Crossword Genius

Son of David rating peace for Israel — that's not hard (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

absalom

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'son of david' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'rating peace for israel that's not hard' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'rating' could be 'ab' (both can mean a sailor) and 'ab' is found within the answer.
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for absalom that I've seen before include "David's boy" , "Son of King David (Bible)" , "King David's rebellious son" , "David's third son (OT)" , "King's rebellious son" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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