2 Samuel20

Following Absalom's defeat, a Benjamite named Sheba incites a new rebellion, drawing away most of Israel from David. King David dispatches Amasa to gather Judah's forces, but Amasa's delay leads David to send Joab and Abishai in pursuit of Sheba. Joab, encountering Amasa, treacherously murders him and then continues the chase.

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Sheba's Rebellion Begins

Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”

So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he no longer slept with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

Joab Executes Amasa and Takes Command

Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”

So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him.

And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”

So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.

And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.

“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.

One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”

But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it.

As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

The Siege of Abel and the Wise Woman

Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah and through the entire region of the Berites, who gathered together and followed him.

And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,

a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”

When he had come near to her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said. “I am listening,” he answered.

Then the woman said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Seek counsel at Abel,’ and that is how disputes were settled.

I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”

“Far be it!” Joab declared. “Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy!

That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”

Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

David's Officials Reinstated

Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;

Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

and Ira the Jairite was David’s priest.

Study Notes for 2 Samuel 20

Verse 1

Sheba, a Benjamite, uses the recent tribal strife and the dismissal of the northern tribes (Israel) to launch a new revolt. His cry, 'We have no part in David,' echoes the anti-monarchic sentiment and sectional rivalry that plagued David’s reign.

Verse 2

The speed with which 'every man of Israel' abandoned David demonstrates the fragility of the unified kingdom, which had been only nominally restored after Absalom’s defeat. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal.

Verse 3

David’s action regarding the ten concubines (who had been defiled by Absalom in 16:21-22) was necessary to prevent any future political claim being made through them. By sequestering them, David ensured they lived in perpetual widowhood, neutralizing them as political pawns.

Verse 4

David appoints Amasa, his nephew and former commander of Absalom’s army (19:13), to lead the pursuit. This move was intended both to test Amasa’s loyalty and to bypass the problematic Joab, whom David had promised to replace.

Verse 6

Amasa’s delay (v. 5) prompts David to act decisively, fearing that Sheba's rebellion could quickly become more damaging than Absalom's due to its underlying sectionalism. David instructs Abishai, Joab's brother, to lead the pursuit.

Verse 8

The description of the sword mechanism suggests premeditation. Joab likely arranged for the sword to 'fall out' so that when he retrieved it, he could approach Amasa unarmed, making the fatal attack appear sudden or accidental in the chaos of meeting.

Verse 10

Joab murders Amasa under the guise of an affectionate greeting, eliminating the man David had appointed as his successor. This ruthless action secured Joab’s position as commander of the army, demonstrating that David lacked the power to effectively depose him.

Verse 19

The wise woman appeals to Joab’s sense of covenant justice. Calling the city 'a mother in Israel' signifies that it is a prominent, loyal administrative center, and destroying it would be an attack on the foundational order of the kingdom.

Verse 22

The resolution highlights the power of wise counsel and diplomacy over indiscriminate military destruction. The city’s inhabitants prioritize their collective safety by executing the rebel leader and delivering his head, immediately ending the siege.

Verse 23

This appendix, listing David's chief administrators, serves as a literary device to demonstrate that after the threats of Absalom and Sheba, the monarchy is securely re-established. Joab retains his position despite his recent acts of murder and insubordination.

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2 Samuel20

Sheba's Rebellion Begins

Joab Executes Amasa and Takes Command

The Siege of Abel and the Wise Woman

David's Officials Reinstated

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