The Bible gives us an account of two different men who had bad hair days, so to speak. One of course is the well known account of Samson, whose long locks of hair represented the Nazerite vow he was under (Judges 16). The other man whose hair got him trouble, actually cost him his life, is the lesser known Absalom.
Absalom is the third son of King David. The Bible describes him as being beautiful-in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. (2 Sam. 14:25)
Absalom was not only beautiful, he was also a deceitful, demanding, ambitious smooth talker who desired to be king of Israel. Since Absalom was the third son, things weren’t looking to promising for him to succeed his father David as king.
Absalom commanded his servants to kill his eldest half brother, Amnon. Amnon was next in line for the throne of Israel, he had also raped his half sister Tamar (Absalom’s sister). David had done nothing to avenge his daughter Tamar’s rape, so Absalom took it upon himself to act as his sister’s avenger, with an eye on the throne.
Daniel, a.k.a Chileah/Chilead, was the second son of David, the next in line for the throne after the death of Amnon, but there is no further mention of him after the list of David’s descendants in 1st Chronicles 3:1.
After Absalom had Amnon killed, he fled to his grandfather, Talmai, king of Geshur. Absalom remained in Geshur 3 years, hiding from the probable punishment of premeditated murder if he returned to Jerusalem. Joab, David’s nephew, plotted a scheme to bring Absalom back home to Jerusalem. Two years after returning home and not being summoned to the palace to see his father David, Absalom grew impatient. He sent twice for Joab to come to him so he could find out why he had not been able to see his father yet, when Joab did not come after the second message, Absalom sent his servants to set Joab’s ripe barley field on fire. That got Joab’s attention, and Absalom got his appointment to see king David.
Immediately after the father/son reunion, Absalom launches into a revolt against David to take over the throne. Absalom had always had his eye on the throne, his plan for usurping David’s authority had now come into fruition.
His good looks and smooth talking now come into play. 2nd Sam.15:6 says so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. A few years later, Absalom had himself declared king and his father David running for his life. Absalom also went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel (2nd Sam. 16:22) sending a clear message that he was king and he would do whatever he wanted to do. He also reared up for himself a pillar (2nd Sam. 18:18) in his own image and called it after his own name.
It appears that Absalom had everything that he wanted-power, wealth and good looks, but his beautiful hair will be his downfall.
Absalom had a hair cut only once a year, and even weighed the hair that was cut (2nd Sam. 14:26). The custom of royalty at this point in history was to use fragrant oils, gold dust and jewels in the hair, and pile the hair high on the head (even for males) to give the appearance of a crown by the way the hair was worn.
That hairdo got caught in the limb of an oak tree while Absalom was fleeing for his life on the back of a mule. (2nd Sam. 18:9). It was told to Joab who then killed Absalom and the throne returned to king David.
Absalom had a bad hair day. maybe the worst one in history.
