Zadok the priest and all the Levites (who were in Jerusalem) left the city with the fugitive king, bearing the ark of the covenant: "And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar came up, till all the people had come completely over from the city." ויּעל, ἀνέβη, ascendit (lxx, Vulg.), may probably be accounted for from the fact that Abiathar did not come to join the fugitives till the procession halted at the Mount of Olives; so that עלה, like ἀναβαίνειν, merely refers to his actually going up, and ויּעל affirms that Abiathar joined them until all the people from the city had arrived. The rendering proposed by Michaelis and Bttcher ("he offered sacrifices") is precluded by the fact that עלה never means to sacrifice when written without עולה, or unless the context points distinctly to sacrifices, as in 2 Samuel 24:22; 1 Samuel 2:28. The ark of the covenant was put down, because those who went out with the king made a halt, to give the people who were still coming time to join the procession.

2 Samuel 15:30 Parallel Commentaries

the ascent

Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east...

Luke 19:29,37 And it came to pass, when he was come near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives...

Luke 21:37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out...

Luke 22:39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

Acts 1:12 Then returned they to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

mount Olivet Mount Olivet, so called its abounding with olive trees, is situated east of Jerusalem, being separated from it only by the valley of Jehoshaphat and the brook Kidron. Josephus says it is five stadia, i.e,

625 geometrical paces from Jerusalem; and Luke (Ac

2 Samuel 1:12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD...

) says it is a Sabbath day's journey, or about eight stadia distant, i.e, to the summit. It forms part of a ridge of limestone hills, extending from north to south for about a mile; and it is described as having three, or, according to others, four summits; the central and highest of which overlooks the whole of the city, over whose street and walls the eye roves as if in the survey of a model.

and wept as he went up [heb] going up and weeping

Psalm 42:3-11 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your God...

Psalm 43:1,2,5 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man...

Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

his head covered This practice was only practised by persons in great distress, or when convicted of great {crimes.} Thus Darius, when informed by Tyriotes, the eunuch, that his queen was dead, and that she had suffered no violence from Alexander, {covered his head}, and wept a long time; then throwing off the garment that covered him, he thanked the gods for Alexander's moderation and justice.

2 Samuel 19:4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Esther 6:12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house mourning, and having his head covered.

Jeremiah 14:3,4 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water...

barefoot

Isaiah 20:2,4 At the same time spoke the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off your loins...

Ezekiel 24:17,23 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of your head on you, and put on your shoes on your feet...

weeping

Psalm 126:5,6 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy...

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

1 Corinthians 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.