous = beautiful. sober = temperate and serious in behaviour; David is hinting especially at Bethsabe's sexual behaviour.
118	Yet young, and framed of tempting flesh and blood;	= comprised of, made up of.
	Then, when the king hath summoned thee from arms,	= "called thee away from the battlefield".
120	If thou unkindly shouldst refrain her bed,	= ie. "from her".
	Sin might be laid upon Urias' soul,
122	If Bethsabe by frailty hurt her fame:	122: frailty = common word used to describe one's weak- ness in resisting temptation, especially a woman's weakness. fame = reputation.
	Then go, Urias, solace in her love;
124	Whom God hath knit to thee, tremble to loose.	124: Urias should worry about undoing (loose = undo, as a knot) the woman God has united (knit) to him in marriage.
126	Urias. The king is much too tender of my ease:	= solicitous.
	The ark and Israel and Judah dwell	127: The ark = the Ark of the Covenant. Israel and Judah = reference to the two historically distinct but adjacent homelands of the Hebrews in the Middle East, Israel to the north.
128	In palaces and rich pavilions;
	But Joab and his brother in the fields,	= ie. are camped outside; in = ie. are in.
130	Suffering the wrath of winter and the sun:	= the cold of winter and the heat of the sun in summer; this region, known as Amman, can reach temperatures below freezing in the winter.
	And shall Urias (of more shame than they)	= "who possesses".
132	Banquet, and loiter in the work of Heaven?	= feast. = ie. working to defeat the enemies of God (and Israel).
	As sure as thy soul doth live, my lord,	= sure is disyllabic here: SHU-er.
134	Mine ears shall never lean to such delight,	134: ie. Urias will not be tempted to engage in such plea- sures when he hears about them.
	When holy labour calls me forth to fight.	Urias' Speech: compare lines 126-135 to 2 Sam. 11:11: "The ark, and Israel, and Judah dwell in pavilions, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide in the open fields, and shall I then go into mine house, to cate, and drink, and lie with my wife: By thy life, and by the life of thy soul, I will not do this thing."
136
	David. Then be it with Urias' manly heart	137-8: David does not force the issue with Urias.
138	As best his fame may shine in Israel.	Here is David's response at 2 Sam. 11:12: "Tarry this day also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart."
140	Urias. Thus shall Urias' heart be best content,	140-4: Urias is satisfied to spend the night on the floor in the
	Till thou dismiss me back to Joab's bands:	Palace; "And so Urias abode in Jerusalem that day, and
142	This ground before the king my master's doors	the morrow." (2 Sam. 11:12).
	Shall be my couch, and this unwearied arm
144	The proper pillow of a soldier's head;
146	[Lies down.]
148	For never will I lodge within my house,
	Till Joab triumph in my secret vows.	149: Bullen observes that this line makes no sense.
150
	David. Then fetch some flagons of our purest wine,	151-6: David has a back-up plan for Urias: he will get him
152	That we may welcome home our hardy friend	drunk in the hope that in his inebriated state Urias will be
	With full carouses to his fortunes past	more amenable to go home to Bethsabe.
154	And to the honours of his future arms;	flagon (line 151) = a flagon is a drinking cup with a handle and a spout.
	Then will I send him back to Rabbah siege,
156	And follow with the strength of Israel.	156: ie. David will follow with his own army to finish off the capture of Rabbah.
158	Enter one with flagons of wine.	= a servant.
160	Arise, Urias; come and pledge the king.
162	Urias. If David think me worthy such a grace,
	I will be bold and pledge my lord the king.
164
	[Rises.]
166
	David. Absalon and Cusay both shall drink
168	To good Urias and his happiness.
170	Abs. We will, my lord, to please Urias' soul.
172	David. I will begin, Urias, to thyself,	= ie. David will make the first toast.
	And all the treasure of the Ammonites,
174	Which here I promise to impart to thee,	= give.
	And bind that promise with a full carouse.
176
	[Drinks.]
178
	Urias. What seemeth pleasant in my sovereign's eyes,
180	That shall Urias do till he be dead.
182	David. Fill him the cup. −
184	[Urias drinks.]
186	Follow, ye lords that love
	Your sovereign's health, and do as he hath done.
188
	Abs. Ill may he thrive, or live in Israel,	189-190: an awkward sentence: "may any man who does not
190	That loves not David, or denies his charge. −	love David, or who refuses to accept his authority, pros- per illy, or languish in Israel."
	Urias, here is to Abisai's health,	= we remember that Joab's brother Abisai is the leader of
192	Lord Joab's brother and thy loving friend.	the Mighty Soldiers.
194	[Drinks.]
196	Urias. I pledge Lord Absalon and Abisai's health.	= a disyllable here: AB-s'lon.
198	[Drinks.]
200	Cusay. Here now, Urias, to the health of Joab,
	And to the pleasant journey we shall have
202	When we return to mighty Rabbah siege.
204	[Drinks.]
206	Urias. Cusay, I pledge thee all with all my heart. −
	Give me some drink, ye servants of the king;
208	Give me my drink.
210	[Drinks.]
212	David. Well done, my good Urias! drink thy fill,
	That in thy fulness David may rejoice.	= can mean both (1) being full of drink, and (2) state of
214		'completeness or perfection.^1
	Urias. I will, my lord.
216
	Abs. Now, Lord Urias, one carouse to me.	= "drink one health".
218
	Urias. No, sir, I’ll drink to the king;	219: a short line, as is 225 below.
220	Your father is a better man than you.	Generally, there is no real reason to think that short lines are necessarily corrupt, ie. printed incorrectly; however, we will occasionally point out the suggestions of some of the early editors to fill out such lines.
222	David. Do so, Urias; I will pledge thee straight.	= immediately.
224	Urias. I will indeed, my lord and sovereign;
	I[’ll] once in my days be so bold.
226
	David. Fill him his glass.
228
	Urias. Fill me my glass.	229: Urias begins to drunkenly repeat everything he hears.
230
	He gives him the glass.	231: Dyce omits this stage direction, though he does hazard
232		to guess its meaning to be that Urias hands his glass to the person who is pouring the wine for the party.
	David. Quickly, I say.
234
	Urias. Quickly, I say. − Here, my lord, by your favour
236	now I drink to you.
238	[Drinks.]
240	David. I pledge thee, good Urias, presently.
242	[Drinks.]
244	Abs. Here, then, Urias, once again for me,
	And to the health of David's children.
246
	[Drinks.]
248
	Urias. David's children!
250
	Abs. Ay, David's children: wilt thou pledge me, man?
252
	Urias. Pledge me, man!
254
	Abs. Pledge me, I say, or else thou lov'st us not.
256
	Urias. What, do you talk? do you talk? I'll no more; I'll lie down here.
258
	David. Rather, Urias, go thou home and sleep.
260
	Urias. O, ho, sir! would you make me break my sentence?	= promise or vow.^2
262
	[Lies down.]
264
	Home, sir! no, indeed, sir: I’ll sleep upon mine
266	arm, like a soldier; sleep like a man as long as I live in
	Israel.
268
	David. [Aside]
270	If naught will serve to save his wife's renown,	270: ie. "if none of my schemes work to save Bethsabe's good name (renown)". naught = nothing.
	I'll send him with a letter unto Joab
272	To put him in the forefront of the wars,	= the front of the battle-lines, the most dangerous location.
	That so my purposes may take effect. −
274	Help him in, sirs.
276	[Exeunt David and Absalon.]
278	Cusay. Come, rise, Urias; get thee in and sleep.
280	Urias. I will not go home, sir; that's flat.	= certain, absolute.
282	Cusay. Then come and rest thee upon David's bed.
284	Urias. On, afore, my lords, on, afore.
	[Exeunt.]
	CHORUS I.
		Bible Verses Described by the Chorus: 2 Sam. 11:16-17, 26-27; and 2 Sam. 12:14.
	Enter Chorus.	Entering Character: mimicking that of ancient Greek drama, our first Chorus comes on stage mid-play to comment on the action so far, but unlike the earlier Choruses, our Chorus also describes some developments in the plot which Peele chooses not present on stage (hence advancing the story-line). Such intra-play Choruses were not the generally the norm in Elizabethan drama; here it lends an archaic touch which is not out of place in our ancient story. Shakespeare used such intra-play Choruses in Romeo and Juliet and Henry V.
1	Chor. O proud revolt of a presumptuous man,	1f: the Chorus bemoans David's behaviour. 1: something like "oh, haughty defiance (revolt)^1 of an arrogant man"; proud and presumptuous are roughly synonymous, both meaning "arrogant", but the former can also be used to suggest "lewdness" or "being in heat", and the latter can carry the sense of "usurping".
2	Laying his bridle in the neck of sin,	292-3: a neat equine metaphor, of David riding the horse of
	Ready to bear him past his grave to hell!	sin on the path to his own damnation.
4	Like as the fatal raven, that in his voice	4-5: the croak of a raven (pronounced ra'en, in one syllable) was considered predictive of misfortune generally, and death particularly.^1 fatal = prophetic, fate-determining;^1 the expression fatal raven appears in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, which was written perhaps around the same time as was David and Bethsabe; interestingly, Peele is believed to have possibly worked with the Bard on Titus.
	Carries the dreadful summons of our deaths,
6	Flies by the fair Arabian spiceries,	6-14: a lengthy simile: just as a raven will ignore, and even be disgusted by, the most pleasant things nature has to offer, but will stop to eat filthy dead flesh, a man will reject behaving in a manner which will save his soul, but will eagerly pursue the sinful satisfaction of his bodily lust. 6-10: Dyce notes that in writing these lines, Peele has translated and adopted some verses from poetry written by the Frenchman Guillaume de Saluste Du Bartas (1544 - 1590). Arabian spiceries = spiceries refers to "spices", which were frequently connected with Arabia.
	Her pleasant gardens and delightsome parks,
8	Seeming to curse them with his hoarse exclaims,	= "hoarse outcries"; in Macbeth, Shakespeare also writes
	And yet doth stoop with hungry violence	"The raven himself is hoarse".
10	Upon a piece of hateful carrion;
	So wretched man, displeased with those delights
12	Would yield a quickening savour to his soul,	= life-giving aroma.
	Pursues with eager and unstanchèd thirst	= unquenched.
14	The greedy longings of his loathsome flesh.
	If holy David so shook hands with sin,	15: a fabulous metaphor; the expression "shake the hand of
16	What shall our baser spirits glory in?	sin" became proverbial in the 17th century. 15-16: "if David, God's chosen leader for Israel, can sin, what hope is there for the rest of us ordinary people?"
	This kingly giving lust her rein	17-18: the king's allowing his lust freedom to act can only
18	Pursues the sequel with a greater ill.	lead to greater woes. the sequel = what follows next. Dyce notes line 17 is short, and that some language has certainly dropped out; Bullen proposes adding ruler after kingly, while Manly rewrites the line as "This king, by giving lust, etc."
	Urias in the forefront of the wars	19-20: David had ordered Joab to place Urias in the front
20	Is murthered by the hateful heathens' sword,	lines of battle, which Joab having done so, resulted in Urias' death at the hand of the Ammonites (2 Sam. 11:16-17). Peele has interestingly chosen to spare the audience the horror of having to witness Urias' demise on stage. murthered = murther was a common variation of murder.
	And David joys his too dear Bethsabe.	= enjoys.
22	Suppose this past, and that the child is born,	22-23: the Chorus explicitly - and a bit awkwardly - asks the audience to imagine we have jumped forward in time; with regard to line 22, 2 Sam. 11:6-7 describes what we are missing: "^6 And when the wife of Urias heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. ^7 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fet (ie. fetched) her to his house, and she became his wife (ie. he married her), and bare him a son (the baby conceived in adultery): but this thing that David did, displeased the Lord."
	Whose death the prophet solemnly doth mourn.	23: the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David to make him
24		see his sin, and to predict the death of the child (2 Sam. 12:1-14).
	[Exit.]
	SCENE VI.
	The Royal Palace at Jerusalem.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene VI: 2 Sam. 12:15.
	Enter Bethsabe with her Handmaid.	The Scene: Bethsabe's baby has been born; but "the Lord strake the child that Urias' wife bare unto David, and it sickened sore..." (2 Sam. 12:15).
1	Beth. Mourn, Bethsabe, bewail thy foolishness,	= grieve. = lament.
2	Thy sin, thy shame, the sorrow of thy soul:	2-3: note the extended alliteration and repetition of key
	Sin, shame, and sorrow swarm about thy soul;	words, which serve to intensify Bethsabe's emotions.
4	And, in the gates and entrance of my heart,
	Sadness, with wreathèd arms, hangs her complaint.	5: wreathed arms = folded arms, a common expression in the 17th century; wreathed arms appears in Shakespeare's Love's Labour Lost, also written in the 1590's. complaint = lamentation.^1
6	No comfort from the ten-stringed instrument,	6-9: even the sound of music fails to ease Bethsabe's heart. ten-stringed instrument = ie. a lyre.
	The twinkling cymbal, or the ivory lute;	7: twinkling = the editors all emend the original word twinckling to tinkling, but the OED cites several uses of twinkle to mean "tinkle" over the centuries. lute = an early guitar.
8	Nor doth the sound of David's kingly harp	8: David, famous for his musicianship, was especially asso- ciated with playing the harp, which in his youth he played for Saul to soothe the latter's fits after the spirit of the Lord left him.
	Make glad the broken heart of Bethsabe:
10	Jerusalem is filled with thy complaint,	= lamentations.
	And in the streets of Sion sits thy grief.	= ie. Jerusalem; see the note at line 6 of the Prologus.
12	The babe is sick, sick to the death, I fear,
	The fruit that sprung from thee to David's house;	13: ie. the baby is part of David's family.
14	Nor may the pot of honey and of oil	14: the Bible describes Israel as the land of olive oil and honey; see, e.g., Deuteronomy 8:8 ("a land wherein is oil olive and honey") and 2 Kings 18:32 ("a land of oil, of olive trees, and of honey").
	Glad David or his handmaid's countenance.	15: ie. "brighten the faces of either David or Bethsabe."
16	Urias − wo is me to think hereon!
	For who is it among the sons of men
18	That saith not to my soul, "The king hath sinned;	= saith is pronounced in a single syllable.
	David hath done amiss, and Bethsabe	19-20: Bethsabe…life = ie. Bethsabe takes partial respon-
20	Laid snares of death unto Urias' life"?	sibility for her husband's death.
	My sweet Urias, fall’n into the pit
22	Art thou, and gone even to the gates of hell	= a monosyllable: e'en.
	For Bethsabe, that wouldst not shroud her shame.	= who. = conceal.
24	O, what is it to serve the lust of kings!
	How lion-like th[e]y rage when we resist!
26	But, Bethsabe, in humbleness attend
	The grace that God will to his handmaid send.
28
	[Exeunt.]	Scene VI and Bethsabe's Lament: other than this single statement - "And when the wife of Urias heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him" (2 Sam. 11:26) - the Bible at no point tells the reader how Bethsabe feels, about her relationship with David, or even the sickness and loss of their first child. Peele, however, has honourably given her a voice.
		Line 9, Bersabe vs. Bethsabe: the bizarre inconsistency in the spelling of Bethsabe's name throughout the 1599 quarto demonstrates what appears to be a complete absence of proof-reading, or any quality control, in the printing process. For example, on the title page of the quarto, we find Bethsabe, but when the full title is reprinted above the Prologue, the name appears as Bersabe. The strangest error of all occurs in the quarto's running head, ie. the top of every page in the quarto. Open the book in front of you to a random page, and you will see David and Bethsabe at the top of both the left and right-hand pages; turn the page once, and this time you will see David and Bersabe in the running head; the alternation of Bethsabe and Bersabe runs through the entire quarto; a bonus-error occurs on the 8th page of text, in which the running head on the left-hand page prints Bersahe, but Bersabe at the top of the right-hand page. But back to Scene VI: in the opening stage direction, and at line 1, Bethsabe is printed; but then, from line 9 forward, through Scene VII.143, wherever Bethsabe's name should appear, Bersabe is printed instead; this occurs 8 consecutive times, before the play returns to printing Bethsabe again.
		One last complication: Bersabe, it turns out, is the name of a town in southern Israel, and appears twice in the play (Scene XI.139 and 187) in the phrase from Dan to Bersabe. So, in order of appearance, then, from the play's beginning to its end, we find the following: 1. Bethsabe printed 17 consecutive times; 2. Bersabe printed as the character's name 8 straight times; 3. Bersabe printed twice as the name of a town; 4. one Bethsabe; 5. one Bersabe for the character; and finally 6. the return to Bethsabe for the character's name for its remaining 6 appearances. There are numerous such gaffes in the quarto (see, for example, the note after the last line of Chorus II, after Scene XV). In considering these, one can begin to understand the numerous textual challenges scholars must deal as they try to prepare these old plays for modern readers.
	SCENE VII.
	The Palace.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene VII: 2 Sam. 12:1-24.
	Enter David in his gown, walking sadly;	= a loose flowing garment, worn casually.^1
	Servants attending.
1	David. [Aside]
2	The babe is sick, and sad is David's heart,
	To see the guiltless bear the guilty's pain.	= ie. innocent people generally, and his innocent baby spe- cifically.
4	David, hang up thy harp; hang down thy head;	3: a good example of the figure of speech known as antithesis, or balanced contrast, ie. a pair of parallel phrases expressing a contrast of ideas, made even more dramatic by its dense alliteration and repetition.
	And dash thy ivory lute against the stones.
6	The dew, that on the hill of Hermon falls,	4-5: Peele borrows but reverses the idea of Psalms 133:3,
	Rains not on Sion's tops and lofty towers;	which describes "the dew of Hermon: which falleth down upon the hill of Sion"; Peele's dew rains not on Sion. This is the second time in the play Peele has lifted imagery from Psalms 133: he had earlier adopted verses 2 and 3 in lines 48-49 of Bethsabe's speech which opened Scene I. It is pleasant to imagine our author's attention being captured by Psalms 133 as he borrowed verses 2 and 3 for Scene I, then later on, remembering the image of the dew and Hebron and Sion, employing the same Psalm for use in the present speech.
8	The plains of Gath and Askaron rejoice,	6: Gath and Askaron are Philistine cities; naturally the citizens of Israel's great enemy would rejoice at the news of David's misfortune. Peele may have gotten the idea to connect Gath, Askaron and rejoice from David's lament for Saul and Jonathan in 2 Sam. 1:20: "Tell it not in Gath, nor publish it in the streets of Askalon: lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph." We may note that Peele's use of an 'r' in Askaron, instead of an 'l' (ie. Askalon), is in error (Askalon is written with an 'l' in all of the Bibles); or perhaps the mistake was the play's printer's. The slip is repeated later at Scene IX.33.
	And David's thoughts are spent in pensiveness:
10	The babe is sick, sweet babe, that Bethsabe
	With woman's pain brought forth to Israel.	= ie. the pain of childbirth.
12
	Enter Nathan.	Entering Character: Nathan is Samuel's successor as Israel's greatest prophet.^9
14
	But what saith Nathan to his lord the king?	= saith, as usual, is monosyllabic.
16
	Nath. Thus Nathan saith unto his lord the king:	17f: Nathan speaks a parable (2 Sam. 12:1-4) to David, but the king, misconstruing Nathan completely, takes it as a real occurrence.
18	There were two men both dwellers in one town;
	The one was mighty, and exceeding rich	= ie. "one of them".
20	In oxen, sheep, and cattle of the field;
	The other poor, having nor ox, nor calf,	= neither.
22	Nor other cattle, save one little lamb
	Which he had bought and nourished by the hand;	= ie. "by hand", a phrase commonly used to describe the raising of an animal by a human, rather than by its own parents.^1
24	And it grew up, and fed with him and his,	= ie. his family.
	And eat and drank as he and his were wont,	= ie. ate. = ie. accustomed to do.
26	And in his bosom slept, and was to live	= some editors change live to him.
	As was his daughter or his dearest child.
28	There came a stranger to this wealthy man;
	And he refused and spared to take his own,	27-28: the wealthy man did not want to kill one of his own animals to feed the stranger.
30	Or of his store to dress or make him meat,	= livestock.^1 = prepare.
	But took the poor man's sheep, partly, poor man's store,	29: Dyce reasonably suggests this unintelligible line with its superfluous syllables has suffered "deep corruption". Manly suggests simply replacing partly with the, which easily fixes everything! store = (1) abundance, and / or (2) all that he has.^22
32	And dressed it for this stranger in his house.
	What, tell me, shall be done to him for this?
34		22-27: Raising the Poor Man's Sheep: it is worth comparing Peele's speech to the Bishop Bible's description of the poor man's raising of the lamb: "But the poor had nothing save one little sheep, which he had bought and nourished up: And it grew up with him and with his children also, and did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and slept in his bosom, and was unto him as his daughter." (2 Sam. 12:3).
	David. Now, as the Lord doth live, this wicked man
36	Is judged and shall become the child of death;
	Fourfold to the poor man shall he restore,	37-38: the wealthy man will be required to give four lambs
38	That without mercy took his lamb away.	to the poor one to repay him.
		Compare 2 Sam. 12:6: "he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and has no pity." Note that David does not recognize the significance of the story: he is the rich man, Urias the poor one, and Bethsabe is the lamb; Nathan immediately relieves the king of his ignorance.
40	Nath. Thou art the man; and thou hast judged thyself.
	David, thus saith the Lord thy God by me:
42	"I thee anointed king in Israel,
	And saved thee from the tyranny of Saul;
44	Thy master's house I gave thee to possess;	= ie. Saul's kingdom.
	His wives into thy bosom did I give,	44-45: compare 2 Sam. 12:8: "I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom". This has always been a mysterious verse, as the Bible mentions only one wife of Saul, Ahinoam (1 Sam. 14:50), and also a concubine, Rizpah (2 Sam. 3:7); commentators have had various takes on this verse: (1) David, as a king, had the right to marry his predecessor's wives; (2) David, as a king, had a right to take possession of his Saul's harem; (3) the verse is not meant to be taken literally: it only means David had the right to take possession of everything that was Saul's; or (4) David had the right to dispose of Saul's women any way he wanted to, ie. "to give them to whom he pleased."^12,13
46	And Judah and Jerusalem withal;	46: 2 Sam. 12:8: "and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah", meaning the Lord gave the twin regions of Israel and Judah to rule over. Peele regularly pairs Judah with Jerusalem instead of Israel (four times total in the play) because it better fits the iambic meter. withal = as well.
	And might, thou know'st, if this had been too small,	47-48: compare 2 Sam. 12:8: "and might (if that had been too little) have given thee so much more."' too small = ie. not enough.
48	Have given thee more:
	Wherefore, then, hast thou gone so far astray,	= why.
50	And hast done evil, and sinned in my sight?
	Urias thou hast killèd with the sword;
52	Yea, with the sword of the uncircumcised	52: ie. through the agency of the Ammonites; see the note at the end of this scene on the use of the word uncircumcised as a term of abuse.
	Thou hast him slain: wherefore, from this day forth,	= for this reason.^2
54	The sword shall never go from thee and thine;	54: David's family will forever know suffering in general, and death in particular. Compare 2 Sam. 12:10 "Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house".
	For thou hast ta'en this Hethite's wife to thee:
56	Wherefore, behold, I will," saith Jacob's God,	= for this reason.
	"In thine own house stir evil up to thee;
58	Yea, I before thy face will take thy wives,
	And give them to thy neighbour to possess:
60	This shall be done to David in the day,	= ie. light of day.
	That Israel openly may see thy shame."	= Israel here is disyllabic. 57-61: compare 2 Sam. 12:11-12: "^11…Behold, I will stir up evil against thee, even out of thine own house, and will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the light of the sun. ^12 For thou didest it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in the open sun light."
62
	David. Nathan, I have against the Lord, I have	63-65: David's repentance here in the play is more elaborate
64	Sinnèd; O, sinnèd grievously! and, lo,	and heartfelt than is presented in the Bible, in which
	From Heaven's throne doth David throw himself,	David simply confesses, "I have sinned against the
66	And groan and grovel to the gates of hell!	Lord." (2 Sam. 13).
68	[Falls down.]
70	Nath. [Raising him]
	David, stand up: thus saith the Lord by me:
72	David the king shall live, for He hath seen
	The true repentant sorrow of thy heart;
74	But, for thou hast in this misdeed of thine	= because.
	Stirred up the enemies of Israel
76	To triumph, and blaspheme the God of Hosts,	= rejoice or exult.^1
	And say, he set a wicked man to reign	= again referring to God.
78	Over his lovèd people and his tribes, −
	The child shall surely die, that erst was born,	= earlier.
80	His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn.	= disgrace.^3 Nathan's Curse: compare lines 74-76 and 79 to 2 Sam. 12:14: "Howbeit, because in doing this deed thou hast given the enemies of the Lord a cause to blaspheme, the child that is born unto thee shall surely die."
82	[Exit.]	82: immediately after verse 14, verse 15 begins, "And
		Nathan departed unto his house."
84	David. How just is Jacob's God in all his works!
	But must it die that David loveth so?	= the baby.
86	O, that the Mighty One of Israel
	Nill change his doom, and says the babe must die!	= will not.^3 = judgment, sentence.^1
88	Mourn, Israel, and weep in Sion-gates;	= the gates of Jerusalem.
	Wither, ye cedar-trees of Lebanon;
90	Ye sprouting almonds, with your flowering tops,
	Droop, drown, and drench in Hebron's fearful streams:	91: note the dramatic alliteration of the line. Hebron's = Hebron, one of the oldest cities in the world, had special meaning to David, who ruled from Hebron for the first seven years of his kingship. fearful = causing fear, awe, or reverence.
92	The babe must die that was to David born,	92-93: David repeats the last two lines of Nathan's speech
	His mother's sin, his kingly father's scorn.	(lines 79-80).
94
	[Sits sadly.]
96
	Enter Cusay.	Entering Character: Cusay does not immediately go over to David, but first approaches one of the other servants, and speaks to him out of David's hearing.
98
	1st Serv. What tidings bringeth Cusay to the king?	= news.
100
	Cusay. To thee, the servant of King David's court,
102	This bringeth Cusay, as the prophet spake;	= ie. that news of the event which Nathan predicted would
	The Lord hath surely stricken to the death	happen.
104	The child new-born by that Urias' wife,
	That by the sons of Ammon erst was slain.	= ie. "who was killed a little while ago by the Ammonites", referring of course to Urias, not Bethsabe.
106
	1st Serv. Cusay, be still; the king is vexèd sore:	= severely troubled.
108	How shall he speed that brings this tidings first,	108: "what will happen to the one who delivers this news to David?" speed = fare.
	When, while the child was yet alive, we spake,
110	And David's heart would not be comforted?	108-110: compare 2 Sam. 12:18: "And the seventh day the child died; and the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, behold, while the child was yet alive we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then bear himself, if we tell him that the child is dead[?]"
112	David. Yea, David's heart will not be comforted!	112: David has overheard the last line spoken by the servant.
	What murmur ye, the servants of the king?
114	What tidings telleth Cusay to the king?
	Say, Cusay, lives the child, or is he dead?
116
	Cusay. The child is dead, that of Urias' wife
118	David begat.	= ie. fathered.
120	David. Urias' wife, saist thou?
	The child is dead, then ceaseth David's shame:	121: an interesting and unforeseen development: with the baby dead, David is freed of having to be reminded of his sin every time he looked upon the child.
122	Fetch me to eat, and give me wine to drink;
	Water to wash, and oil to clear my looks;	122-3: compare 2 Sam. 12:20: "And David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: and afterward came to his own house, and bad (ie. asked) that they should set bread before him, and he did eat."
124	Bring down your shalms, your cymbals, and your pipes;	= a shalm was an oboe-like Medieval instrument.
	Let David's harp and lute, his hand and voice,
126	Give laud to him that loveth Israel,	= praise. = ie. God.
	And sing his praise that shendeth David's fame,	= protected or defended David's reputation.^1
128	That put away his sin from out his sight,	128: ie. by letting the baby die.
	And sent his shame into the streets of Gath.	129: roughly, "and removed his shame to some place far away." Gath, we remember, is a Philistine city, so David might also be alluding to the Philistines gloating over his shameful conduct.
130	Bring ye to me the mother of the babe,
	That I may wipe the tears from off her face,
132	And give her comfort with this hand of mine,
	And deck fair Bethsabe with ornaments,	= adorn. = fancy attire, as opposed to the mourning clothes she would have been wearing.
134	That she may bear to me another son,
	That may be lovèd of the Lord of Hosts;	= by.
136	For where he is, of force must David go,	= ie. his dead son.^6 = necessarily.
	But never may he come where David is.
138		130-7: David Returns to Bethsabe: David wasted no time in getting himself another heir: "And David comforted Bethsabe his wife, and went unto her and lay with her, and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon, and the Lord loved him." (2 Sam. 12:24).
	They bring in water, wine, and oil.
140	Music and a banquet;	= ie. a repast, food; Blistein suggests that tables would also
	and enter Bethsabe.	be set up.
142
	Fair Bethsabe, sit thou, and sigh no more: −
144	And sing and play, you servants of the king:
	Now sleepeth David's sorrow with the dead,	145: ie. David's sadness has departed with the now-deceased
146	And Bethsabe liveth to Israel.	child.
148	[They use all solemnities together and sing, etc.]	= ie. celebrate.^1
150	Now arms and warlike engines for assault	= machines of war, such as catapults, etc.
	Prepare at once, ye men of Israel,	= old plural form of you.
152	Ye men of Judah and Jerusalem,
	That Rabbah may be taken by the king,	153-5: David is ready to go capture Rabbah himself, so he
154	Lest it be callèd after Joab's name,	may receive the glory of the victory, before the city
	Nor David's glory shine in Sion streets.	surrenders, a result which would give the credit for the conquest to Joab.
156	To Rabbah marcheth David with his men,
	To chastise Ammon and the wicked ones.	= punish.
	[Exeunt.]	The Term Uncircumcised: twice in the play do the Israelites refer to their enemies the Ammonites as uncircumcised, and once even the king of Ammon uses the word to describe his own people. What was the significance of this word? Circumcision was actually common in the Middle East, but except for the Jews, who performed the surgery on infants, other cultures did so on boys as they were entering puberty; According to Nielson's Illustrated Bible History,^9 "the Hebrew people took great pride in circumcision", which "fostered a spirit of exclusion" (p. 235). In time the word uncircumcised itself "became a charged term used by Jews to describe outsiders" as a sign of disrespect (p. 236).
	SCENE VIII.
	A Field.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene VIII: 2 Sam. 13:27-29.
	Enter Absalon with several others.	Entering Characters: Absalon enters the stage with a number of his servants; they are about to begin the sheep-shearing feast, mentioned way back in Scene V, and are only awaiting a number of David's sons, including Amnon, to arrive. We should note that Amnon has for some reason become the host of the sheep-shearing event; this continuity error is inconsistent with the narrative in the Bible, in which Absalon is in fact the host.
1	Abs. Set up your mules, and give them well to eat,	1f: Absalon addresses his servants.
2	And let us meet our brothers at the feast.
	Accursèd is the master of this feast,	= the person who presides over or hosts a feast,^1 who appears to be Amnon now: see the opening lines of Amnon's speech below at 19f.
4	Dishonour of the house of Israel,
	His sister's slander, and his mother's shame:	= ie. the ruin of Thamar's good name.
6	Shame be his share that could such ill contrive,
	To ravish Thamar, and, without a pause,
8	To drive her shamefully from out his house:
	But may his wickedness find just reward!
10	Therefore doth Absalon conspire with you,
	That Amnon die what time he sits to eat;	= when.
12	For in the holy temple have I sworn
	Wreak of his villany in Thamar's rape.	= revenge.
14	And here he comes: bespeak him gently, all,	= ie. "speak kindly or civilly to him".
	Whose death is deeply gravèd in my heart.	= engraved. Compare Absalon's speech to 2 Sam. 13:28: "Now had Absalom commanded his young men, saying: Mark when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I bid you smite Amnon: then kill him, and fear not: have not I bidden you? be bold therefore, and play the men."
16
	Enter Amnon, Adonia, and Jonadab.	Entering Characters: two of David's sons arrive at the feast; to recap, Amnon, our predator, is the king's son by Ahinoam, and David's eldest; Adonia is David's fourth son, by Haggith. [Absalon is David's third son; his fourth son, Chileab, will appear in the play's final scene.] Jonadab, one of David's nephews, is Amnon's close friend: it was he who gave Amnon the plan to trap Thamar in his room.
18
	Amnon. Our shearers are not far from hence, I wot;	19f: Amnon addresses Absalon. from hence = from here; technically redundant, though commonly used, phrase, as hence alone means "from here". wot = know.
20	And Amnon to you all his brethren	= brethren is pronounced with three syllables: BRETH-er- en.
	Giveth such welcome as our fathers erst	21: our fathers = Amnon and Jonadab's fathers are David and Shimeah respectively; the two parents are brothers, hence making Amnon and Jonadab first cousins. erst = previously, in earlier days.
22	Were wont in Judah and Jerusalem; −	22: wont = accustomed to do. Jerusalem = as usual, Peele uses Jerusalem to mean Israel when pairing it with Judah, in order to more easily fit the meter.
	But, specially, Lord Absalon, to thee,
24	The honour of thy house and progeny:	= race or family generally, or his ancestors or descendants specifically.^1,4
	Sit down and dine with me, King David's son,	25: Blistein observes that the tables used for the celebration of the previous scene would be used here.
26	Thou fair young man, whose hairs shine in mine eye
	Like golden wires of David's ivory lute.	27: wires = here a single syllable. 26-27: Absalon was famous for his beauty, especially that of his hair; here is what 2 Sam. 14:25-26 says about that: "^25 But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for beauty: from the sole of his foot to the top of his head, there was no blemish in him."
28		^26 And when he polled (ie. cut)^1 his head (ie. hair) (for at every year's end he polled it, because the heere (ie. hair) was heavy on him therefore he polled it) he weighed the heere of his head at two hundred sicles (ie. shekels), after the king's weight." Blistein observes that the Bible nowhere asserts that Absalon's hair was golden.
	Abs. Amnon, where be thy shearers and thy men,
30	That we may pour in plenty of thy vines,	30: Absalon is eager for Amnon to get to drinking.
	And eat thy goats'-milk, and rejoice with thee?	vines = Dyce not unreasonably emends vines to wines; but Manly approvingly cites an earlier editor who suggested changing in to the, producing the pleasing and intelligible the plenty of thy vines.
32
	Amnon. Here cometh Amnon's shearers and his men: −
34	Absalon, sit and rejoice with me.	34: Dyce, noting the irregularity in the line, suggests adding down after sit, but Bullen's suggestion of inserting Come before Absalon is preferable.
36	Enter a company of Shepherds, who dance and sing.	36: the musical interlude gives Amnon time to get drunk.
38	Drink, Absalon, in praise of Israel;
	Welcome to Amnon's fields from David's court.
40
	Abs. [Stabbing Amnon]	41: the original play does not indicate how Absalon kills Amnon; but since Amnon's death is instantaneous, stabbing is the logical means; the stage direction is Dyce's.
42	Die with thy draught; perish, and die accursed;	= drink.
	Dishonour to the honour of us all;
44	Die for the villany to Thamar done,
	Unworthy thou to be King David's son!	41-45: The Feast and Amnon's Death: the Bible does not report any conversation that may have occurred upon Amnon's arrival to the sheep-shearing banquet; instead, immediately after we read in 2 Sam. 13:28 of Absalon's instructions to his servants to kill Amnon, we read, in verse 29, the following: "And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon even as Absalom had commanded: And the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled." 44-45: note that Absalon's murder-speech concludes with a rhyming couplet.
46
	[Exit with others.]
48
	Jonad. O, what hath Absalon for Thamar done,	49-50: these lines contain a striking repetition of the con-
50	Murthered his brother, great King David's son!	cluding and rhyming words of lines 44-45 of Absalon's
		speech immediately above.
52	Adon. Run, Jonadab, away, and make it known,
	What cruèlty this Absalon hath shown. −
54	Amnon, thy brother Ádonia shall	= this is the only time Adonia's name is spoken in the play; it appears to be stressed on its first syllable.
	Bury thy body 'mong the dead men's bones;
56	And we will make complaint to Israel	= ie. David.
	Of Amnon's death and pride of Absalon.	= ie. Absalon's arrogant assumption of authority to commit
58		this deed.^2
	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE IX.
	Rabbah, Outside the City's Walls.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene IX: all the indicated verses are from 2 Samuel: (1) lines 1-86, 12:29-31; (2) lines 87-140, 13:30-33; (3) lines 142-218, 14:1-23; (4) lines 220-225, 14:25-26; (5) lines 227-247, 14:33; and (6) lines 249-266, 15:1-6. Peele covers more ground now in fewer lines, as the pace of the play quickens.
	Enter David, Joab, Abisai, Cusay, and others,	Entering Characters: David, having raised his own army,
	with drum and ensign against Rabbah.	has joined up with his commander-in-chief Joab at Rabbah; Cusay, as always, is near his king; Abisai, we remember, is Israel's mightiest warrior, and Joab's brother. ensign = carrier of the army's banner, ie. standard-bearer.
1	David. This is the town of the uncircumcised,	= ie. the Ammonites.
2	The city of the kingdom, this is it,
	Rabbah, where wicked Hanon sitteth king.
4	Despoil this king, this Hanon of his crown;	4: an imperative to David's troops: Despoil = strip, rob.
	Unpeople Rabbah and the streets thereof;	= depopulate, ie. "kill them all".
6	For in their blood, and slaughter of the slain,
	Lieth the honour of King David's line.
8	Joab, Abisai, and the rest of you,
	Fight ye this day for great Jerusalem.
10
	Enter Hanon and others on the walls.	11: once again, we are witness to the traditional pre-battle taunting between the armies' leaders.
12
	Joab. And see where Hanon shows him on the walls;	= himself.
14	Why, then, do we forbear to give assault,	14: ie. "what are we waiting for?"
	That Israel may, as it is promisèd,	= Israel is disyllabic here.
16	Subdue the daughters of the Gentiles' tribes?	16: a seeming threat to rape the Ammonite women, or per-
	All this must be performed by David's hand.	haps only to take them as concubines. Subdue = conquer by force. Gentiles' = the term Gentile was used by the Jews to describe any people who were not of their own faith.^9
18
	David. Hark to me, Hanon, and remember well:	= listen.
20	As sure as He doth live that kept my host,	= ie. the Lord. = "protected or watched over my army".
	What time our young men, by the pool of Gibeon,	21-23: see the note below after line 28.
22	Went forth against the strength of Isboseth,	What time = at the time when.
	And twelve to twelve did with their weapons play;
24	So sure art thou and thy men of war	= a disyllable: SHU-er.
	To feel the sword of Israel this day,
26	Because thou hast defièd Jacob's God,
	And suffered Rabbah with the Philistine	27: permitted. = ie. with its allies.
28	To rail upon the tribe of Benjamin.	28: rail upon = heap abusive language at. tribe of Benjamin = one of the twelve historical clans of the Hebrews. Saul, but not David, was a Benjamite. Peele is likely using the term here to refer to the Jewish kingdom generally. 21-23: The Battle at Gibeon (2 Sam. 2:12-23): after Saul had been killed by the Philistines, his son Isboseth assumed the throne of Israel. David had been anointed king himself, but early on only controlled the southern region of Judah. Isboseth's commander Abner came to the city of Gibeon, located five and a half miles north-west of Jerusalem, to meet with David's generals. The two sides agreed to provide twelve men each to meet in battle; the two dozen soldiers slaughtered each other to a man, lending the battle-site the name of "Field of Swords". Immediately a full-scale battle between the two sides ensued, and David's side was victorious. It may have been perhaps insensitive of David to bring up this incident here, for it was directly after the battle at Gibeon that Azahell, the brother of Joab and Abisai, lost his life when, having chased down Abner, the latter turned and ran him through with a spear, so that "the spear came out behind him, that he fell down in the same place, and died there." (2 Sam. 2:23).
30	Hanon. Hark, man: as sure as Saul thy master fell,	30-37: Hanon reminds David of the defeat by the Philistines of the Israelites at Mount Gilboa, described in 1 Sam. 31.
	And gored his sides upon the mountain-tops,	31: when Saul saw that the battle was going against him, he asked his armour bearer to run him through with his sword; when the armour bearer refused to do so from fear, "Saul took a sword, and fell upon it". (1 Sam. 31:4).
32	And Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchisua,	32: Saul's three sons were also slain in the battle. Jonathan, the eldest son, had been a close friend of David's, even protecting him from Saul's wrath on a number of occasions.
	Watered the dales and deeps of Askaron	= valleys, or river valleys.^1 = Philistine city, located 40 miles west of Jerusalem, nowhere near Mt. Gilboa and the battle site.
34	With bloody streams, that from Gilboa ran	= ie. Mount Gilboa, about 50 miles north of Jerusalem.
	In channels through the wilderness of Ziph,	= a barren desert surrounding the city of Ziph, about 20 miles south of Jerusalem, just south-east of Hebron; here David had hidden from Saul at 1 Sam. 23:14f.
36	What time the sword of the uncircumcised	= ie. at which time.
	Was drunken with the blood of Israel;
38	So sure shall David perish with his men
	Under the walls of Rabbah, Hanon's town.
40
	Joab. Hanon, the God of Israel hath said,
42	David the king shall wear that crown of thine
	That weighs a talent of the finest gold,	= a unit of weight;^1Blistein points out that a Babylonian talent weighed about 65 pounds (p. 268).
44	And triumph in the spoil of Hanon's town,
	When Israel shall hale thy people hence,	= from here.
46	And turn them to the tile-kiln, man and child,	46-49: Joab describes the various ways the Jews will torturously kill off the Ammonites. 46: burn them in kilns (ovens) used to bake tiles.
	And put them under harrows made of iron,	47: tear them to death by dragging over their bodies sledges (harrows) armed on the bottom with rollers or sharp spikes, machines otherwise used to thresh grains.
48	And hew their bones with axes, and their limbs
	With iron swords divide and tear in twain.	= two.
50	Hanon, this shall be done to thee and thine,	= ie. "thy people".
	Because thou hast defièd Israel. −
52	To arms, to arms, that Rabbah feel revenge,
	And Hanon's town become King David's spoil!	46-49: The Intended Slaughter of the Ammonite People: commentators have noted the brutal means by which David intended to exterminate his foe, but observe that these were normal practices at the time, and so the Israelites would have no reason to think God might disapprove of such barbarous tactics.^15 Compare Joab's speech to 2 Sam. 30-31, in which the events Joab predicts in lines 42-50 will happen are described as actually having taken place after David captured Rabbah: "^30 And he took their king's crown from off his head (which weighed a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones) and it was set on David's head, and he brought away the people of the city, in exceeding great abundance. ^31 And he carried away the people that was therein, and put them under saws (ie. sawed them to death), and under iron harrows, and under axes of iron, and thrust them into the tile-kiln: thus did he with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And so David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
54
	Alarum, excursions, assault;	55: the battle for Rabbah begins!
56	exeunt.
	Then the trumpets sound,
58	and re-enter David with Hanon's crown, Joab, etc.
60	David. Now clattering arms and wrathful storms of war
	Have thundered over Rabbah's razèd towers;	= pulled-down; the original word here is raced.
62	The wreakful ire of great Jehovah's arm,	= avenging.
	That for his people made the gates to rend,	= open.
64	And clothed the cherubins in fiery coats	64-65: David describes God as having set the angels them-
	To fight against the wicked Hanon's town.	selves to fight on behalf of the Israelites. cherubins = ie. the second choir in the hierarchy of angels known as counsellors. The prophet Ezekiel described his vision of the angels at Ezekiel 1:13-14: "And the fashion of the beasts, their appearance was like coals of fire, burning like the appearance of cressets (ie. torches), it ran among the beasts, and the fire gave a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning."
66	Pay thanks, ye men of Judah, to the King,
	The God of Sion and Jerusalem,
68	That hath exalted Israel to this,	= raised.^2
	And crownèd David with this diadem.
70
	Joab. Beauteous and bright is he among the tribes;	1f: Joab praises David, comparing him to the sun.
72	As when the sun, attired in glistering robe,	= ie. brilliantly shining.
	Comes dancing from his oriental gate,	= ie. the east.
74	And bridegroom-like hurls through the gloomy air
	His radiant beams, such doth King David show,	= ie. this is what King David is like.
76	Crowned with the honour of his enemies' town,
	Shining in riches like the firmament,	= sky.
78	The starry vault that overhangs the earth:
	So looketh David King of Israel.	71-75: Beauteous…beams = Dyce notes Peele has
80		borrowed and adopted some lines from the epic poem, The Fairie Queene, by Edmund Spencer (spelling modernized): At last, the golden oriental gate Of greatest heaven gan to open fair; And Phoebus, fresh as bridegroom to his mate, Came dancing forth, shaking his dewy hair; And hurled his glistering beams through gloomy air.
	Abis. Joab, why doth not David mount his throne
82	Whom Heaven hath beautified with Hanon's crown?	= Heaven is a mono-syllable.
	Sound trumpets, shalms, and instruments of praise,	= a shalm was an oboe-like Medieval instrument.
84	To Jacob's God for David's victory.
86	[Trumpets, etc.]
88	Enter Jonadab.	Entering Character: David's nephew Jonadab arrives to
		report to David the slaughter at Absalon's sheep-shearing. Peele has temporally merged the conquest of Rabbah with Amnon's murder to increase the drama and the pace of his play, but in the Bible, Amnon's rape of Thamar took place after David had taken Rabbah and returned home, and the murder of Amnon occurred two years after that.
90	Jonad. Why doth the King of Israel rejoice?
	Why sitteth David crowned with Rabbah's rule?
92	Behold, there hath great heaviness befall'n	= sorrow.
	In Amnon's fields by Absalon's misdeed;	= crime.
94	And Amnon's shearers and their feast of mirth
	Absalon hath o'erturnèd with his sword;
96	Nor liveth any of King David's sons
	To bring this bitter tidings to the king.	= news; according to 2 Sam. 13:30, an unnamed person first reported to David that all of his sons had been slain (as if it were an unconfirmed but widely believed rumour), while Jonadab, in fact, is the one who corrects David's misconception, telling him, "Amnon only is dead: for that hath been determined in Absalom's mind, since he forced his sister Thamar." (3 Sam. 13:32).
98
	David. Ay me, how soon are David's triumphs dashed,	99-103: one of the most dramatic examples of alliteration in all of Elizabethan drama: David fills his speech with words that begin with 'd' over four and a half consecu- tive lines!
100	How suddenly declineth David's pride!
	As doth the daylight settle in the west,	= subside.^1
102	So dim is David's glory and his gite.	= magnificence, splendour.^1
	Die, David; for to thee is left no seed	= children.
104	That may revive thy name in Israel.	= the sense seems to be "keep your name alive".
106	Jonad. In Israel is left of David's seed. −
	Comfort your lord, you servants of the king. −	107: Jonadab instructs David's servants.
108	Behold, thy sons return in mourning weeds,	108-9: with the arrival of all of David's sons (excepting
	And only Amnon Absalon hath slain.	Amnon, of course), Jonadab rather awkwardly must correct his previous report.
110
	Enter Adonia with other Sons of David.	Entering Characters: Adonia, we remember, is David's
112		fifth son; he was present at the sheep-shearing when Amnon was slain.
	David. Welcome, my sons; dearer to me you are
114	Than is this golden crown or Hanon's spoil.
	O, tell me, then, tell me, my sons, I say,
116	How cometh it to pass that Absalon
	Hath slain his brother Amnon with the sword?
118
	Adon. Thy sons, O king, went up to Amnon's fields,
120	To feast with him and eat his bread and oil;
	And Absalon upon his mule doth come,
122	And to his men he saith, "When Amnon's heart
	Is merry and secure, then strike him dead,	= unguarded.^2
124	Because he forcèd Thamar shamefully,
	And hated her, and threw her forth his doors."	= out of.
126	And this did he; and they with him conspire,	= ie. conspired.
	And kill thy son in wreak of Thamar's wrong.	= ie. killed. = revenge.
128
	David. How long shall Judah and Jerusalem
130	Complain, and water Sion with their tears!	= wail.^2
	How long shall Israel lament in vain,
132	And not a man among the mighty ones
	Will hear the sorrows of King David's heart!
134	Amnon, thy life was pleasing to thy lord,
	As to mine ears the music of my lute,
136	Or songs that David tuneth to his harp;
	And Absalon hath ta'en from me away
138	The gladness of my sad distressèd soul.
140	[Exeunt Joab and some others.]	140: the original stage direction here is "Exeunt omnes. Manet David" (exit all; David stays); but based on David's speech at line 243f below, clearly not everyone has left the stage.^3 Absalon Flees: Peele skips over even mentioning the events of 2 Sam. 37-38, in which Absalon, after killing his half-brother, flees Israel, remaining with his grandfather Talmai, the king of Geshur, for three years. King David misses Absalon, but makes no move to recall him from his exile. Geshur was a small kingdom tucked between Aram and Israel. David's wife Maacah, with whom he begot Absalon, was the daughter of Geshur's king. It is possible, of course, that such a scene existed but was accidentally omitted from the quarto.
142	Enter Woman of Thecoa.	Entering Character: the Bishop's Bible describes our newest character as a "wise woman" (2 Sam. 14:2) from Thekoa, a town located about ten miles south of Jerusalem^9 (we note that Peele adopts the spelling of the name of the city from the Coverdale Bible, which describes the visitor as a "prudent woman"). The woman is wearing mourning clothes. The original edition identifies the Woman as Widow of Thecoa, but as Dyce points out, she is only pretending to be a widow.
144	Woman. [Kneeling]	144: Dyce adds the stage direction, but as Blistein observes, David's command at 148, "rise from the earth", suggests she may completely prostrate herself
	God save King David, King of Israel,
146	And bless the gates of Sion for his sake!	= Jerusalem.
148	David. Woman, why mournest thou? rise from the earth;
	Tell me what sorrow hath befall'n thy soul.
150
	Woman. [Rising]
152	Thy servant's soul, O king, is troubled sore,	= deeply, severely.
	And grievous is the anguish of her heart;
154	And from Thecoa doth thy handmaid come.	= "thy servant", meaning herself.
156	David. Tell me, and say, thou Woman of Thecoa,
	What aileth thee or what is come to pass.	= ie. has happened.
158
	Woman. Thy servant is a widow in Thecoa.
160	Two sons thy handmaid had; and they, my lord,
	Fought in the field, where no man went betwixt,	= ie. "and no one interceded in their quarrel".
162	And so the one did smite and slay the other.	= strike.
	And, lo, behold, the kindred doth arise,	163-6: all of the Woman's relatives are demanding she turn over the surviving son for execution.
164	And cry on him that smote his brother,	164: Dyce notes the loss of a word or two from this line.
	That he therefóre may be the child of death;
166	"For we will follow and destroy the heir."
	So will they quench that sparkle that is left,	167-9: the Woman observes that if her remaining son is
168	And leave nor name nor issue on the earth	slain, she will have no descendants left to follow her.
	To me or to thy handmaid's husband dead.
170		163-9: compare 2 Sam. 14:7: "And behold, the whole kindred is risen against thy handmaid, and they said: Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him for the soul of his brother whom he slew, we will destroy the heir also: And so they shall quench my sparkle which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor issue upon the earth."
	David. Woman, return; go home unto thy house:
172	I will take order that thy son be safe.	= issue a command.
	If any man say otherwise than well,
174	Bring him to me, and I shall chastise him;	= punish or censure.
	For, as the Lord doth live, shall not a hair
176	Shed from thy son or fall upon the earth.	= fall.
	Woman, to God alone belongs revenge:	177: Deut. 32:35, e.g.: "Vengeance is mine".
178	Shall, then, the kindred slay him for his sin?	= relatives.
180	Woman. Well hath King David to his handmaid spoke:	180f: like Nathan before her, the Woman has told an imagi- nary story with a lesson - a parable - to trick David into recognizing a wrong he is committing.
	But wherefore, then, hast thou determinèd	= why. = judged.
182	So hard a part against the righteous tribes,	= harshly.
	To follow and pursue the banishèd,	183-5: if David is willing to protect the woman's surviving son against her blood-thirsty relatives, why doesn't he offer the same protection to his own son Absalon (who also seems to be the victim of familial persecution)?
184	Whenas to God alone belongs revenge?	= when.
	Assuredly thou saist against thyself:	= ie. "hast judged".
186	Therefore call home again the banishèd;	= "he who is banished", ie. Absalon.
	Call home the banishèd, that he may live,
188	And raise to thee some fruit in Israel.	189: ie. "and give you descendants."
		The Problem of the Woman's Parable (2 Sam. 14:1-17): in the Bible, the Woman chides David only for leaving Absalon to languish in exile, which is not quite the same as banishing him and permitting members of their family to persecute him; Peele has made the woman's lesson more effective by suggesting David is doing the latter.
190	David. Thou woman of Thecoa, answer me,
	Answer me one thing I shall ask of thee:
192	Is not the hand of Joab in this work?	= action.^1
	Tell me, is not his finger in this fact?	= deed.
194		190-3: David recognizes Joab is behind the appearance of the Woman from Thecoa: "Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this matter?" (2 Sam. 14:19).
	Woman. It is, my lord; his hand is in this work:
196	Assure thee, Joab, captain of thy host,
	Hath put these words into thy handmaid's mouth;
198	And thou art as an angel from on high,
	To understand the meaning of my heart:
200	Lo, where he cometh to his lord the king.
202	Re-enter Joab.	Joab's Recruitment of the Woman of Thecoa: the Bible tells us in the first verse of 2 Sam. 14, before the Woman appears before David, that Joab, knowing that David missed Absalon, hired this woman to come to David and tell him her imaginary story. This event actually occurs three years after Absalon murdered Amnon, which is how long it took before Joab had judged the time right to pull this deception on the king.
204	David. Say, Joab, didst thou send this woman in
	To put this parable for Absalon?
206
	Joab. Joab, my lord, did bid this woman speak,	= ask.
208	And she hath said; and thou hast understood.	= interestingly, this is the first time in the play Joab
		addressed David in the second person; till now, he has always referred to David, even as he was addressing him, in the third person.
210	David. I have, and am content to do the thing.
	Go fetch my son, that he may live with me.
212
	Joab. [Kneeling]
214	Now God be blessèd for King David's life!
	Thy servant Joab hath found grace with thee,
216	In that thou sparest Absalon thy child.
218	[Rises.]
220	A beautiful and fair young man is he,
	In all his body is no blemish seen;
222	His hair is like the wire of David's harp,	222-3: compare to line 10 of the Prologue, which refers to the "golden wires of his (David's) ravishing harp".
	That twines about his bright and ivory neck;	= white.
224	In Israel is not such a goodly man;
	And here I bring him to entreat for grace.
226
	Joab brings in Absalon.
228
	David. Hast thou slain [Amnon] in the fields of Hazor −	229: David, surprised at his son's sudden appearance, begins to reprimand Absalon for killing Amnon, but then, overcome with joy at seeing his son again, cuts off his reproach. Amnon's name is added after slain by some editors to repair the short line.
230	Ah, Absalon, my son I ah, my son, Absalon!
	But wherefore do I vex thy spirit so?	= why. = torment.
232	Live, and return from Gesur to thy house;
	Return from Gesur to Jerusalem:
234	What boots it to be bitter to thy soul?	= "use is it".
	Amnon is dead, and Absalon survives.
236
	Abs. Father, I have offended Israel,
238	I have offended David and his house;
	For Thamar's wrong hath Absalon misdone:	239: For = ie. "in return for" or "on account of".
240	But David's heart is free from sharp revenge,	misdone = acted badly or wrongly.^1
	And Joab hath got grace for Absalon.
242
	David. Depart with me, you men of Israel,
244	You that have followed Rabbah with the sword,
	And ransack Ammon's richest treasuries. −
246	Live, Absalon, my son, live once in peace:
	Peace [be] with thee, and with Jerusalem!
248
	[Exeunt all except Absalon.]	The Return of Absalon: in the Bible, Absalon was not waiting in the wings with Joab, as Peele portrays in this scene; once David was persuaded to recall Absalon from exile, Joab had to travel to retrieve him from Geshur. Nor did Absalon get to see David right away after his return, for even then, David refused to see his boy, nor even let him live in the Palace (Absalon, to his shame, had to live in his own home). Reconciliation with his father would have to wait.
250		Time passed; to indicate the passing of the years, the Bible digresses into a description of Absalon's beauty generally and his hair specifically (2 Sam. 14:25-27, which Peele incorporated into Joab's speech at lines 220-4 above), as well as a description of his wife and children. Absalon had to wait two more humiliating years to meet his father. In a rather strange episode, Absalon repeatedly sent for Joab to ask him to speak to David about a reconciliation, but when Joab refused to come, Absalon had his servants set fire to Joab's fields, which got Joab's attention. Joab went to David on Absalon's behalf, and the king finally agreed to meet his son; when Absalon appeared before David, he "fell to the ground on his face before him, and the king kissed Absalon." (2 Sam. 14:33).
	Abs. David is gone, and Absalon remains,
252	Flowering in pleasant spring-time of his youth:	= blooming.
	Why liveth Absalon and is not honoured	253-4: "why do I bother staying alive if I am not honoured by the greatest men in the land?"
254	Of tribes and elders and the mightiest ones,	= by.
	That round about his temples he may wear
256	Garlands and wreaths set on with reverence;	= due respect.^1
	That every one that hath a cause to plead	257-8: Absalon longs for the power of a judge (2 Sam. 15:4).
258	Might come to Absalon and call for right?
	Then in the gates of Sion would I sit,
260	And publish laws in great Jerusalem;	= proclaim or promulgate.^1
	And not a man should live in all the land
262	But Absalon would do him reason's due:
	Therefore I shall address me, as I may,	263-4: Absalon will set about to gain the loyalty of the people of Israel.
264	To love the men and tribes of Israel.
266	[Exit.]	The Seeds of Absalon's Revolt: Absalon begins the process of gaining power by setting himself up at the city gate and settling disputes for people who had come to Jerusalem to present their cases before David. Absalon particularly looks for opportunities to speak on behalf of those litigants who are members of the northern tribes, in order to build a power-base with the people of the northern part of the kingdom (2 Sam. 15:2-6).^16
	SCENE X.
	The Mount of Olives.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene X: 2 Sam. 15:17-37. The Setting: the Mount of Olives is a ridge of mountains east of Jerusalem; its name suggests it was once densely covered with olive trees.^9 Absalon Openly Rebels: four more years have passed since Absalon and David reconciled. At 2 Sam 15:7-9, we learn that Absalon asked his father for permission to travel to Hebron to worship in order to keep a vow he had made in the years when he was exile in Geshur. With David's assent, Absalon left Jerusalem, and immediately began to call for supporters for a rebellion against the king. On hearing that the Israelites were joining Absalon's cause, his son's power rising steadily, David fled Jerusalem. At 2 Sam. 30f, David and his supporters reached the Mount of Olives, where he "wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot." (2 Sam. 30). David is accompanied by his family, all his officials, and his royal bodyguards (referred to in the Bishop's Bible as the Phelthites and Gethites).
	Enter David, Ithay, Sadoc, Ahimaas,	Entering Characters: David, having fled Jerusalem, is
	Jonathan, and others; David barefoot,	accompanied by his supporters (2 Sam. 15:16). He has left
	with some loose covering over his head;	behind ten concubines to keep watch over the Palace. David
	and all mourning.	is barefoot, a typical sign of mourning. Ithay is the commander of 600 soldiers from Gath; as David was leaving the capital city, he was surprised to see this body of soldiers following him; the king suggested to Ithay that, as a foreigner, he had no reason to stick by David, and that he and his men would be better served to remain in Jerusalem. Ithay, however, pledged his loyalty to David, who accepted his service (Peele places this conversation at line 80f of the present scene). Sadoc was a priest who had, with the help of the Levites, carried along with him the Ark of the Covenant. The Bible mentions another of David's supporters who stayed with the king, a second priest named Abiathar. Finally, Sadoc's son Ahimaas and Abiathar's son Jonathan have also chosen to remain with their king.
1	David. Proud lust, the bloodiest traitor to our souls,	1-3: in this extended metaphor, David compares lust to an insatiable diner; lust probably refers to hunger for power, in which case the metaphor applies to Absalon, but it an also refer to sexual desire, in which case the metaphor applies to himself.
2	Whose greedy throat nor earth, air, sea, or Heaven,	= neither. = nor.
	Can glut or satisfy with any store,	= the sense is "no matter how much power (or how many women) the universe can provide him with". store = abundance.^1
4	Thou art the cause these torments suck my blood,
	Piercing with venom of thy poisoned eyes
6	The strength and marrow of my tainted bones.
	To punish Pharaoh and his cursèd host,	7-10: David describes the parting of the Red Sea (or the Sea of Reeds) for the Jews fleeing Egypt. host = army.
8	The waters shrunk at great Adonai's voice	8: shrunk = pulled back, ie. parted. The original quarto has shrinke here. Adonai's = a Hebrew name for God, Adonai is the plural of Adon, which means "lord"; Adonai can be thought of as "an emphatic plural" or "plural of majesty".^17
	And sandy bottom of the sea appeared,
10	Offering his service at his servant's feet;	= God's. = ie. Moses'.
	And, to inflict a plague on David's sin,	11: David believes he is still being punished for his own misdeeds.
12	He makes his bowels traitors to his breast,	12-13: David describes the physical manifestations of his suffering.
	Winding about his heart with mortal gripes. −	= deadly clutches.
14	Ah, Absalon, the wrath of Heaven inflames	14-17: David sees the hand of both God and Satan at work in setting Absalon on his ambitious path, again with an eye towards punishing David (hence the wrath of Heaven).
	Thy scorchèd bosom with ambitious heat,	= ie. heat of ambition (Manly).
16	And Satan sets thee on a lusty tower,	16-18: a complex metaphor: literally, in leading the willing
	Showing thy thoughts the pride of Israel,	Absalon to the top of the tower in order to throw him down
18	Of choice to cast thee on her ruthless stones! −	to his death, Satan has metaphorically led Absalon to dangerous heights of ambition which he (Satan) will use as a means to destroy him. 16-17: Blistein observes that these lines parallel Matthew 4:8 and Luke 4:5 ("And the devil took him into an high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time"). lusty tower (line 16) = ie. tower of lust.^22 thy (line 17) = "to thy".
	Weep with me, then, ye sons of Israel;
20	Lie down with David, and with David mourn
	Before the Holy One that sees our hearts;
22
	[Lies down, and all the rest after him.]
24
	Season this heavy soil with showers of tears,	= infuse. = sorrowful.
26	And fill the face of every flower with dew;	= ie. teardrops; note the fine alliteration in this line.
	Weep, Israel, for David's soul dissolves,	= common term for "melts into tears".
28	Lading the fountains of his drownèd eyes,	= draining.^2
	And pours her substance on the senseless earth.	29: her substance = ie. the liquid material into which his
30		soul has dissolved. senseless = ie. without ability to physically feel.
	Sadoc. Weep, Israel; O, weep for David's soul,
32	Strewing the ground with hair and garments torn,	= the tearing of garments was another expression of mourning.^9
	For tragic witness of your hearty woes!	= ie. woes to which Israel gives unrestrained expression to.^1
34
	Ahim. O, would our eyes were conduits to our hearts,	= if only. = channels.
36	And that our hearts were seas of liquid blood,
	To pour in streams upon this holy mount,
38	For witness we would die for David's woes!	= "in order to relieve David of his suffering."
40	Jon. Then should this Mount of Olives seem a plain	= would. = look like.
	Drowned with a sea, that with our sighs should roar,
42	And, in the murmur of his mounting waves,	= its.
	Report our bleeding sorrows to the heavens,
44	For witness we would die for David's woes.
46	Ith. Earth cannot weep enough for David's woes:
	Then weep, you heavens, and, all you clouds, dissolve,	= break up.^2
48	That piteous stars may see our miseries,
	And drop their golden tears upon the ground,
50	For witness how they weep for David's woes.	44, 50: note how both Ithay here and Jonadab immediately above have concluded their laments by repeating the last line of Amihaas' speech (line 38).
52	Sadoc. Now let my sovereign raise his prostrate bones,	= ie. body which is lying on the ground.
	And mourn not as a faithless man would do;
54	But be assured that Jacob's righteous God,
	That promised never to forsake your throne,
56	Will still be just and pure in his vows.	= unconditional;^1 pure is disyllabic: PU-er.
58	David. Sadoc, high-priest, preserver of the ark,	58-65: David rises as he recites this speech; Blistein suggests the others should also rise, and surround and offer comfort to David as they do so (see line 71 below).
	Whose sacred virtue keeps the chosen crown,
60	I know my God is spotless in his vows,	60: ie. God never reneges on his promises.
	And that these hairs shall greet my grave in peace:	61: David expects not to die in battle.
62	But that my son should wrong his tendered soul,	= do injury to his own young soul.
	And fight against his father's happiness,	tendered = immature or loved.^1,5
64	Turns all my hopes into despair of him,
	And that despair feeds all my veins with grief.	65: a common trope of the bloodstream as the conveyor or carrier of emotion.
66
	Ith. Think of it, David, as a fatal plague	67-68: Ithay recommends David recognize that his troubles, like a visitation of a plague, cannot be helped by grieving.
68	Which grief preserveth, but preventeth not;
	And turn thy drooping eyes upon the troops	69-73: instead, Ithay continues, David should take solace in
70	That, of affection to thy worthiness,	the knowledge of, and show gratitude for, the support he
	Do swarm about the person of the king:	enjoys of so many soldiers (Ithay probably has his own
72	Cherish their valours and their zealous loves	men in mind).
	With pleasant looks and sweet encouragements.
74
	David. Methinks the voice of Ithay fills mine ears.
76
	Ith. Let not the voice of Ithay loathe thine ears,	= ie. be hateful to.
78	Whose heart would balm thy bosom with his tears.	78: ie. Ithay would gladly soothe David's bosom with the tears of his own heart if he were able to do so.
80	David. But wherefore go'st thou to the wars with us?	80: David finally gets around to asking Ithay why (where- fore) he and his soldiers, who are all foreigners (from the Philistine city of Gath), are remaining loyal to him.
	Thou art a stranger here in Israel,	= foreigners.
82	And son to Achis, mighty King of Gath;	82: when the younger David was hiding from Saul all those years ago, he had been welcomed and given refuge by Ithay's father Achis, the king of Gath, who always treated him kindly; David stayed with Achis for over a year (1 Sam. 27).
	Therefore return, and with thy father stay:
84	Thou cam'st but yesterday; and should I now
	Let thee partake these troubles here with us?
86	Keep both thyself and all thy soldiers safe:
	Let me abide the hazards of these arms,	= ie. risk.
88	And God requite the friendship thou hast showed.	= repay.
90	Ith. As sure as Israel's God gives David life,	90: sure is monosyllabic, Israel's disyllabic.
	What place or peril shall contain the king,	91: "wherever David is, or wherever he faces danger".
92	The same will Ithay share in life and death.	90-92: compare 2 Sam. 15:21: "As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be."
94	David. Then, gentle Ithay, be thou still with us,
	A joy to David, and a grace to Israel. −	= Blistein observes that David's morale begins to improve here.
96	Go, Sadoc, now, and bear the ark of God	96-97: in the Bible, David actually sent the priests Sadoc and
	Into the great Jerusalem again:	Abiathar and their sons back to Jerusalem with the Ark before David climbed the Mount of Olives.
98	If I find favour in his gracious eyes,
	Then will he lay his hand upon my heart
100	Yet once again before I visit death;
	Giving it strength, and virtue to mine eyes,
102	To taste the comforts and behold the form
	Of his fair ark and holy tabernacle:	103: the tent which served as the place of worship for the Israelites, before Solomon's Temple was constructed.^9
104	But, if he say, "My wonted love is worn,	= accustomed. = ie. worn out.
	And I have no delight in David now,”
106	Here lie I armèd with an humble heart	= remain.
	T' embrace the pains that anger shall impose,	107: pains = ie. punishment. that anger = ie. God's wrath.
108	And kiss the sword my lord shall kill me with.	98-108: compare David's speech at 2 Sam. 15:25-26: "^25…Carry the Ark of God again into the city: If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and the tabernacle thereof. ^26 But if he say, 'I have no lust unto thee': behold, here am I, let him do with me what seemeth good in his eyes."
	Then, Sadoc, take Ahimaäs thy son,	= Ahimaas has four syllables: ah-HI-ma-as.
110	With Jonathan son to Abiathar;	110: Abiathar, as noted earlier, is a second priest who has accompanied David on his escape from Jerusalem. Abiathar is stressed on its second syllable: a-BI-a-thar.
	And in these fields will I repose myself,	= remain and rest; the Bishop's Bible says "tarry".
112	Till they return from you some certain news.
114	Sadoc. Thy servants will with joy obey the king,
	And hope to cheer his heart with happy news.
116
	[Exeunt Sadoc, Ahimaas, and Jonathan.]	117: 2 Sam. 15:29: "Sadoc therefore and Abiathar carried
118		the Ark of God again to Jerusalem, and they tarried there."
	Ith. Now that it be no grief unto the king,
120	Let me for good inform his majesty,
	That, with unkind and graceless Absalon,	121: unkind = a word used to describe one who possesses unnaturally hostile feelings towards one's own kin. graceless = wicked.^6
122	Achitophel your ancient counsellor	122-3: Achitophel had been one of David's counselor's, but
	Directs the state of this rebellion.	he is now supporting Absalon in his revolt, and serves as the latter's senior advisor. The stress in Achitophel falls on the second syllable: a-CHI-to-phel.
124
	David. Then doth it aim with danger at my crown. −	125-131: David prays to God to cause Achitophel's expectedly good advice to Absalon to appear foolish. Bullen added the stage direction in the next line that David should kneel as he prays; Cusay will ask him to rise at line 159 below.
126	[Kneeling] O thou, that hold'st his raging bloody bound	126-8: editors have found line 126 to be unintelligible, if not corrupt. The general sense of the three lines is to describe God as controller of the seas. his raging bloody bound = completely unclear; suggestions have been made that this is a misprint for "his ranging body bound", or "his raging flood ybound".^22
	Within the circle of the silver moon,
128	That girds earth's centre with his watery scarf,	= "who surrounds"; the line creates a lovely image of the oceans as a scarf wrapped around the earth.
	Limit the counsel of Achitophel,
130	No bounds extending to my soul's distress,	130: David's distress is unlimited.
	But turn his wisdom into foolishness!	131: compare the last line of 2 Sam. 15:31: "turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." David's prayer concludes with a rhyming couplet which acts as a signal it has come to an end.
132
	Enter Cusay with his coat turned and head covered.	133: this stage direction, which appeared in the original
134		edition, suggests that Cusay is in disguise, as if he had stayed behind in Jerusalem, and only later had to surreptitiously escape the city to join David; but Blistein persuasively argues that turned should be torn, observing that 2 Sam. 15:32, which describes David's reunion with his friend Husai - replaced in the play with Cusay - describes the former "with his coat torn, and having earth upon his head."
	Cusay. Happiness and honour to my lord the king!
136
	David. What happiness or honour may betide	137-8: "what happiness or honour can come to (betide)
138	His state that toils in my extremities?	one who must suffer the hardships (extremities) of my
		condition?"
140	Cusay. O, let my gracious sovereign cease these griefs,
	Unless he wish his servant Cusay's death,
142	Whose life depends upon my lord's relief!
	Then let my presence with my sighs perfume
144	The pleasant closet of my sovereign's soul.	= repository, but closet could also refer to a monarch's
		private apartment.^1,2
146	David. No, Cusay, no; thy presence unto me
	Will be a burden, since I tender thee,	= care for, love.^2,5
148	And cannot break thy sighs for David's sake:	= some editors (probably rightly) correct break to brook, meaning to bear or tolerate.
	But if thou turn to fair Jerusalem,	= return.
150	And say to Absalon, as thou hast been
	A trusty friend unto his father's seat,
152	So thou wilt be to him, and call him king,
	Achitophel's counsel may be brought to naught.	153: Achitophel's = trisyllabic here: a-CHI-t'phel's.
154	Then having Sadoc and Abiathar,	naught = nothing.
	All three may learn the secrets of my son,
156	Sending the message by Ahimaäs,
	And friendly Jonathan, who both are there.	149-157: in sum, Cusay, along with the priests Sadoc and Abiathar, can act as spies for David within Jerusalem; the priests' respective sons Ahimaas and Jonathan can then carry any important news and helpful information to David.
158
	Cusay. Then rise, referring the success to Heaven.	= ie. "and trust God with respect to what will be." success = usually used to describe what will happen next or the result or outcome of a situation.
160
	David. Cusay, I rise; though with unwieldy bones	161: I rise = let us defer to Blistein: David is rising from his
162	I carry arms against my Absalon.	throne, on which he has been sitting since he rose from the ground around line 58; he has not been lying prostate on the ground for the entire scene! unwieldy = weak or impotent.^1
164	[Exeunt.]	David's Instructions to Cusay: in the Bible, David's instructions to falsely befriend Absalon were given to his trusted friend Husai the Arachite (2 Sam. 15:33-34): "^33...If thou go with me, thou shalt be a burthen (ie. burden) unto me. ^34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, 'I will be thy servant, O king: as I have thus long been thy father's servant, so am I now thy servant', thou mayest for my sake destroy the counsel of Ahithophel."
	SCENE XI.
	The Palace in Jerusalem.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XI: 2 Sam. 16:15 - 17:21.
	Absalon, Amasa, Achitophel,	Entering Characters: Absalon has entered Jerusalem and
	with the Concubines of David, and others,	taken over the Palace. With him are David's former coun-
	are discovered in great state;	selor Achitophel, and Amasa, the son of David's sister
	Absalon crowned.	Abigail, and hence David's nephew; Absalon has appointed Amasa command of his army. Also present are the ten concubines left behind by David to watch over the Palace. A curtain is pulled back to reveal (discover) Absalon being crowned the new king of Israel. great state = high splendour; Absalon, true to his character, makes sure his coronation ceremony contains all the magnificence it can possibly muster.
1	Abs. Now you that were my father's concubines,	1f: now that he is king, Absalon's first order of business is to address the concubines!
2	Liquor to his inchaste and lustful fire,	2: just as David would take liquid to satisfy a burning thirst,
	Have seen his honour shaken in his house,	the concubines quench his lustful desires; a powerful metaphor.
4	Which I possess in sight of all the world;
	I bring ye forth for foils to my renown,	5-6: Absalon officially takes possession of David's harem; this is a highly symbolic move, signaling an irreversible move towards hostility between Absalon and his father (Bergant, p. 291).^16 ye = plural form of "you". foils = a common metaphor from jewelry; a foil is a setting or background on which a gem is fixed to show it off to great advantage; likewise, possession of the concubines will help make more visible Absalon's glory and power.
6	And to eclipse the glory of your king,	= cast a shadow over, or outshine or surpass.^1
	Whose life is with his honour fast enclosed	7-10: in brief, David's life, along with any honour it pos- sessed, will soon all be over. with = ie. along with.
8	Within the entrails of a jetty cloud,	= ie. jet-black.
	Whose dissolution shall pour down in showers	= liquification, ie. rain.
10	The substance of his life and swelling pride:
	Then shall the stars light earth with rich aspécts,	11-16: Absalon enhances his complicated atmospheric metaphor by joining it with astronomical phenomena, both of which will respond positively to his taking control of Israel. Then = ie. once Absalon has fully displaced David. light = ie. light up, brighten. aspects = countenances or appearance, though aspect could refer to the specific arrangement or relative positions of the stars at a given moment.^1
12	And Heaven shall burn in love with Absalon,
	Whose beauty will suffice to chase all mists,	13: chase = the 1599 edition has chast (ie. chaste) here, which is usually emended to chase; chaste as a verb meant "to restrain", so it is not impossible that this is what Peele wrote, though the use of chaste as a verb was obsolete by the late 16th century. mists = could mean mists or clouds.
14	And clothe the sun's sphere with a triple fire,	14: fire likely refers to the light of the sun,^1 so that the meaning of the line is that Absalon expects his beauty to outshine the sun by a factor of three.
	Sooner than his clear eyes should suffer stain,	15: "sooner than Absalon's lustrous or bright (clear) eyes should suffer eclipse (stain)".
16	Or be offended with a lowering day.	11-16: "once I (Absalon) have completely replaced David, the stars will shine brilliantly on earth, and Heaven will emphatically favour me (me, whose beauty can chase away the clouds and outshine the sun) before anybody can outshine my eyes, or burden their sight with a cloudy or ominous (lowering) day." Note the unrelenting metaphoric use of light and brightness in Absalon's vain and swaggering speech.
18	1^st Conc. Thy father's honour, graceless Absalon,	18ff: thy = the concubines show their disdain for Absalon by addressing him with the disrespectful, even insulting, thou. graceless = wicked, immoral.^2
	And ours thus beaten with thy violent arms,
20	Will cry for vengeance to the host of Heaven,
	Whose power is ever armed against the proud,	= power is a monosyllable here.
22	And will dart plagues at thy aspiring head	= shoot, like arrows.
	For doing this disgrace to David's throne.
24
	2^nd Conc. To David's throne, to David's holy throne,
26	Whose sceptre angels guard with swords of fire,
	And sit as eagles on his conquering fist,	27-33: an extended simile comparing David's guardian angels to trained birds of prey. 27: the angels will wait on David as trained hawks would rest on a falconer's wrist.
28	Ready to prey upon his enemies:
	Then think not thou, the captain of his foes,	= ie. military commander.
30	Wert thou much swifter than Azahell was,	30-31: the concubines refer to the death of the famously
	That could outpace the nimble-footed roe,	fast-running Azahell, the brother of Joab, whose death is described in the note at Scene IX.28, and whom the Bible describes at 2 Sam. 2:18 as "light of foot as a wild roe." Wert thou = "even if you were". That = who. outpace = outrun.
32	To scape the fury of their thumping beaks	= striking or pounding,^1 or heavy, great.^5
	Or dreadful scope of their commanding wings.	= reach; we may note here that the concubines do not
34		actually speak in the Bible.
	Achit. Let not my lord the King of Israel
36	Be angry with a silly woman's threats;	= worthless, lowly or foolish.^1,2
	But, with the pleasure he hath erst enjoyed,	= "previously", ie. "before"; Achitophel is basically recommending to Absalon to sleep with the women of the harem, so that "all Israel shall hear, that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee, be strong." (2 Sam. 16:21).
38	Turn them into their cabinets again,	38: "send them back to their private chambers (cabinets)".
	Till David's conquest be their overthrow.	= ruin.
40
	Abs. Into your bowers, ye daughters of disdain,	= ladies' chambers.^2 = plural form of you.
42	Gotten by fury of unbridled lust,	42: ie. born from uncontrolled lust.
	And wash your couches with your mourning tears,
44	For grief that David's kingdom is decayed.	= ruined, failed.^2
46	1^st Conc. No, Absalon, his kingdom is enchained	= bound.
	Fast to the finger of great Jacob's God,	= tightly.
48	Which will not loose it for a rebel's love.	48: ie. God will not release David's kingdom for Absalon's
		gain.
50	[Exeunt Concubines.]
52	Amasa. If I might give advice unto the king,	52: Absalon's military commander suggests executing the
	These concubines should buy their taunts with blood.	impudent ladies.
54
	Abs. Amasa, no; but let thy martial sword	55-58: showing at least a touch of honour, Absalon will leave the concubines unpunished for their rudeness; he does this as a way to compensate them for the shame they had to suffer for having served as lowly members of David's harem (but see the note at the end of this speech at line 77).
56	Empty the veins of David's armèd men,	= I accept Dyce's emendation of paines, the original word here, to veins; in a different edition, Dyce suggests plains, which also works nicely.
	And let these foolish women scape our hands	= escape.
58	To recompense the shame they have sustained.
	First, Absalon was by the trumpet's sound
60	Proclaimed through Hebron King of Israel;
	And now is set in fair Jerusalem
62	With cómplete state and glory of a crown:
	Fifty fair footmen by my chariot run,	63: compare 2 Sam. 15:1: "Absalon prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him"; Elizabethan drama refers frequently to the servants known as footmen, whose job it was to run alongside the carriages of wealthy individuals as they moved about, and whose employment was an obvious signal of status!
64	And to the air whose rupture rings my fame,	64-65: And to…ride = a poetical description of Absalon's reputation being proclaimed wherever he goes.
	Where'er I ride, they offer reverence.	= veneration or obeisance.^1
66	Why should not Absalon, that in his face
	Carries the final purpose of his God,
68	That is, to work him grace in Israel,	= ie. bestow favour on Absalon.
	Endeavour to achieve with all his strength
70	The state that most may satisfy his joy,	= magnificence.
	Keeping his statutes and his covenants pure?
72	His thunder is entangled in my hair,	72: Absalon vaguely but ignorantly foreshadows his own death.
	And with my beauty is his lightning quenched:	73: the new king's vanity is a good indicator that his fate will
74	I am the man he made to glory in,	not be fortuitous.
	When by the errors of my father's sin
76	He lost the path that led into the land	= ie. David.
	Wherewith our chosen ancestors were blessed.	= with which.^1
78		Absalon and the Concubines: in the Bible, Absalon actually follows his senior counselor's advice and sleeps with the girls of the harem: "And so they spread a tent upon the top of the house, and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel." (2 Sam. 16:22).
	Enter Cusay.
80
	Cusay. Long may the beauteous King of Israel live,	= beautiful; Cusay knows how to flatter Absalon!
82	To whom the people do by thousands swarm!
84	Abs. What meaneth Cusay so to greet his foe?
	Is this the love thou shewdst to David's soul,	= ie. show'st.
86	To whose assistance thou hast vowed thy life?
	Why leav'st thou him in this extremity?	= extreme or dire situation.
88
	Cusay. Because the Lord and Israel chooseth thee;
90	And as before I served thy father's turn	= served David's purposes.
	With counsel ácceptable in his sight,
92	So likewise will I now obey his son.
94	Abs. Then welcome, Cusay, to King Absalon. −	94: just as in the Bible, in which Absalon eagerly and naively accepts David's friend Husai's easy explanation for unexpectedly abandoning the old king, here Cusay (taking Husai's place) is accepted with equal speed; more oddly, the gullible Absalon even asks for Cusay's military advice (just as he did Husai's).
	And now, my lords and loving counsellors,
96	I think it time to exercise our arms
	Against forsaken David and his host.	= army.
98	Give counsel first, my good Achitophel,	= as mentioned earlier, the stress in the counselor's name falls on the second syllable.
	What times and orders we may best observe	= ie. disposition of the army for battle.
100	For prosperous manage of these high exploits.	= handling or directing; manage was frequently used as a
		noun at the time.^1
102	Achit. Let me choose out twelve thousand valiant men:
	And, while the night hides with her sable mists	= black mist or clouds.
104	The close endeavours cunning soldiers use,	= the secret (close) enterprises (ie. tactics or stratagems) used by clever soldiers.
	I will assault thy discontented sire;	= father.
106	And, while with weakness of their weary arms,	106-111: Achitophel predicts that David's soldiers will be too tired and discouraged to put up a fight, and will flee the counselor's attack; he wants to kill David only, and, by not massacring his army (as would have been normal practice), bring them back into Absalon's fold. Note the exceptional alliteration in line 106.
	Surcharged with toil, to shun thy sudden power,	107-8: "overburdened (Surcharged) with their work or
108	The people fly in huge disordered troops	task, to seek safety from (shun) the sudden attack of your army (power), the soldiers will flee in disorder".
	To save their lives, and leave the king alone,
110	Then will I smite him with his latest wound,	= final.
	And bring the people to thy feet in peace.
112
	Abs. Well hath Achitophel given his advice.
114	Yet let us hear what Cusay counsels us,
	Whose great experience is well worth the ear.	= a trisyllable: ex-PER-ience.
116
	Cusay. Though wise Achitophel be much more meet	117-9: Cusay flatteringly acknowledges that Achitophel's advice is more worthy to be heeded than his own. meet = fitting.
118	To purchase hearing with my lord the king,
	For all his former counsels, than myself,	= ie. in recognition of all the good advice Achitophel has
120	Yet, not offending Absalon or him,	always given in the past.
	This time it is not good nor worth pursuit;
122	For, well thou know'st, thy father's men are strong,	122-148: Peele closely paraphrases Husai's speech to Absalon at 2 Sam. 17:7-13.
	Chafing as she-bears robbèd of their whelps:	= angry, enraged; this simile of lines 122-3 appears in 2 Sam. 17:8: "Thou knowest thy father and his men how that they be strong men, and they be chafed in their numbers and are even as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field".
124	Besides, the king himself a valiant man,
	Trained up in feats and stratagems of war;
126	And will not, for prevention of the worst,	126-7: in order to prevent the worst thing that can happen -
	Lodge with the common soldiers in the field;	sudden capture by Absalon's men - David does not camp with his soldiers; but perhaps Cusay is also a hinting that the old king has reason to fear his own men too.
128	But now, I know, his wonted policies	= accustomed, normal.
	Have taught him lurk within some secret cave,	129: David spends his days in hiding.
130	Guarded with all his stoutest soldiers;	= bravest.
	Which, if the forefront of his battle faint,	131-3: even if the sudden attack of Absalon's army sends
132	Will yet give out that Absalon doth fly,	those of David's soldiers whom they come across first to
	And so thy soldiers be discouragèd:	flight, the reputation for fierceness that David and his men possess is such that those people who hear of this event will report that it is Absalon's men who are running away, discouraging Absalon's soldiers even as it inspires David's to fight more vigorously. It is worth noting the ambiguity of the relevant line in 2 Sam. 17:9: "And though some of his men be overthrown at the first brunt..." As in much of Elizabethan drama, the abundance of pronouns leads, as here, to uncertainty as to who is being referred to; as a consequence, a number of Bible commentators, such as the famous John Gill, interpret the line to mean that it is David's soldiers who will surprise and rout Absalon's men, perhaps by ambush, and not the other way around.
134	David himself withal, whose angry heart	= moreover.
	Is as a lion's letted of his walk,	= hindered or obstructed in. Compare the line to 2 Sam. 17:10: "And he also that is valiant, whole heart is as the heart of a lion".
136	Will fight himself, and all his men to one,	136: David himself will enter battle, as will all of his men, who will fight alongside him, ie. not flee. to one = to a man.
	Before a few shall vanquish him by fear.	137: "rather than flee from any of Absalon's soldiers."
138	My counsel therefore is, with trumpet's sound
	To gather men from Dan to Bersabe,	139: compare 2 Sam. 17:11: "That all Israel be gathered unto thee from Dan to Beerseba". Dan = the most northerly settlement of the Israelites.^8 Bersabe = ie. Beersheba, a well or town located 27 miles south-west of Hebron.^8,9 The phrase from Dan to Beersheba was proverbially used to describe the full extent of Israel, appearing a number of times in the Old Testament, including in Husai's speech to Absalon at 2 Sam. 17:11.
140	That they may march in number like sea-sands,
	That nestle close in [one] another's neck:
142	So shall we come upon him in our strength,
	Like to the dew that falls in showers from Heaven,
144	And leave him not a man to march withal.	= with.
	Besides, if any city succour him,	= help David, militarily or otherwise.^1
146	The numbers of our men shall fetch us ropes,
	And we will pull it down the river's stream,	= ie. any such city that assists David.
148	That not a stone be left to keep us out.
150	Abs. What says my lord to Cusay's counsel now?
152	Amasa. I fancy Cusay's counsel better far
	Than that is given us from Achitophel;	= a monosyllable, as usual: gi'en.
154	And so, I think, doth every soldier here.
156	All. Cusay's counsel is better than Achitophel's.
158	Abs. Then march we after Cusay's counsel all:
	Sound trumpets through the bounds of Israel,	= boundaries.
160	And muster all the men will serve the king,
	That Absalon may glut his longing soul	= satisfy, satiate.
162	With sole fruition of his father's crown.	= possession.^1
164	Achit. [Aside]
	Ill shall they fare that follow thy attempts,
166	That scorns the counsel of Achitophel.
168	[Exeunt all except Cusay.]
170	Cusay. Thus hath the power of Jacob's jealous God	= God is frequently described in the Bible as jealous, be- cause He will tolerate no competition from false gods and idols.
	Fulfilled his servant David's drifts by me,	= purpose. = via, through.
172	And brought Achitophel's advice to scorn.
174	Enter Sadoc, Abiathar, Ahimaas, and Jonathan.	Entering Characters: David's close allies, the two priests
		and their respective sons, enter the stage; we remember that David had asked them to return to Jerusalem to act as his spies.
176	Sadoc. God save Lord Cusay, and direct his zeal
	To purchase David's conquest 'gainst his son!	= work for, obtain.^2
178
	Abi. What secrets hast thou gleaned from Absalon?
180
	Cusay. These, sacred priests that bear the ark of God: −
182	Achitophel advised him in the night
	To let him choose twelve thousand fighting men,
184	And he would come on David at unwares,	= uniquely, David is pronounced in a single syllable here: Da'id.
	While he was weary with his violent toil:	= ie. David.
186	But I advised to get a greater host,	= army.
	And gather men from Dan to Bersabe,
188	To come upon him strongly in the fields.
	Then send Ahimaäs and Jonathan
190	To signify these secrets to the king,	= report, inform.^1
	And will him not to stay this night abroad;	191: ie. "and desire him not to wander away from his troops." will = entreat, ie. recommend or encourage.^1 abroad = "away from his tent", or "out in the open".
192	But get him over Jordan presently,	192-3: Cusay recommends David and his army cross to a safer position over the river Jordan, which lies to the east of their present position and hence further away from Jerusalem and Absalon's army.
	Lest he and all his people kiss the sword.	= euphemism (sort of) for "are killed".
194		Cusay's Report: compare lines 191-3 to Husai's instruction to Sadoc and Abiathar at 2 Sam. 17:16: "Now therefore send quickly, and show David, saying: 'Tarry not this night in the fields of the wilderness, but get thee over, lest the king be devoured, and all the people that are with him.'"
	Sadoc. Then go, Ahimaäs and Jonathan,
196	And straight convey this message to the king.
198	Ahim. Father, we will, if Absalon's chief spies
	Prevent not this device, and stay us here.	= scheme. = ie. "keep us from leaving."
200
	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE XII.
	The Road Near the Village of Bahurim.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XII: all the indicated verses are from 2 Samuel: (1) lines 1-99, 16:5-13; (2) lines 101-132, 17:21-22; and (3) 134-174, 18:1-5. The Scene: David and his party, continuing to move east and away from Jerusalem, have reached the village of Bahurim, located east of the Mount of Olives (2 Sam. 16:5). Bahurim appears to be the home of some of former King Saul's distant relatives.
	Enter Semei.	Entering Character: Semei is a distant relative of Saul's;
		he still bears a terrible grudge against David for the latter's having displaced Saul and his descendants as kings of Israel, and for the role Semei feels David played in the deaths of Saul and his sons.^9
1	Semei. The man of Israel that hath ruled as king,
2	Or rather as the tyrant of the land,
	Bolstering his hateful head upon the throne	= ie. detestable.
4	That God unworthily hath blessed him with,
	Shall now, I hope, lay it as low as hell,
6	And be deposed from his detested chair.	= throne.
	O, that my bosom could by nature bear
8	A sea of poison, to be poured upon
	His cursèd head that sacred balm hath graced	9-10: Semei refers to the oil used by the prophet Samuel to anoint David king at 1 Sam. 16:13.
10	And consecrated King of Israel!
	Or would my breath were made the smoke of hell,	= if only.
12	Infected with the sighs of damnèd souls,
	Or with the reeking of that serpent's gorge	13-14: uncertain allusion. reeking = ie. that which is given off or exhaled, like breath or smoke.^1 gorge = throat.^1
14	That feeds on adders, toads, and venomous roots,	= venomous is disyllabic here: VEN'-mous.
	That, as I opened my revenging lips
16	To curse the shepherd for his tyranny,	= abusive name for David.
	My words might cast rank poison to his pores,
18	And make his swoln and rankling sinews crack,	= swollen and festering tendons or muscles.^1,2
	Like to the combat-blows that break the clouds	19-20: ie. like the blows given in battle by God's (Jove's)
20	When Jove's stout champions fight with fire.	angels (stout champions) fighting with their fiery swords; line 20 is slightly short. stout = brave or fierce.
	See where he cometh that my soul abhors!	= there. = ie. "he whom".
22	I have prepared my pocket full of stones
	To cast at him, mingled with earth and dust,
24	Which, bursting with disdain, I greet him with. −
26	Enter David, Joab, Abisai, Ithay, and others.
28	Come forth, thou murtherer and wicked man:	= common alternative for murderer.
	The lord hath brought upon thy cursèd head
30	The guiltless blood of Saul and all his sons,	= innocent.
	Whose royal throne thy baseness hath usurped;
32	And, to revenge it deeply on thy soul,
	The Lord hath given the kingdom to thy son,	= a monosyllable: gi'en.
34	And he shall wreak the traitorous wrongs of Saul:	= avenge.
	Even as thy sin hath still importuned Heaven,	= "begged Heaven (for forgiveness)".
36	So shall thy murthers and adultery
	Be punished in the sight of Israel,
38	As thou deserv'st, with blood, with death, and hell.
	Hence, murtherer, hence!	= begone!"
40
	[Throws stones and earth at David.]
42
	Abis. Why doth [t]his dead dog curse my lord the king?	43-44: compare 2 Sam. 16:9: "Then said Abisai the son of
44	Let me alone to take away his head.	Zaruia unto the king: Why doth this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go now, and take off the head of him." Blistein suggests Abisai draws his sword as he speaks here.
46	David. Why meddleth thus the son of Zeruia	= see 2 Sam. 16:9 in the note immediately above.
	To interrupt the action of our God?
48	Semei useth me with this reproach	48: Semei = Semei's name is trisyllabic here (SE-me-i), but disyllabic at line 60 below. useth me with = "treats me with", ie. "accosts me with".
	Because the Lord hath sent him to reprove
50	The sins of David, printed in his brows	= ie. David's own.
	With blood, that blusheth for his conscience' guilt;
52	Who dares, then, ask him why he curseth me?
54	Semei. If, then, thy conscience tell thee thou hast sinned,
	And that thy life is odious to the world,
56	Command thy followers to shun thy face;
	And by thyself here make away thy soul,	57: Semei suggests David kill himself.
58	That I may stand and glory in thy shame.
60	David. I am not desperate, Semei, like thyself ,	60f: David never actually addresses Semei in the Bible.
	But trust unto the covenant of my God,	= pronounced with two syllables: COV'-nant.
62	Founded on mercy, with repentance built,
	And finished with the glory of my soul.
64
	Semei. A murtherer, and hope for mercy in thy end!	65: a seeming alexandrine, or line with an extra sixth iamb, ie. 12 syllables. hope = ie. "with an expectation".
66	Hate and destruction sit upon thy brows
	To watch the issue of thy damnèd ghost,	= "exit (from your body)". = soul.
68	Which with thy latest gasp they'll take and tear,	= last. = they refers to hate and destruction.
	Hurling in every pane of hell a piece.	= part, section.^1,6
70	Hence, murtherer, thou shame to Israel,
	Foul lecher, drunkard, plague to Heaven and earth!
72
	[Throws again at David.]
74
	Joab. What, is it piety in David's thoughts,	75-78: "does David think this is a legitimate demonstration
76	So to abhor from laws of policy	of his mercy (piety), to ignore the necessary principles
	In this extremity of his distress,	of self-interest (policy) in these our most dire of times,
78	To give his subjects cause of carelessness?	to permit his subjects to speak to him with such reckless- ness (carelessness)?" abhor (line 76) = shrink.^5
	Send hence the dog with sorrow to his grave.	79: Joab, like his brother, calls Semei a dog, and advises slaying David's abuser.
80
	David. Why should the sons of Zeruia seek to check	= ie. Joab and Abisai. = curb.
82	His spirit, which the Lord hath thus inspired?	= Semei's.
	Behold, my son which issued from my flesh,	83-85: ie. if David's own son is seeking his life, then why should they be surprised that this man of Saul's family would desire the same?
84	With equal fury seeks to take my life:
	How much more then the son of Jemini,	= Semei is described as the son of Gera, who in turn was the son of Jemini of Behurim; Peele no doubt uses the latter's name because it better fits the meter.
86	Chiefly since he doth naught but God's command?	86: "primarily because he is only doing what God told him to do?" naught but = nothing but, ie. only.
	It may be, he will look on me this day	= ie. God.
88	With gracious eyes, and for his cursing bless
	The heart of David in his bitterness.	87-89: compare 2 Sam. 16:12: "It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction and do me good for the cursing of this day."
90
	Semei. What, dost thou fret my soul with sufferance?	91: ie. "do you dare vex (fret) my soul by tolerating my behaviour?" Semei is really looking for a fight!
92	O, that the souls of Isboseth and Abner,	92-93: Semei refers to the conflicts between David and
	Which thou sent’st swimming to their graves in blood,	Saul's son and purported successor Isboseth which took place after Saul's death; Abner had been the commander-in-chief of Isboseth's army. Isboseth and Abner fell out when the latter took one of Isboseth's concubines, leading Abner to switch his allegiance to David in the struggle for the throne after Saul's death. Unfortunately, David's commander Joab took the opportunity to slay Abner for the latter's killing of Joab's brother Azahell after the battle of Gibeon (see the note at Scene IX.28). The discouraged Isboseth was soon thereafter assassinated by two members of his own guard.
94	With wounds fresh bleeding, gasping for revenge,
	Were here to execute my burning hate!
96	But I will hunt thy foot with curses still:	= ie. "dog your steps".
	Hence, monster, murtherer, mirror of contempt!	= murtherer is disyllabic: MUR-th'rer; note also the nifty
98		alliteration in the line.
	[Throws again at David.]
100
	Enter Ahimaas and Jonathan.
102
	Ahim. Long life to David, to his enemies death!
104
	David. Welcome, Ahimaäs and Jonathan:
106	What news sends Cusay to thy lord the king?
108	Ahim. Cusay would wish my lord the king	108-110: we remember that Cusay has recommended that
	To pass the river Jordan presently,	David and his men move further east, over the Jordan
110	Lest he and all his people perish here;	River, to keep a safe distance from Absalon. Line 108 is short.
	For wise Achitophel hath counselled Absalon
112	To take advantage of your weary arms,
	And come this night upon you in the fields.
114	But yet the Lord hath made his counsel scorn,	114: God has answered David's prayers, and caused Absalon to disregard Achitophel's wise advice.
	And Cusay's policy with praise preferred;
116	Which was to number every Israelite,	116-7: Cusay, we remember, proposed to Absalon that he
	And so assault you in their pride of strength.	should delay attacking David till he has gathered a large enough army to guarantee him victory over David.
118
	Jon. Abiathar besides entreats the king	= ie. "asks you".
120	To send his men of war against his son,	120-1: David himself should not risk his own life by
	And hazard not his person in the field.	participating in the anticipated battle against Absalon.
122
	David. Thanks to Abiathar, and to you both,
124	And to my Cusay, whom the Lord requite;	= reward.
	But ten times treble thanks to his soft hand	= ie. thirty. = ie. God's hand.
126	Whose pleasant touch hath made my heart to dance,
	And play him praises in my zealous breast,	= ie. sing. = eager; zeal was usually used to describe a religious fervor.
128	That turned the counsel of Achitophel
	After the prayers of his servant's lips.	= ie. into alignment with. = ie. David's own.
130	Now will we pass the river all this night,
	And in the morning sound the voice of war,	= this expression became common in 17th century literature.
132	The voice of bloody and unkindly war.	= ie. as it is an unnatural war between father and son.
134	Joab. Then tell us how thou wilt divide thy men,
	And who shall have the special charge herein.
136
	David. Joab, thyself shall for thy charge conduct	= command.
138	The first third part of all my valiant men;	= ie. one-third.
	The second shall Abisai's valour lead;
140	The third fair Ithay, which I most should grace	= whom.
	For comfort he hath done to David's woes;
142	And I myself will follow in the midst.	137-142: the division of David's army into three legions is described in 2 Sam. 18:1-2; David means he will follow the three major divisions of the army with his guard.
144	Ithay. That let not David; for, though we should fly,	144: That let not David = ie. "this you should not do." though we should fly = ie. "even if we are all forced to run away from the field of battle".
	Ten thousand of us were not half so much	145-6: "from our enemy's viewpoint, 10,000 of us do not
146	Esteemed with David's enemies as himself:	have the same value as you do alone". enemies = disyllabic here: EN-'mies.
	Thy people, loving thee, deny thee this.	147: "because we all love you, we will not permit you to participate in the battle." The sentiments ascribed here to Ithay are, in the Bible, spoken to David by "the people" (meaning the soldiers) at 2 Sam. 18:3: "Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us, neither shall they regard us, though half of us were slain: but thou art now worth ten thousand of us, wherefore it is that thou succour us out of the city."
148
	David. What seems them best, then, that will David do.	= "what they think is best".
150	But now, my lords and captains, hear his voice	= "listen closely to what I say".
	That never yet pierced piteous Heaven in vain;	151: ie. "I, who (that) have never prayed to merciful
152	Then let it not slip lightly through your ears; −	(piteous) God without His listening to me."
	For my sake spare the young man Absalon.
154	Joab, thyself didst once use friendly words	154-5: David reminds Joab of his role in reconciling Absalon to him.
	To reconcile my heart incensed to him;
156	If, then, thy love be to thy kinsman sound,	= unimpaired, ie. still present.^1
	And thou wilt prove a perfit Israelite,	= old variation of "perfect".^4
158	Friend him with deeds, and touch no hair of him, −	= "befriend him with your actions"; we note that friend is used here as a transitive verb; thus the expression "to friend someone" predates its modern use in social media by many centuries!
	Not that fair hair with which the wanton winds	159-165: David's extensive digression, in which he lovingly describes Absalon's famously fabulous hair, makes for slightly creepy reading. wanton = playful.
160	Delight to play, and love to make it curl,
	Wherein the nightingales would build their nests,	= in which.
162	And make sweet bowers in every golden tress	= homes, retreats. = lock.
	To sing their lover every night asleep:	= ie. to sleep.
164	O, spoil not, Joab, Jove's fair ornaments,	= "God's beautiful embellishment or adornment", still talking about Absalon's hair.
	Which he hath sent to solace David's soul!
166	The best, ye see, my lords, are swift to sin;	166: David starts to moralize: "you have seen how even the greatest of men is quick to sin."
	To sin our feet are washed with milk of roes,	167-8: an unclear passage; an early commentator called this
168	And dried again with coals of lightening.	a "strange passage". Blistein interprets as so: "sin is as attractive and pleasant as having one's feet washed with the cooling and soothing of milk of roes. Yet the punishment for sin is as drastic and violent as (red hot lightning or fire)" (p. 274).^6 lightening = ie. lightning, pronounced as a trisyllable: LIGHT-en-ing.
	O Lord, thou see'st the proudest sin's poor slave,	169-171: David beseeches God to spare Absalon in the up- coming battle.
170	And with his bridle pull'st him to the grave!	170: depending on who or what his refers to, either God or
	For my sake, then, spare lovely Absalon.	Sin is described as using a bridle to direct sinners towards
172		death; if the latter, then we have a reversal of the metaphor of Sin as a steed being ridden by the sinner straight to hell used earlier (see Chorus I.2-3); most early editors agree that Sin is the rider.
	Ithay. We will, my lord, for thy sake favour him.
174
	[Exeunt.]	David's Retreat: David will take Cusay's advice and retreat to safety across the Jordan River; when we next meet the king in Scene XVII, he will be at his headquarters at Mahanaim, an ancient town east of the Jordan.^9
	SCENE XIII.
	The House of Achitophel.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XIII: 2 Sam. 17:23.
	Enter Achitophel with a halter.	= rope for hanging, noose.
1	Achit. Now hath Achitophel ordered his house,	= settled his affairs.
2	And taken leave of every pleasure there:
	Hereon depends Achitophel's delights,	3: Hereon = herein, meaning on this (thing).^1 depends = a likely pun, meaning (1) is contingent, and (2) (literally) suspends or hangs.^6 delights = presumably ironic.
4	And in this circle must his life be closed.	= ended.
	The wise Achitophel, whose counsel proved	5-7: Achitophel compares the wisdom of his advice, which
6	Ever as sound for fortunate success	previously had always been followed, to that of a prophet.
	As if men asked the oracle of God,	Compare 2 Sam. 16:23: "And the counsel of Ahitho- phel which he counseled in those days, was as a man had asked counsel at the oracle of God."
8	Is now used like the fool of Israel:	8: treated; the rejection of his advice has been humiliating for Achitophel.
	Then set thy angry soul upon her wings,	9: meaning his own.
10	And let her fly into the shade of death;	= ie. "the shadow of death", a common phrase in the Bible, referring to the deepest darkness of death.
	And for my death let Heaven for ever weep,
12	Making huge floods upon the land I leave,	= ie. from all the tears.
	To ravish them and all their fairest fruits.	13: to destroy the agricultural produce of the land.
14	Let all the sighs I breathed for this disgrace,	14-16: clothes and animals were frequently referred to as
	Hang on my hedges like eternal mists,	being hung on hedges; some religious literature of the time
16	As mourning garments for their master's death.	also refers to the soul hanging on hedges: the sense of these difficult lines may be that Achitophel wants his sorrow to cloak his soul as a reminder to others of his shame, just as mourning clothes are worn by servants as a visible reminder of their master's death.
	Ope, earth, and take thy miserable son	17-19: a dramatic and graphic metaphor of Achitophel as
18	Into the bowels of thy cursèd womb:	something earth had once vomited out (spew forth = vomit),
	Once in a surfeit thou didst spew him forth;	as if he had been an article food, after over-eating (a surfeit). This is an interesting example of a figure of speech known as an apostrophe, in which one speaks to another who is not present, or to some non-living or abstract entity). Ope (line 17) = open. bowels...womb (line 18) = intestines or stomach. thou (line 19) = ie. referring to earth.
20	Now for fell hunger suck him in again,	20: Achitophel asks earth basically to re-eat him! for = to prevent. fell = cruel.
	And be his body poison to thy veins.	= "let his body be".
22	And now, thou hellish instrument of Heaven,	22-24: Achitophel seems to be talking to his noose,
	Once execute th' arrest of Jove's just doom,	instructing it to go ahead and perform its duty.
24	And stop his breast that curseth Israel.	The exact meaning of line 23, however, is uncertain; if we take Jove's just doom (doom = decision) to refer to God's decision to make him Absalon's fool, then perhaps the idea is that by killing himself, the counselor will frustrate this particular design of God's. Note the wordplay in using the oxymoronic hellish and Heaven together in line 22. execute the arrest = more wordplay; the expression has a legal meaning, referring to the apprehension of a criminal, but also simply meaning "to put into effect the cessation (of something)". Jove's just doom refers to God's promoting of Absa- lon's cause.
26	[Exit.]	Achitophel's Suicide: the counselor does not actually say anything in the Bible at the time of his self-murder: "And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose and gate him (ie. rode the animal) home to his own house, and to his own city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulcher of his father." (2 Sam. 17:23).
	SCENE XIV.
	The Wood of Ephraim.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XIV: Absalon does not make a pre-battle speech to his troops in the Bible, hence there is neither verse nor chapter corresponding to this scene; however, it was normal to portray such pre-battle pep talks in Elizabethan drama, as well as in ancient historical literature.
	Enter Absalon, with Amasa and the rest of his train.	Entering Characters: Absalon has gathered his large army,
		and is now on the hunt to catch up to and defeat David's forces. Amasa, we remember, is a nephew of the David's, and commander of Absalon's soldiers. The Setting: the army of David, followed by that of Absalon, has reached the Wood of Ephraim, or Ephraim Forest, located about 50 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and to the east of the River Jordan.
1	Abs. Now for the crown and throne of Israel,
2	To be confirmed with virtue of my sword,	= power.^1
	And writ with David's blood upon the blade.	= written.
4	Now, Jove, let forth the golden firmament,	4: "now God, release (let forth)^1 the stars of Heaven".
	And look on him, with all thy fiery eyes,	5-6: Absalon asks God to let the all the stars shine down on
6	Which thou hast made to give their glories light:	him.
	To show thou lov'st the virtue of thy hand,	7: "to indicate you value the power you have given me, your servant".
8	Let fall a wreath of stars upon my head,	8-10: Absalon asks for a wreath of stars which will help him to govern Israel with a magnificence greater than that possessed by any other king anywhere.
	Whose influence may govern Israel	= an astrological term for an imagined ethereal fluid which flows down to earth from the stars and influences or governs a person's life.
10	With state exceeding all her other kings.
	Fight, lords and captains, that your sovereign's face	= so that.
12	May shine in honour brighter than the sun;	12-13: Absalon returns to the imagery of astronomical brightness he had previously used with such power at Scene XI.11f.
	And with the virtue of my beauteous rays	13: whereas in lines 11-12 Absalon only compared himself to the sun, in this line he metaphorically actually takes on an attribute of the sun. virtue = power.
14	Make this fair land as fruitful as the fields	14-15: Absalon adopts the Bible's ubiquitous imagery
	That with sweet milk and honey overflowed.	describing Israel as a land that flows with milk and honey.
16	God, in the whissing of a pleasant wind,	16-17: a reference to 1 Chronicles 14:15, in which God
	Shall march upon the tops of mulberry-trees,	responds to David's request for advice about whether he should attack the nearby Philistines: "And when thou hearest the noise of one going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines." (the quote is from the Geneva Bible; all the other contemporary Bibles, including the Bishop's Bible, refer in this verse to a pear tree rather than a mulberry tree). whissing = a buzzing or hissing sound.^1
18	To cool all breasts that burn with any griefs,
	As whilom he was good to Moyses' men.	= ie. once in the past. = old form of Moses.^4
20	By day the Lord shall sit within a cloud,	20-24: clouds were symbolic of God's presence. At Exodus
	To guide your footsteps to the fields of joy;	13:21-22, "a pillar of a cloud" led the Israelites in the
22	And in the night a pillar, bright as fire,	wilderness, and at Numbers 12:5 and Deuteronomy 31:
	Shall go before you, like a second sun,	15, God employs "the pillar of the cloud" to reveal
24	Wherein the essence of his godhead is;	Himself to his people.^9
	That day and night you may be brought to peace,
26	And never swarve from that delightsome path	= old form of swerve.^4 = alternate form of delightful, both
	That leads your souls to perfect happiness.	in use at the time.
28	This shall he do for joy when I am king.
	Then fight, brave captains, that these joys may fly
30	Into your bosoms with sweet victory.
32	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE XV.
	The Wood of Ephraim.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XV: 2 Sam. 18:6-17.
	The battle; and then Absalon hangs by the hair.	The Battle: a director may choose the extent to which he or she presents the battle between the forces of David and Absalon. Regarding the fight itself, the Bible itself simply states as follows (2 Sam. 18:6-8): "^6 And so the people went out into the field against Israel, (and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim) ^7 Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David: and there was a great slaughter that day, even of twenty thousand men. ^8 For the battle was scattered over all the country: And the wood devoured much mo (ie. more) people that day, than did the sword." With regard to verse 8, commentators have suggested that in the woods, numerous soldiers were lost falling into pits and swamps, or being killed by wild animals. After the Battle: Absalon, knowing the day had been lost, attempted to ride away on a mule. Passing underneath "the thick boughs of a great oak...his head caught of (ie. on or in) the oak, and he was lift up between the heaven and the earth: and the mule that was under him, went away." (2 Sam. 18:9). Note that the Bible itself does not say Absalon was specifically hanging or caught by his hair.
1	Abs. What angry angel, sitting in these shades,	= shadows.
2	Hath laid his cruèl hands upon my hair,
	And holds my body thus 'twixt Heaven and earth?
4	Hath Absalon no soldier near his hand
	That may untwine me this unpleasant curl,	= untangle. = "this ringlet of hair which is causing me such discomfort".
6	Or wound this tree that ravisheth his lord?	= ie. cut down. = hides or seizes.^1
	O God, behold the glory of thy hand,	7-8: the glory…workmanship = the vain Absalon means
8	And choicest fruit of nature's workmanship,	himself.
	Hang, like a rotten branch, upon this tree,
10	Fit for the axe and ready for the fire!	= ready.
	Since thou withhold'st all ordinary help	= ie. human assistance.
12	To loose my body from this bond of death,	= free. = ie. these bonds.
	O, let my beauty fill these senseless plants	= without possession of the physical senses.
14	With sense and power to loose me from this plague,	= with the physical senses. = power is a monosyllable here.
	And work some wonder to prevent his death
16	Whose life thou mad'st a special miracle!
18	Enter Joab with a Soldier.
20	Sold. My lord, I saw the young Prince Absalon
	Hang by the hair upon a shady oak,
22	And could by no means get himself unloosed.	= freed; unloosed seems redundant, as loosed by itself means "untied", but unloosed, a common alternative, fits the meter nicely.
24	Joab. Why slew'st thou not the wicked Absalon,	24-27: Joab upbraids the soldier who saw Absalon caught in
	That rebel to his father and to Heaven,	the oak tree for not instantly killing him.
26	That so I might have given thee for thy pains	slew'st = slew, ie. killed. given = ie. rewarded. pains = efforts.
	Ten silver sickles and a golden waist?	27: sickles = alternate spelling of shekels, the primary
28		currency of the Hebrews.^1 waist = belt or girdle.^2 Compare Joab's speech to 2 Sam. 18:11: "If thou diddest see him, why diddest not thou there smite him to the ground, and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle?"
	Sold. Not for a thousand shekels would I slay
30	The son of David, whom his father charged	= commanded.
	Nor thou, Abisai, nor the son of Gath,	31: ie. "that neither you, nor Abisai, nor Ithay".
32	Should touch with stroke of deadly violence.	son of Gath = native of Gath, ie. Ithay.
	The charge was given in hearing of us all;
34	And, had I done it, then, I know, thyself,
	Before thou wouldst abide the king's rebuke,	35-36: rather than suffer the king's condemnation - or worse
36	Wouldst have accused me as a man of death.	- for having endorsed the Soldier's killing of Absalon, the Soldier knows that when it came time to actually face David, Joab would accuse him (the Soldier) of disobeying the king's orders, which would certainly result in his immediate execution. The soldier's speech closely follows 2 Sam. 18:12-13.
38	Joab. I must not now stand trifling here with thee.	= ie. wasting time; the soldier likely exits as Joab turns his
		attention to Absalon.^6 Compare the line to 2 Sam. 18:14: "I may not stand thus tarrying with thee."
40	Abs. Help, Joab, help, O, help thy Absalon!
	Let not thy angry thoughts be laid in blood,
42	In blood of him that sometimes nourished thee,	= "who in former times cherished you".^1
	And softened thy sweet heart with friendly love:
44	O, give me once again my father's sight,
	My dearest father and my princely sovereign!
46	That, shedding tears of blood before his face,	= ie. from a wounded heart.^1
	The ground may witness, and the heavens record,
48	My last submission sound and full of ruth.	= perfect.^5 = sorrow.^5 We may note here that Absalon is given no such opportunity to plead for his life in the Bible.
50	Joab. Rebel to nature, hate to Heaven and earth!	= ie. for having turned against his own father.
	Shall I give help to him that thirsts the soul	= ie. "who thirsts for".
52	Of his dear father and my sovereign lord?
	Now see, the Lord hath tangled in a tree
54	The health and glory of thy stubborn heart,
	And made thy pride curbed with a senseless plant:	= ie. an unfeeling.
56	Now, Absalon, how doth the Lord regard	56-58: Joab viciously taunts Absalon for his vanity.
	The beauty whereupon thy hope was built,
58	And which thou thought'st his grace did glory in?
	Find'st thou not now, with fear of instant death,	= impending.^1
60	That God affects not any painted shape	60-61: That God...personage = "that God doesn't love
	Or goodly personage, when the virtuous soul	a person for his or her superficial form or beautiful appearance".
62	Is stuffed with naught but pride and stubbornness?	= satiated, packed or stifled.^1 = nothing.
	But, preach I to thee, while I should revenge	63: "but why am I (wasting time) preaching to thee, when I should be avenging".
64	Thy cursèd sin that staineth Israel,
	And makes her fields blush with her children's blood?	65: ie. turn red with blood, but also with a sense of turning red in the face from shame.
66	Take that as part of thy deservèd plague,	66-67: the wounding which Joab now inflicts on Absalon is
	Which worthily no torment can inflict.	only a fraction of the punishment he deserves".
68
	[Stabs him.]	69: compare 2 Sam. 18:14: "And he took three darts (ie.
70		spears) in his hand, and thrust them through Absalom while he was yet alive in the middes (ie. midst) of the oak."
	Abs. O Joab, Joab, cruèl, ruthless Joab!
72	Herewith thou wound'st thy kingly sovereign's heart,	72-73: "you have wounded the heart of David, whose
	Whose heavenly temper hates his children's blood,	divine disposition would not want to see the blood of his children spilled".
74	And will be sick, I know, for Absalon. −
	O, my dear father, that thy melting eyes	= ie. dissolving (into tears).
76	Might pierce this thicket to behold thy son,
	Thy dearest son, gored with a mortal dart!	= death-dealing spear.
78	Yet, Joab, pity me: pity my father, Joab;	78: this line contains extra syllables.
	Pity his soul's distress that mourns my life,	= ie. David's.
80	And will be dead, I know, to hear my death.	= ie. die.
82	Joab. If he were so remorseful of thy state,	82-83: Joab is fibbing here, suggesting to Absalon that
	Why sent he me against thee with the sword?	David instructed him to kill his wayward son. remorseful = compassionate.^3 state = condition.
84	All Joab means to pleasure thee withal	84-85: "the only way I intend to gratify you is by immediate-
	Is to despatch thee quickly of thy pain:	ly relieving you of your pain." withal = with.
86	Hold, Absalon, Joab's pity is in this;	86: Hold = perhaps Absalon is struggling against Joab. Absalon = disyllabic here: AB-s'lon.
	In this, proud Absalon, is Joab's love.
88
	[Stabs him again; and then exit with Soldier.]
90
	Abs. Such love, such pity Israel's God send thee,
92	And for his love to David pity me!
	Ah, my dear father, see thy bowels bleed;
94	See death assault thy dearest Absalon;
	See, pity, pardon, pray for Absalon!
96
	Enter five or six Soldiers.
98
	1st Sold. See where the rebel in his glory hangs. −
100	Where is the virtue of thy beauty, Absalon?	= power.
	Will any of us here now fear thy looks,
102	Or be in love with that thy golden hair
	Wherein was wrapt rebellion 'gainst thy sire,	= father.
104	And cords prepared to stop thy father's breath?	= apparently referring to Absalon's hair as metaphorical ropes, for strangling or hanging.^1
	Our captain Joab hath begun to us;	105: the expression to begin to (someone) meant "to propose or drink a toast" to someone, so the sense of this line may be something like, "our commander Joab has, by stabbing thee, pledged to our healths".
106	And here's an end to thee and all thy sins.	= a pun with begun in the previous line.
108	[They stab Absalon; who dies.]	Absalon's Murder: the Bible contains no final conversation between Joab and Absalon; immediately after Joab pierced Absalon with three spears, we read, "And ten servants that bare Joab's weapons, turned and smote Absalom, and slew him." (2 Sam. 18:15).
110	Come, let us take the beauteous rebel down,	= gorgeous.
	And in some ditch, amids this darksome wood,
112	Bury his bulk beneath a heap of stones,	= variation of bouk, meaning body.^1,3
	Whose stony heart did hunt his father's death.	111-3: compare 2 Sam. 18:17: "And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the woods, and laid a mighty great heap of stones upon him." Note how the soldier puns on stones and stony.
114
	Re-enter, in triumph with drum and ensign, Joab;	= drummer and standard-bearer.
116	Abisai and Soldiers.
118	Joab. Well done, tall soldiers! take the traitor down,	= brave.
	And in this miry ditch inter his bones,
120	Covering his hateful breast with heaps of stones.
	This shady thicket of dark Ephrami	= the forest is dark because it is so densely wooded; Ephrami, a variation of Ephraim, fits the meter nicely, though the reversal of the last two letters may be a mis- print.
122	Shall ever lower on his cursèd grave;	= ie. lour, scowl.
	Night-ravens and owls shall ring his fatal knell,	123: the squawkings of ravens and owls were considered bad omens. ravens = here a monosyllable: ra'ens. fatal knell = bell rung at one's funeral.
124	And sit exclaiming on his damnèd soul;	= denouncing.
	There shall they heap their preys of carrion,
126	Till all his grave be clad with stinking bones,	= covered.^1
	That it may loathe the sense of every man:	= ie. causing loathing in. = ie. physical senses, especially perhaps the sense of smell.
128	So shall his end breed horror to his name,	= reputation.
	And to his traitorous fact eternal shame.	128-9: note the rhyming couplet used to end the scene.
130		fact = deed.
	[Exeunt.]
	CHORUS II.
	Enter Chorus.	Entering Character: the Chorus makes its second and final appearance.
1	Chor. O dreadful president of his just doom,	1: dreadful = causing dread. president = presiding god, referring to God.^1 his just doom = the just judgment against Absalon.
2	Whose holy heart is never touched with ruth	2-3: an individual cannot obtain God's mercy or compassion
	Of fickle beauty or of glorious shapes,	(ruth) solely because he or she is beautiful or has a magnificent body. Beauty is fickle because it is mutable, ie. it quickly fades.
4	But with the virtue of an upright soul,	= ie. "but God's mercy is accessible only by possessing".
	Humble and zealous in his inward thoughts,
6	Though in his person loathsome and deformed!	6: even if the person is physically horribly deformed and hence repulsive to others.
	Now, since this story lends us other store,	7: "now, since our story has more to it".
8	To make a third discourse of David's life,	8: the Chorus prepares the audience for the final third of the play.
	Adding thereto his most renownèd death,	= famous.
10	And all their deaths that at his death he judged,	9-10: we may observe that the surviving quarto of our play does not actually depict David's death, nor do any other characters die from this point forward. their deaths that = ie. "and the deaths of all those who".
	Here end we this, and what here wants to please,	11-12: what here...willingness = "if anything in our
12	We will supply with treble willingness.	presentation fails to please you, we would with triple- willingness provide it."
14	[Exit.]	End of the Chorus: fascinatingly, in the original edition, after the end of the second Chorus, the first few lines of a new scene are printed at the bottom of the page; but this new scene is not continued on the next page; in fact, it appears nowhere in the play, suggesting there may have been an additional scene which the printer accidentally left out. The phantom lines are as follows: "[Enter] Absalon with three or foure of his servaunts or gentlemen. Abs. What boots it Absalon, unhappie Absalon, Sighing I say what boots it Absalon, To have disclos'd a farre more worthy wombe" [and that is all!]
	SCENE XVI.
	Near the Battlefield	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XVI: there are no scenes of reconciliation between the rebels and Joab in the Bible.
	Trumpets sound.
	Enter Joab, Ahimaas, Cusay;	Entering Characters: the victors of the Battle of Ephraim
	Amasa, with all the other followers of Absalon.	Woods enter with their defeated foe; Joab is David's commander in chief, and Ahimaas is the son of David's ally, the priest Sadoc; David's nephew Amasa had been up till now the commander of the rebel army.
1	Joab. Soldiers of Israel, and ye sons of Judah,	1: Joab distinguishes between the Jews of the northern region known as Israel who were followers of Absalon, and the those of the south (Judah) who were generally loyal to David.
2	That have contended in these irksome broils,	= fought. = loathsome or hateful battles.
	And ript old Israel's bowels with your swords;	= ripped, torn apart.
4	The godless general of your stubborn arms	= ie. Absalon, who was literally without the support of God.
	Is brought by Israel's helper to the grave,	= meaning God, who is on David's side.
6	A grave of shame, and scorn of all the tribes:
	Now, then, to save your honours from the dust,
8	And keep your bloods in temper by your bones,	= "keep your emotions or fighting spirit in check or moder- ation".
	Let Joab's ensign shroud your manly heads,	9f: Joab encourages Amasa and the other rebels to return to David' fold. shroud = shelter, applied figuratively.^1
10	Direct your eyes, your weapons, and your hearts,
	To guard the life of David from his foes.
12	Error hath masked your much-too-forward minds,	= spirited or bold.^1
	And you have sinned against the chosen state,	ie. David, who is God's chosen one.
14	Against his life, for whom your lives are blessed,
	And followed an usurper to the field;
16	In whose just death your deaths are threatenèd;	16: Absalon's death leaves the rebels leaderless, and thus more vulnerable to execution.
	But Joab pities your disordered souls,	= confused.
18	And therefore offers pardon, peace, and love,
	To all that will be friendly reconciled
20	To Israel's weal, to David, and to Heaven. −	= welfare.
	Amasa, thou art leader of the host	= army.
22	That under Absalon have raised their arms;
	Then be a captain wise and politic,	= commander. = prudent.^2
24	Careful and loving for thy soldiers' lives,
	And lead them to this honourable league.	= compact, bond of friendship.^1,2
26
	Amasa. I will; at least, I'll do my best:	27: noting the short line, Dyce wonders if Joab should be
28	And for the gracious offer thou hast made	inserted as the first word of the speech; but as discussed earlier, there is no necessity for this.
	I give thee thanks, as much as for my head. −
30	Then, you deceived poor souls of Israel,	30f: Amasa turns to address his fellow soldiers.
	Since now ye see the errors you incurred,
32	With thanks and due submission be appeased;
	And as ye see your captain's president,	33: "and as you can see by your commander's example".
34	Here cast we, then, our swords at Joab's feet,	president = as Blistein observes, an alternate spelling
	Submitting with all zeal and reverence	of precedent.
36	Our goods and bodies to his gracious hands.
38	[Kneels with others.]	38: the stage direction here and at line 42 are Dyce's.
40	Joab. Stand up, and take ye all your swords again:
42	[All stand up.]
44	David and Joab shall be blessed herein.
46	Ahim. Now let me go inform my lord the king
	How God hath freed him from his enemies.
48
	Joab. Another time, Ahimaäs, not now. −
50	But, Cusay, go thyself, and tell the king
	The happy message of our good success.	49-51: Joab's decision to prevent Ahimaas from being the
52		one to deliver the news to David of the army's victory is a subtly wise and solicitous one: likely remembering the fate of the Amalekite who had brought David word that Saul had died in a battle with the Philistines (2 Sam. 1:13-15) - David had had the messenger executed - Joab wants to protect Ahimaas by letting someone else report to David that his son Absalon is dead.
	Cusay. I will, my lord, and thank thee for thy grace.
54
	[Exit.]	55: in the Bible, an individual named Chusi is instructed to deliver the twin news of the army's victory and the death of Absalon to David (2 Sam. 18:21). Chusi is called Cushi in the Geneva Bible, which suggests: (1) he is likely a Cushite, meaning he is an African from the land of Cush, which was located at modern Ethiopia, and thus a slave^9 (the Bishop's Bible has a note in the margin next to verse 29 which identifies Cushi as an Ethiopian); and (2) his name was the inspiration for Peele's naming David's closest retainer Cusay.
56
	Ahim. What if thy servant should go too, my lord?	= Ahimaas means himself; he really wants to deliver the news of the victory to David!
58
	Joab. What news hast thou to bring since he is gone?	= ie. Cusay is already on his way to tell David everything.
60
	Ahim. Yet do Ahimaäs so much content,	61: ie. "yet do me this one favour"; Ahimaas refers to himself in the third person.
62	That he may run about so sweet a charge.	62: "that I may go running on such an agreeable mission."
64	Joab. Run, if thou wilt; and peace be with thy steps. −	64: Joab gives in; he has no interest in arguing over the matter with Ahimaas.
66	[Exit Ahimaas.]	66: at 2 Sam. 18:23, we are told that Ahimaas runs by way of the plains to reach David; Chusi (or, in our play, Cusay) had likely taken the road through the hills, which was a slower but more direct road to Mahanaim (where David was headquartered); the plains road was longer but faster, which will allow Ahimaas to reach the king first.^21
68	Now follow, that you may salute the king	68-69: Joab returns to addressing the defeated warriors.
	With humble hearts and reconcilèd souls.
70
	Amasa. We follow, Joab, to our gracious king;
72	And him our swords shall honour to our deaths.
74	[Exeunt.]
	SCENE XVII.
	David's Headquarters at Manahaim.	Bible Verses Depicted in Scene XVII: there are no verses in the Bible corresponding to lines 1-151; lines 153 to the end of the scene match up with 2 Sam. 18:24 - 19:8. The Setting: the exact location of Manahaim is unknown; scholars assume it is somewhere in the vicinity of the Woods of Ephraim, some placing it near the Jabbok (modern Zarqa) River. Scene XVII: the first part of this scene (lines 1-151) offers an oddly drawn out tableau of David mourning deeply over the rebellion of Absalon, and then giving his curious son Salomon advice, who waxes philosophically with his father. The scene drags on slowly, crudely and jarringly halting the increasingly dramatic movement of the play dead in its tracks.
	Enter David, Bethsabe, Salomon, Chileab, Adonia,	Entering Characters: it has been a while since we have
	and Nathan, with their train.	seen Bethsabe; present also is King David; Salomon,
		David's second and surviving son with Bethsabe (but sixth son overall); David's second son Chileab, by Abigail; his fourth son Adonia, by Haggith; and finally the prophet Nathan. We may note that Peele chose not to call Bethsabe's second son Solomon, which is how his name is spelled in the Bishop's Bible, as well as being the name by which he is known today; all the other contemporary Bibles spell his name Salomon. train = followers and attendants.
1	Beth. What means my lord, the lamp of Israel,
2	From whose bright eyes all eyes receive their light,
	To dim the glory of his sweet aspécts,	= face, expression.
4	And paint his countenance with his heart's distress?	4: "and wear his heart's distress so obviously on his face?" (paint was normally used to describe the application of cosmetics).
	Why should his thoughts retain a sad conceit,	5-7: why should David remain so downcast when he has
6	When every pleasure kneels before his throne,	everything that can give him joy at his immediate
	And sues for sweet acceptance with his grace?	disposal, begging to be utilized? conceit = conception, thought.^5
8	Take but your lute, and make the mountains dance,	8-12: Bethsabe reminds David of the magical quality of his musicianship, trying to flatter him out of his depression.
	Retrieve the sun's sphere, and restrain the clouds,	9: ie. "recall the sun, and hold back the clouds" - a meteorological metaphor for the sunny side of David's disposition bursting through the darkness.
10	Give ears to trees, make savage lions tame,	= an early version of the common sentiment that music can soothe wild beasts.
	Impose still silence to the loudest winds,
12	And fill the fairest day with foulest storms:	12: note how Bethsabe has ascribed to David's music the power to both bring on storms (line 12) and bring out the sun (line 9).
	Then why should passions of much meaner power	13-14: ie. "then why should such base emotions - melan-
14	Bear head against the heart of Israel?	cholia specifically - prevail in your heart?" Bear head against = a variation of the expression "to keep head against", which meant "to maintain headway against" or "to hold one's own in the face of (difficulty or opposition)" (quoting the OED directly). There is also a bit of wordplay with head and heart in line 14.
16	David. Fair Bethsabe, thou mightst increase the strength	16-20: David seems to be suggesting that Bethsabe might do
	Of these thy arguments, drawn from my skill,	better to help his mood by simply letting him look upon
18	By urging thy sweet sight to my conceits,	her.
	Whose virtue ever served for sacred balm
20	To cheer my pinings past all earthly joys:	= torments.
	But, Bethsabe, the daughter of the Highest,
22	Whose beauty builds the towers of Israel,
	She that in chains of pearl and unicorn	23: the horns of unicorns (which are surprisingly mentioned a number of times in the Bible).
24	Leads at her train the ancient golden world.	= ie. in her wake.
	The world that Adam held in paradise,
26	Whose breath refineth all infectious airs,	= purifies, cleanses.^1
	And makes the meadows smile at her repair, −	= arrival.
28	She, she, my dearest Bethsabe,	29: another short line.
	Fair Peace, the goddess of our graces here,	29-33: David expresses his feelings of dislocation over the
30	Is fled the streets of fair Jerusalem,	war raging nearby and his worry about Absalon.
	The fields of Israel, and the heart of David,
32	Leading my comforts in her golden chains,
	Linked to the life and soul of Absalon.	16-33: an oddity of David's speech is that he uses the
34		imagery of something being led in chains in two completely distinct metaphors.
	Beth. Then is the pleasure of my sovereign's heart
36	So wrapt within the bosom of that son,
	That Salomon, whom Israel's God affects,	=loves; see the note at line 39 immediately below.
38	And gave the name unto him for his love,
	Should be no salve to comfort David's soul?	= soothing balm. 35-39: for the first time in the play, Salomon is discussed; we remember that after Bethsabe's first baby died, David went in to comfort and sleep with her, which resulted in the birth of their second child, also a boy, whom David named Salomon. We are told in 2 Sam. 12:24 that the "the Lord loved" Salomon.
40
	David. Salomon, my love, is David's lord;	41: another short and likely mutilated line, whose meaning
42	Our God hath named him lord of Israel:	as written, say the old editors, makes no sense; Bullen
	In him (for that, and since he is thy son,)	suggests changing lord to lovèd son.
44	Must David needs be pleasèd at the heart;
	And he shall surely sit upon my throne.	45: God had promised David, "I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy body, and will establish his kingdom." (2 Sam. 7:12)
46	But Absalon, the beauty of my bones,
	Fair Absalon, the counterfeit of love,	= very portrait or image of love.
48	Sweet Absalon, the image of content,
	Must claim a portion in his father's care,
50	And be in life and death King David's son.
52	Nath. Yet, as my lord hath said, let Salomon reign,	= Salomon is disyllabic in this line: SAL'-mon.
	Whom God in naming hath anointed king.
54	Now is he apt to learn th' eternal laws,	54-56: the lessons which Salomon can be taught now while
	Whose knowledge being rooted in his youth	he is young, and therefore more open to learning, will
56	Will beautify his age with glorious fruits;	bear fruit when he is older and ruling Israel; note the garden metaphor with rooted and fruits.
	While Absalon, incensed with graceless pride,	= ie. spurred on.
58	Usurps and stains the kingdom with his sin:	= ie. taints; Blistein notes the men are discussing Absalon in the present tense because they do not yet know he is dead.
	Let Salomon be made thy staff of age,	= a common metaphor, of a younger man acting as a walking stick on which an elderly individual may "lean on" for support and assistance.
60	Fair Israel's rest, and honour of thy race.	= respite (from war).
62	David. Tell me, my Salomon, wilt thou embrace
	Thy father's precepts gravèd in thy heart,	= instructions.^2 = engraved.
64	And satisfy my zeal to thy renown	= devotion.^2 = honour or fame.
	With practice of such sacred principles
66	As shall concern the state of Israel?
68	Sal. My royal father, if the heavenly zeal,	68-76: typically long Elizabethan sentence; in the original
	Which for my welfare feeds upon your soul,	edition of David, only commas were used to separate the
70	Were not sustained with virtue of mine own;	clauses, but modern editors insert semi-colons to facilitate reading. The sentence comprises first two long conditional clauses (if this, if that), followed eventually by the conclusion. 68-70: "if the sacred devotion you have for my well-being were not complemented by the power of my own devotion to the same;"
	If the sweet accents of your cheerful voice	71-74: "if the sound of your voice did not give me as much
72	Should not each hour beat upon mine ears	pleasure as a cool breeze does to one standing under a
	As sweetly as the breath of Heaven to him	scorching sun."
74	That gaspeth scorchèd with the summer's sun;
	I should be guilty of unpardoned sin,
76	Fearing the plague of Heaven and shame of earth:
	But since I vow myself to learn the skill
78	And holy secrets of his mighty hand	= ie. God's hand.
	Whose cunning tunes the music of my soul,	79: a neat musical metaphor of God, with His expertise or discernment, keeping Salomon on a righteous path.
80	It would content me, father, first to learn
	How the Eternal framed the firmament;	81: "how God created the heavens".
82	Which bodies lead their influence by fire,	82-83: Salomon may have the stars in mind here: a late 17th century book on philosophy records how those in ancient times, for example, believed "the Heaven to be Fire, and that the Stars were so many flaming Torches placed in it."^18 It is worth observing further that the zodiac's 12 signs were divided into four groups of three; one of the three, comprised of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, was known as the Fiery Trigon (the other three Trigons were Airy, Earthy and Watery, corresponding to the four "elements" which were thought to comprise all matter in the universe). lead = some editors change this to lend. influence = an astrological term for an imagined ethereal fluid flowing down to earth from the stars and influencing or governing a person's life.
	And which are filled with hoary winter's ice;	83: Salomon may be referring here to comets, whose appearances were thought to be inauspicious; the same treatise referred to in the previous note describes comets as "little Icy Bodies", or "Mock Suns" with "long tails".^18
84	What sign is rainy, and what star is fair;	= the constellation Orion, which appeared in the late autumn, was considered to be the signal for the arrival of bad weather.
	Why by the rules of true proportiön	= a very common phrase, meaning something like "correct
86	The year is still divided into months,	ratios" or "proper measures".^1
	The months to days, the days to certain hours;
88	What fruitful race shall fill the future world;
	Or for what time shall this round building stand;	= ie. how long. = perhaps meaning earth.
90	What magistrates, what kings shall keep in awe	90-91: "how government officials and monarchs keep rein
	Men's minds with bridles of th' eternal law.	on their subjects' behaviour by recourse to God's law." Note the interesting metaphor of a king riding the minds of men and curbing their natural appetites with a bridle, as if those minds were horses. th' eternal law = the concept of describing God's laws as the eternal law dates back to the 1530's.
92		80-91: Salomon's Inquiry: Interestingly, Salomon, rather than asking David for advice on how to rule a kingdom, seeks to know the secrets of the universe. This train of thought is reminiscent of the questions the curious Dr. Faustus puts to the demon Mephistophilis (to whom he has just traded his soul) in Christopher Marlowe's play, e.g. "Tell me, are there many heavens above the moon?...Are all celestial bodies but one globe, / As is the substance of this centric earth?...How many heavens or spheres are there? etc."
	David. Wade not too far, my boy, in waves too deep:	93: a very neat metaphor for one trying to learn about some- thing that is beyond understanding.
94	The feeble eyes of our aspiring thoughts	94-96: "while we can understand the past and present, the
	Behold things present, and record things past;	future is beyond human vision."
96	But things to come exceed our human reach,
	And are not painted yet in angels' eyes:	= depicted, ie. they are unknowable.
98	For those, submit thy sense, and say − "Thou power,	98-108: in short, "if you want to learn about the future, pray to God, and forego those types of superstitions used by humans and seers to predict the future." Thou power = "oh Lord".
	That now art framing of the future world,	99: "who even now is molding future events".
100	Know'st all to come, not by the course of Heaven,	= ie. the movement of the stars.
	By frail conjectures of inferior signs,	101: "(nor) by guessing wildly about what will happen by interpreting worthless signs".
102	By monstrous floods, by flights and flocks of birds,	102: By monstrous floods = unusual natural phenomena were thought to presage calamities. by flights and flocks of birds = the idea of predicting success or failure of an enterprise by watching the direction that birds flew dates back to ancient times.
	By bowels of a sacrificèd beast,	103: ancient priests might examine the condition of the organs of a slaughtered animal to determine the will of the gods.
104	Or by the figures of some hidden art;	104: "or by interpreting secret symbols."
	But by a true and natural presage,	= ie. "indication of what will happen".
106	Laying the ground and perfect architect	= the use of architect here makes little sense; Dyce wonders if the word should be archetype, meaning "example" or "model"; Bullen suggests architure, a word which had appeared in a contemporary poem, and seems to be a poetic word for architecture.^1
	Of all our actions now before thine eyes,
108	From Adam to the end of Adam's seed:	= ie. the last man on earth.
	O Heaven, protect my weakness with thy strength!
110	So look on me that I may view thy face,
	And see these secrets written in thy brows.
112	O sun, come dart thy rays upon my moon!	112: another fine metaphor: Salomon should ask God to allow the sun (representing enlightenment) to shine on the (otherwise dark) moon (which represents his ignorance). dart = shoot.
	That now mine eyes, eclipsèd to the earth,
114	May brightly be refined and shine to Heaven;	= cleared, so as to be able to see better.
	Transform me from this flesh, that I may live,
116	Before my death, regenerate with thee.	= spiritually reborn.^1
	O thou great God, ravish my earthly sprite!	= bring rapture to. = common alternative form of spirit.
118	That for the time a more than human skill	= a supernatural level of discernment.
	May feed the organons of all my sense;	= ie. bodily organs, usually applied to the faculty of the
120	That, when I think, thy thoughts may be my guide,	mind.^1
	And, when I speak, I may be made by choice
122	The perfect echo of thy heavenly voice."	122: ie. "to speak as if thou were speaking through me."
	Thus say, my son, and thou shalt learn them all.	Note that the last two lines (121-2) of the speech David wants Salomon to make to God comprise a rhyming couplet; the rhyme signals the end of David's quote.
124
	Sal. A secret fury ravisheth my soul,	125: fury = inspired frenzy, enthusiasm.^1,5 ravisheth my soul = "enraptures my soul".
126	Lifting my mind above her human bounds;
	And, as the eagle, rousèd from her stand	127: roused = rising, ie. flying.^1 stand = place to rest (for a bird of prey) or await to ambush.^1
128	With violent hunger, towering in the air,	= climbing (in the air) in preparation to swoop down on its prey.^1
	Seizeth her feathered prey, and thinks to feed,	= ie. plans to eat it.
130	But seeing then a cloud beneath her feet,
	Lets fall the fowl, and is emboldened
132	With eyes intentive to bedare the sun,	= defy.^1
	And styeth close unto his stately sphere;	133: "and soareth (styeth)^3 closer to the sun;" sty was an ancient word, meaning to rise up or mount, that finally died out in the 17th century.^1
134	So Salomon, mounted on the burning wings
	Of zeal divine, lets fall his mortal food,	= religious fervour.
136	And cheers his senses with celestial air,	= divine or heavenly air.
	Treads in the golden starry labyrinth,	= walks.
138	And holds his eyes fixed on Jehovah's brows.	= ie. God's countenance (brows usually specifically referred
	Good father, teach me further what to do.	to the forehead).^1
140
	Nath. See, David, how his haughty spirit mounts,	= aspiring. = climbs.
142	Even now of height to wield a diadem:	142: "even now high enough to wear a crown."
	Then make him promise that he may succeed,	143-4: "promise Salomon that he will succeed you as king,
144	And rest old Israel's bones from broils of war.	so that Israel may finally know peace."' broils = turmoil.^1
146	David. Nathan, thou prophet, sprung from Jesse's root,	= ie. the family of Jesse (as ancestor), who was David's
	I promise thee and lovely Bethsabe,	father, and from whom the Messiah was expected to be
148	My Salomon shall govern after me.	descended (Isaiah 11:10 and Revelations 5:5 use the
		phrase root of Jesse); David applies the expression figuratively to Nathan.
150	Beth. He that hath touched thee with this righteous thought
	Preserve the harbour of thy thoughts in peace!
152
	Enter Messenger.	153: we now return to the main action of the play.
154
	Mess. My lord, thy servants of the watch have seen	155-6: the men standing watch on the city walls see Cusay running towards them.
156	One running hitherward from forth the wars,	= someone. = in this direction.
158	David. If he be come alone, he bringeth news.	158: compare 2 Sam. 18:25: "If he be alone, there is tidings
		in his mouth."
160	Mess. Another hath thy servant seen, my lord,
	Whose running much resembles Sadoc's son.	161: the watchman recognizes a second runner they see as Ahimaas.
162
	David. He is a good man, and good tidings brings.	163: compare 2 Sam. 18:26: "he is a good man, and cometh with good tidings."
164
	Enter Ahimaas.	165: Ahimaas, running on the longer but faster plains road,
166		arrives before Cusay.
	Ahim. Peace and content be with my lord the king,
168	Whom Israel's God hath blessed with victory.
170	David. Tell me, Ahimaas, lives my Absalon?	= Ahimaas is uniquely pronounced with three syllables in this line: a-HI-mas.
172	Ahim. I saw a troop of soldiers gatherèd,	172-3: Ahimaas has shrewdly realized he better not mention
	But know not what the tumult might import.	Absalon's death to David.
174
	David. Stand by, until some other may inform	175-6: the Bible quotes David at 2 Sam. 18:30 as saying
176	The heart of David with a happy truth.	simply, "Turn aside, and stand here."
178	Enter Cusay.
180	Cusay. Happiness and honour live with David's soul,
	Whom God hath blessed with conquest of his foes
182
	David. But, Cusay, lives the young man Absalon?
184
	Cusay. The stubborn enemies to David's peace,	185-192: Cusay naïvely thinks that David will be overjoyed
186	And all that cast their darts against his crown,	to hear of Absalon's death, and reports the news with unwel-
	Fare ever like the young man Absalon!	come enthusiasm. 185-7: in brief, "may all of David's rebellious enemies suffer the same fate as did Absalon!" darts = spears or arrows.
188	For as he rid the woods of Ephraïm,	= rode through. = Ephraim has three syllables: EPH-rai-im.
	Which fought for thee as much as all thy men,	189: ie. the trees of the forest proved as much of a detriment to Absalon's forces as did David's own army; the line is suggested by 2 Sam. 18:8, which observes that "the wood(s) devoured mo (ie. more) people that day, then did the sword." See the note entitled The Battle at the beginning of Scene XV.
190	His hair was tangled in a shady oak;
	And hanging there, by Joab and his men
192	Sustained the stroke of well-deservèd death.	185-192: Cusay's Unexpectedly Poor Judgment: because
		Cusay is so close to the king, it is actually not credible that Cusay would fail to realize how unwise it is of him to describe the demise of Absalon in such a cheerful way to David; but in the Bible, the deliverer of the news is not a close friend, but, as mentioned earlier, one Chusi, a possible slave, with whom David has no known relationship; Peele simply gives the Cushite's speech to Cusay, basically unconcerned that Cusay is speaking out of character.
194	David. Hath Absalon sustained the stroke of death?
	Die, David, for the death of Absalon,
196	And make these cursèd news the bloody darts	= news was commonly considered a plural word. = spears.
	That through his bowels rip thy wretched breast.
198	Hence, David, walk the solitary woods,
	And in some cedar's shade the thunder slew,	199-200: "and in the shade of a cedar tree which burnt to
200	And fire from Heaven hath made his branches black,	black upon being struck by lightning."
	Sit mourning the decease of Absalon:
202	Against the body of that blasted plant	= ruined, withered.
	In thousand shivers break thy ivory lute,	= splinters, pieces.
204	Hanging thy stringless harp upon his boughs;	= its.
	And through the hollow sapless sounding trunk	= ie. because the tree had been killed by a lightning strike.
206	Bellow the torments that perplex thy soul.	= afflict.^1
	There let the winds sit sighing till they burst;
208	Let tempest, muffled with a cloud of pitch,	= "let a wind-storm". = black cloud.
	Threaten the forests with her hellish face,
210	And, mounted fiercely on her iron wings,	= severe, harsh.^1
	Rend up the wretched engine by the roots	= tear. = agent or means, referring to the oak tree which
212	That held my dearest Absalon to death.	ensnared Absalon.
	Then let them toss my broken lute to Heaven,
214	Even to his hands that beats me with the strings,	= ie. God's. = the sense seems to be "whips".
	To show how sadly his poor shepherd sings.	= ie. meaning David himself. 214-5: David's speech of mourning ends with a rhyming couplet.
216
	[Goes to his pavilion and sits close a while.]	217F: David Mourns: compare 2 Sam. 18:33: "And the
218		king was moved (ie. deeply affected emotionally), and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said 'O, my son, Absalom, my son, my son Absalom: would God I had died for (ie. instead of) thee, O Absalom my son, my son.'" Our stage-David enters his large tent (pavilion) to shed his tears.
	Beth. Die, Bethsabe, to see thy David mourn,
220	To hear his tunes of anguish and of hell.
	O, help, my David, help thy Bethsabe,
222
	She kneels down.	223: this stage direction is in the original; Dyce changes the direction to "Lies down", to agree with Joab's observation in line 246 below that Bethsabe is prostrate.
224
	Whose heart is piercèd with thy breathy swords,	= David's anguished cries and sighs, like swords, metaphori- cally stab Bethsabe in the heart, such is the pain they cause her.
226	And bursts with burden of ten thousand griefs!	= ie. "the burden".
	Now sit thy sorrows sucking of my blood:	227-230: a disturbing and graphic (and alliterative!) meta-
228	O, that it might be poison to their powers,	phor of David's sorrows sucking from Bethsabe's body
	And that their lips might draw my bosom dry,	her blood, which she wishes was poisonous so it would
230	So David's love might ease him, though she die!	kill off the king's sorrows, even if it kills her by bleeding her dry.
232	Nath. These violent passions come not from above;	232-4: Nathan remonstrates with both David and Bethsabe:
	David and Bethsabe offend the Highest,	the royal couple's exaggerated emotions are not
234	To mourn in this immeasurable sort.	sanctioned by God; the undesirability of allowing one's emotions to get the better of one is a frequent theme in Elizabethan drama.
236	David. [Looking forth.]	236: David pokes his head out of the tent.
	O Absalon, Absalon! O my son, my son!
238	Would God that I had died for Absalon!	= "I wish to God". = ie. instead of.
	But he is dead; ah, dead! Absalon is dead:
240	And David lives to die for Absalon.	219-240: we may mention here that there is no mention in the Bible of Bethsabe mourning with nor Nathan reproaching David.
242	[Sits close again.]	242: David withdraws into his tent again.
244	Enter Joab, Abisai, Ithay, and their train.	244: the leaders of David's army arrive.
246	Joab. Why lies the queen so prostrate on the ground?
	Why is this company so tragic-hued?	= ie. tainted with the colours of sorrow or tragedy; an
248	Why is the king now absent from his men,	exceptional and unique compound word invented by
	And marcheth not in triumph through the gates?	Peele.
250
	[Unfolds the pavilion.]	251: Joab opens the flaps of David's tent so he can look in and see the king.
252
	David, awake; if sleep have shut thine eyes,	= "wake up!"
254	Sleep of affection, that thou canst not see	= sleep brought on by either disease or emotion (Blistein,
	The honour offered to the victor's head:	p. 280).
256	Joab brings conquest piercèd on his spear,
	And joy from all the tribes of Israel.	244-257: The Arrival of the Victorious Army: David's mourning has cast disappointment over the exultant mood of the army; see 2 Sam. 19:2.
258
	David. Thou man of blood, thou sepulchre of death,	259-260: another dramatic metaphor: the blood-thirsty
260	Whose marble breast intomb[s] my bowels quick,	Joab is like a tomb in which David's guts are buried alive (quick).
	Did I not charge thee, nay, entreat thy hand,	= command. = ie. "beg or beseech thee".
262	Even for my sake, to spare my Absalon?
	And hast thou now, in spite of David's health,	= "in defiance of", with the sense being, "notwithstanding how detrimental such an act would be to".
264	And scorn to do my heart some happiness,
	Given him the sword and spilt his purple soul?	= purple was used to describe the colour of both blood and royalty.
266
	Joab. What, irks it David, that he victor breathes,	= "does it distress David".
268	That Judah and the fields of Israel
	Should cleanse their faces from their children's blood?
270	What, art thou weary of thy royal rule?
	Is Israel's throne a serpent in thine eyes,
272	And he that set thee there so far from thanks,	= ie. God. = undeserving of.
	That thou must curse his servant for his sake?	= Joab means himself.
274	Hast thou not said that, as the morning light,	274-7: ie. "didn't you say that your family should resemble a
	The cloudless morning, so should be thine house,	perfect cloudless dawn in its eternal purity and righteous-
276	And not as flowers by the brightest rain	ness, rather than be stained by error and so die out like a
	Which grow up quickly and as quickly fade?	flower that has quickly bloomed and then faded after a rainstorm?" Peele has adopted the language of 2 Sam. 23:4, which, being part of series of verses identified as David's "last words", has been interpreted to be either a prescription of how a righteous king should rule, or a prediction of what Jesus' empire will look like:^19 "Euen as the morning light when the sunne riseth, the morning, I say, without clouds, so shall mine house be, and not as the grass of the earth is by the bright rain." (Geneva Bible).
278	Hast thou not said, the wicked are as thorns,	278-282: here Peele has adopted 2 Sam. 23:6-7 from the
	That cannot be preservèd with the hand,	Geneva Bible:
280	And that the man shall touch them must be armed	"^6 But the wicked shall be every one as thorns thrust
	With coats of iron and garments made of steel,	away, because they can not be taken with hands:
282	Or with the shaft of a defencèd spear?	^7 But the man that shall touch them, must be defended with iron, or with the shaft of a spear, and they shall be burnt with fire in the same place." The meaning here is that wicked men in general, and evil rulers in particular, should be disposed of like thorns, which must be dealt with by violence and tough or hard-to-break instruments. The 18th century Bible commentator Adam Clarke has a particularly useful gloss on the metaphor of "removing thorns": "As thorns thrust away - A metaphor taken from hedging; the workman thrusts the thorns aside either with his bill (ed. - a garden tool for cutting) or hand, protected by his impenetrable mitten or glove, till, getting a fair blow at the roots, he cuts them all down. The man is fenced with iron, and the handle of his bill is like the staff of a spear. This is a good representation of the dubbing-bill (ed. - a cutting or pruning instrument, something like a scythe^1), with which they slash the thorn hedge on each side before they level the tops by the pruning-shears. The handle is five or six feet long. This is a perfectly natural and intelligible image."^20 preserved (line 279) = taken or grasped.^5 defenced (line 282) = protected.
	And art thou angry he is now cut off	= meaning Absalon.
284	That led the guiltless swarming to their deaths,	= ie. "he who". = ie. so many innocent people.
	And was more wicked than an host of men?	= army.
286	Advance thee from thy melancholy den,	= ie. "come out". = place of retreat.^1
	And deck thy body with thy blissful robes,	= adorn, dress.
288	Or, by the Lord that sways the Heaven I swear,
	I’ll lead thine armies to another king
290	Shall cheer them for their princely chivalry,	290: "who shall buoy the spirits of those soldiers who have served him with such military distinction"; the reference to chivalry is of course anachronistic.
	And not sit daunted, frowning in the dark,
292	When his fair looks, with oil and wine refreshed,	292: compare this line to Scene VII.122-3 (which borrows from 2 Sam. 12:20), in which David, his mourning for his first child with Bethsabe ended, asks for water to wash, oil to "clear (his) looks", and wine to drink. fair looks = David's handsome face or attractive features.
	Should dart into their bosoms gladsome beams,	= shoot or send forth. = cheering, pleasant.
294	And fill their stomachs with triumphant feasts;
	That when elsewhere stern war shall sound his trump,	= ie. its war-trumpet.
296	And call another battle to the field,	= army.^5
	Fame still may bring thy valiant soldiers home,
298	And for their service happily confess
	She wanted worthy trumps to sound their prowess:	299: personified Fame lacks the ability to proclaim the mag- nificence of David's soldiers with sufficient magnitude or effect.
300	Take thou this course and live; refuse and die.	Joab Reprimands David: the speech's many lines (lines 267-300) dedicated to Joab's reproach of David parallel the several long verses (2 Sam. 19:5-7) dedicated to Joab's criticism of the king in the Bible.
302	Abis. Come, brother, let him sit there till he sink;	302-3: Abisai picks up on Joab's threat of line 289 above and suggests they leave right away to find another, more appreciative, monarch to serve.
	Some other shall advance the name of Joab.	= promote.
304
	[Offers to go out with Joab.]	= begins.
306
	Beth. [Rising]
308	O, stay, my lords, stay! David mourns no more,
	But riseth to give honour to your acts.
310
	David. [Rising, and coming from his pavilion]	312-7: David tries to rouse himself from his dark mood by convincing himself that Absalon, in leaving earth, is now in a better place.
312	Then happy art thou, David's fairest son,
	That, freèd from the yoke of earthly toils,	= labours or snares.^1
314	And séquestered from sense of human sins,	314: ie. "and separated or secluded so that he no longer has to perceive man's wicked behaviour".^5
	Thy soul shall joy the sacred cabinet	= enjoy. = receptacle.^1
316	Of those divine ideas that present	= ideas has three syllables here: i-DE-as.
	Thy changèd spirit with a Heaven of bliss.	= altered.
318	Then thou art gone; ah, thou art gone, my son!
	To Heaven, I hope, my Absalon is gone:
320	Thy soul there placed in honour of the saints,
	Or angels clad with immortality,
322	Shall reap a sevenfold grace for all thy griefs;	= sevenfold (meaning a seven-fold return) is disyllabic: SE'EN-fold.
	Thy eyes, now no more eyes but shining stars,
324	Shall deck the flaming heavens with novel lamps;	= adorn. = new. = a common term for stars.
	There shalt thou taste the drink of seraphins,	= the seraphins (ie. seraphim) are the angels of the first choir of the first hierarchy (the counsellors); see the note at line 8 of the Prologue. The job of the counsellors is to surround and eternally adore God.^7
326	And cheer thy feelings with archangels' food;	= archangels comprise the second class of the third hier- archy of angels (the messengers); the messengers' function is to intervene in the affairs of humanity.^7
	Thy day of rest, thy holy sabbath-day,
328	Shall be eternal; and, the curtain drawn,	= ie. "when the curtain draws open to reveal God in all his splendour"; a self-referential allusion to a stage curtain which may be opened to reveal a scene.
	Thou shalt behold thy sovereign face to face,	= ie. God.
330	With wonder, knit in triple unity,	= an apparently anachronistic and decidedly Christian reference to the triune nature, or trinity, of God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
	Unity infinite and innumerable −
332	Courage, brave captains! Joab's tale hath stirred,	= "moved my soul", or "raised me from my depression".
	And made the suit of Israel preferred.	333: "and convinced me that my concern for Israel's well-
334		being must supersede my anxiety over my own."
	Joab. Bravely resolved, and spoken like a king:
336	Now may old Israel and his daughters sing.	= its; the play ends with a rhyming couplet.
338	[Exeunt omnes.]	David's Response to Joab: in the Bible, David does not
		respond to Joab's admonition; instead, when Joab has finished his speech, we simply read, "Then the king arose, and sat in the gate."
	FINIS.

George Peele's Invented Words

Like all of the writers of the era, George Peele made up words when he felt like it, usually by adding prefixes and suffixes to known words, combining words, or using a word in a way not yet used before. The following is a list of words from David and Bethsabe that are indicated by the OED as being either the first or only use of a given word, or, as noted, the first use with a given meaning:

almond flower

bedare

fever-sick

the phrase bear head against

kindless (meaning devoid of natural affection or love)

loving-knot (instead of the older expression love-knot)

retrieve (meaning to cause something to return to its former state or place)

rupture (applied to an abstract or immaterial thing)

sun-proof

On the other hand, research suggests that Peele's use of the following words antedates the earliest citations found in the OED (as of December 2018), and so Peele may be credited with being the first to use these terms in print:

all-amazed (this appeared in one other 1599 publication too)

praise-notes

sheep-feast

sinewed (verb, meaning strengthened, as by sinews).

tragic-hued

Finally, research confirms that the following terms, for which Peele is given credit by the OED for their first appearance in the written record, actually did appear in earlier publications, and thus should not be assigned to Peele as original usages:

cloudless

inchaste

pocket full / pocketful

waveless

wing (as a verb, meaning to figuratively give wings to something)

NOTES on the ANNOTATIONS

Mention of Dyce, Bullen, Keltie, Blistein and Manly

in the annotations refers to the notes provided by each

of these editors in their respective editions of this play,

each cited fully below.

The most commonly cited sources are listed in the

footnotes immediately below. The complete list of

footnotes appears at the end of this play.

1. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online.

2. Crystal, David and Ben. Shakespeare's Words.

London, New York: Penguin, 2002.

3. Dyce, Rev. Alexander. The Dramatic and Poetical

Works of Robert Greene and George Peele. London:

George Routledge and Sons: 1874.

4. Bullen, A.H. The Works of George Peele, Vol. II.

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1888.

5. Keltie, John S. The Works of the British Dramatists.

Edinburgh: William P. Nimmon, 1873.

6. Blistein, Elmer, ed. The Works of George Peele

(Charles T. Prouty, gen. ed.). New Haven: Yale University

Press, 1970.

7. Metford, J.C.J. Dictionary of Christian Lore and

Legend. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1983.

8. Sugden, Edward. A Topographical Dictionary to

the Works of Shakespeare and His Fellow Dramatists.

Manchester: The University Press, 1925.

9. Lockyer, Sr., Herbert, general editor. Nelson's

Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson

Publishers, 1986.

10. Jewish Virtual Library Website. King David.

Retrieved 11/15/20018: www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/king-

david.

11. Westbrook, Vivien. Long Travail and Great Paynes,

A Politics of Reformation Revision. Dordrecht, the

Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001

12. Bible Hub Website. 2 Samuel 12:8. Retrieved 11/27/

2018: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_samuel/12-8.htm.

13. Bible Study Tools Website. 2 Samuel 12:8.

Retrieved 11/27/2018: www.biblestudytools.com/com

mentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/2-samuel-12-8.html.

14. Stephen, Leslie, and Lee, Sydney, eds. Dictionary

of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder and Co.,

1885-1900.

15. Bible Hub Website. 2 Samuel 2:31. Retrieved 11/27/

2018: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_samuel/12-31.

htm.

16. Bergant, Dianne, ed. The Collegeville Bible Com-

mentary, Old Testament. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical

Press, 1986.

17: Hebrew 4 Christians Website. The Hebrew Name

for Lord - Adonai. Retrieved 12/03/2018: https://hebrew4

christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Adonai/adonai.html.

18. Le Grand, Antoine et al. An entire body of philoso-

phy according to the principles of the famous Renate Des

Cartes. London: Printed by Samuel Roycroft, 1694.

19. Study Light Website. Verse-by-Verse Bible Com-

mentary: 2 Samuel 23:4. Retrieved 12/12/2018: www.

studylight.org/commentary/2-samuel/23-4.html.

20. Study Light Website. Verse-by-Verse Bible Com-

mentary: 2 Samuel 23:6. Retrieved 12/12/2018: www.

studylight.org/commentary/2-samuel/23-6.html.

21. Study Light Website. Verse-by-Verse Bible Com-

mentary: 2 Samuel 18:23. Retrieved 12/18/2018: www.

studylight.org/commentary/2-samuel/18-23.html.

22. Manly, John Charles. Specimens of Pre-Shakspe-

rean Drama, Vol. II. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1897.

23. Great Site Website. English Bible History.

Retrieved 12/21/2018. https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-

english-bible-history/.

24. Study Light Website. Verse-by-Verse Bible Com-

mentary: Job 19:24. Retrieved 12/18/2018: www.study

light.org/commentary/job/19-24.html.

25. Study Light Website. Verse-by-Verse Bible Com-

mentary: Psalms 2:9. Retrieved 12/18/2018: www.study

https://www.studylight.org/commentary/psalms/2-9.html