The mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, &c.— Several commentators suppose, that Absalom was suspended by the long hair of his head; while others, imagining that he had a helmet on, think that his neck was so wedged in between the boughs, that he was not able to disengage himself. It is not easy to believe that he could have lived long in such a posture; and Joab, we are told in the 14th verse, found him yet alive, which would lead one rather to think that he was suspended by his hair.
Related Commentaries of 2 Samuel 18:9
2 Samuel 18:9
9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.