Absalom dwelt ... in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face (II Sam. 14:28)
King David had banished his son Absalom as punishment for the murder of another son, named Amnon. Joab, a trusted aide of the king, had arranged for Absalom to return from his exile in Geshur, a small kingdom north of Israel where Absalom's maternal grandparents lived. But David had not yet received his son in his palace.
After forty years (II Sam. 15:7)
