Absalom

Absalom or Avshalom (Hebrew: אַבְשָלוֹם, Modern Avshalom, Tiberian ʼAḇšālôm ; "Father of peace") according to the Hebrew Bible was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur.

2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelled against his father and was killed during the Battle of Ephraim Wood.

Background

Absalom, David's third son, by Maacah, was born at Hebron (2 Samuel 3:2), and moved at an early age, with the transfer of the capital, to Jerusalem, where he spent most of his life. He was a great favorite of his father and of the people. His charming manners, personal beauty, and insinuating ways, together with his love of pomp and royal pretensions, captivated the hearts of the people from the beginning. He lived in great style, drove in a magnificent chariot and had fifty men run before him. This produced the desired effect upon the hearts of the young aristocrats of the royal city (2 Samuel 15:1).

Absalom Willis Robertson

Absalom Willis Robertson (May 27, 1887 – November 1, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–1946) and the U.S. Senate (1946–1966). He was a member of the conservative coalition during his congressional career. He was the father of televangelist Pat Robertson.

Life and career

Robertson was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the son of Josephine Ragland (née Willis) and Franklin Pierce Robertson. He graduated from the University of Richmond in 1907. Robertson was elected to the Virginia State Senate as a Democrat in 1915 and he served from 1916 to 1922. Robertson served in the United States Army during World War I. Robertson served as Commonwealth Attorney for Rockbridge County, Virginia from 1922 to 1928.

In 1932, Robertson was elected from Virginia's 7th congressional district to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was reelected six times. In 1946, he won a special election for the right to complete the final two years of Senator Carter Glass' term and took office on the day after the election. He won the seat in his own right in 1948, and was reelected two more times without serious opposition.