And Absalom met the servants of David,.... When his army was routed, he was in such a fright that he knew not which way to flee, and instead of flying from David's men, he fled in the way of them; but none of them attempted to slay him, nor even to stop him, but let him pass by them, knowing David's charge concerning him:
and Absalom rode upon a mule; as was common for great personages to do in those days, 2 Samuel 13:29;
and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak; and running full speed, Absalom could not guide him, nor stop, nor divert him from going under it:
and his head caught hold of the oak; either the hair of his head was twisted and entangled in the thick boughs of the oak; or rather his head was jammed into a forked branch of the oak:
and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; hung in the air between both, as unworthy to live in either:
and the mule that [was] under him went away; and left him hanging in the oak.