שמואל ב, פרק י״ג, פסוק ל״ד

The chaos and terror following Amnon's murder provide the perfect cover for a swift escape. While the survivors scramble to return to Jerusalem, an anxious father waits for news. Fearing a severe punishment for his actions, Absalom takes a different route than his brothers and goes on the run [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He manages to slip away because King David is entirely consumed by the horrifying initial rumor that all of his sons have been slaughtered. Paralyzed by the shocking news and anxiously waiting to learn their true fate, the king is too distracted to send a search party to chase after the fleeing prince [מלבי״ם].

Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, a watchman stands at his post on a high vantage point, such as the top of the city wall, scanning the distance to report any incoming activity [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He spots a large crowd approaching. This group is made up of the surviving royal sons and the rest of the people returning to the city after fleeing from Absalom [רד״ק, אברבנאל]. However, because they are still far away, the watchman cannot yet identify them with certainty [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

There are different views regarding the exact path the returning survivors take. One perspective suggests that the watchman is keeping his eyes fixed on the main road the princes originally traveled. Instead of returning that way, the survivors take a detour and end up approaching the city from behind the watchman [מצודת דוד]. Another approach explains that the crowd arrives from the west, or along a path that winds behind the mountain [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].