Absalom

Absalom was David's third son by a different mother, described as the most handsome man in all Israel from head to foot — his hair was so heavy that when he cut it once a year it weighed two hundred shekels. After his half-brother Amnon raped his full sister Tamar and David did nothing, Absalom waited two years and then had Amnon killed at a sheep-shearing feast. He fled to Geshur for three years before Joab engineered his return to Jerusalem.

Absalom spent the next four years methodically undermining David, rising early to intercept anyone coming to the king with a legal case, greeting them warmly, and lamenting that there was no one to give them justice — "if only I were judge." He stole the hearts of the men of Israel. When he had positioned himself sufficiently, he declared himself king in Hebron and the conspiracy swelled. David fled Jerusalem with his household and loyal officials. The armies finally met in the forest of Ephraim; twenty thousand fell. Absalom's mule passed under the branches of a great oak and his head caught fast; he was left hanging. Joab drove three javelins through his chest. When David heard, he was overcome: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you." His raw grief is one of scripture's most human moments.