From the Hebrew name אַבְשָׁלוֹם (‘Avshalom) meaning “my father is peace”, derived from אָב (‘av) meaning “father” and שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning “peace”. In the Old Testament he is a son of King David. He was pretender to the throne of the ancient kingdom of Israel, and mentioned in the Holy Scriptures in: II Book of Samuel, 3, 3 ; 13, 19 ; 20, 6 ; I Book of Kings, 1, 6 ; 2, 7-28 ; 15, 2-10 ; I Book of Chronicles, 3, 2 ; II Book of Chronicles, 11, 20 & Psalms, 3,1.
He avenged his sister Tamar by arranging the murder of her rapist, their half-brother Amnon. He later led a revolt against his father. But nevertheless he remained King David’s favorite son, and was considered the most handsome man in all of Israel, known for his extraordinary hair, which was cut and weighed once a year. Achitophel encouraged him to rebel against David and gave him a plan for the rebellion. When Achitophel saw that his advice was not being followed, he put his house in order and hanged himself. Joab stopped the insurrection, and as Absalom fled on his mule, he became entangled in the branches of an oak tree. So Joab’s men found him and killed him. David made a great mourning and wept for him in lamentation (II Kings 14-18) showing more concern for him than for his kingdom which had just escaped the siege.