1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.
12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.
13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
19 I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
24 And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:
25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
26 And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
1 And there happened H7122 to be there a man H376 of Belial, H1100 whose name H8034 was Sheba, H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri, H1075 a Benjamite: H1145 and he blew H8628 a trumpet, H7782 and said, H559 We have no part H2506 in David, H1732 neither have we inheritance H5159 in the son H1121 of Jesse: H3448 every H376 man H376 to his tents, H168 O Israel. H3478
2 So every man H376 of Israel H3478 went up H5927 from after H310 David, H1732 and followed H310 Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri: H1075 but the men H376 of Judah H3063 clave H1692 unto their king, H4428 from Jordan H3383 even to Jerusalem. H3389
3 And David H1732 came H935 to his house H1004 at Jerusalem; H3389 and the king H4428 took H3947 the ten H6235 women H802 his concubines, H6370 whom he had left H3240 to keep H8104 the house, H1004 and put H5414 them in ward, H4931 and fed H3557 them, but went not in H935 unto them. So they were shut up H6887 unto the day H3117 of their death, H4191 living H2424 in widowhood. H491
4 Then said H559 the king H4428 to Amasa, H6021 Assemble H2199 me the men H376 of Judah H3063 within three H7969 days, H3117 and be thou here present. H5975
5 So Amasa H6021 went H3212 to assemble H2199 the men of Judah: H3063 but he tarried longer H309 H3186 than the set time H4150 which he had appointed H3259 him.
6 And David H1732 said H559 to Abishai, H52 Now shall Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri H1075 do us more harm H3415 than did Absalom: H53 take H3947 thou thy lord's H113 servants, H5650 and pursue H7291 after H310 him, lest he get H4672 him fenced H1219 cities, H5892 and escape H5337 us. H5869
7 And there went out H3318 after H310 him Joab's H3097 men, H582 and the Cherethites, H3774 and the Pelethites, H6432 and all the mighty men: H1368 and they went out H3318 of Jerusalem, H3389 to pursue H7291 after H310 Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri. H1075
8 When they were at the great H1419 stone H68 which is in Gibeon, H1391 Amasa H6021 went H935 before H6440 them. And Joab's H3097 garment H4055 that he had put on H3830 was girded H2296 unto him, and upon it a girdle H2289 with a sword H2719 fastened H6775 upon his loins H4975 in the sheath H8593 thereof; and as he went forth H3318 it fell out. H5307
9 And Joab H3097 said H559 to Amasa, H6021 Art thou in health, H7965 my brother? H251 And Joab H3097 took H270 Amasa H6021 by the beard H2206 with the right H3225 hand H3027 to kiss H5401 him.
10 But Amasa H6021 took no heed H8104 to the sword H2719 that was in Joab's H3097 hand: H3027 so he smote H5221 him therewith in the fifth H2570 rib, and shed out H8210 his bowels H4578 to the ground, H776 and struck him not again; H8138 and he died. H4191 So Joab H3097 and Abishai H52 his brother H251 pursued H7291 after H310 Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri. H1075
11 And one H376 of Joab's H3097 men H5288 stood H5975 by him, and said, H559 He H4310 that favoureth H2654 Joab, H3097 and he that is for David, H1732 let him go after H310 Joab. H3097
12 And Amasa H6021 wallowed H1556 in blood H1818 in the midst H8432 of the highway. H4546 And when the man H376 saw H7200 that all the people H5971 stood still, H5975 he removed H5437 Amasa H6021 out of the highway H4546 into the field, H7704 and cast H7993 a cloth H899 upon him, when he saw H7200 that every one that came H935 by him stood still. H5975
13 When he was removed H3014 out of the highway, H4546 all the people H376 went on H5674 after H310 Joab, H3097 to pursue H7291 after H310 Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri. H1075
14 And he went H5674 through all the tribes H7626 of Israel H3478 unto Abel, H59 and to Bethmaachah, H1038 and all the Berites: H1276 and they were gathered together, H6950 H7035 and went H935 also after H310 him.
15 And they came H935 and besieged H6696 him in Abel H59 of Bethmaachah, H1038 and they cast up H8210 a bank H5550 against the city, H5892 and it stood H5975 in the trench: H2426 and all the people H5971 that were with Joab H3097 battered H7843 the wall, H2346 to throw it down. H5307
16 Then cried H7121 a wise H2450 woman H802 out of the city, H5892 Hear, H8085 hear; H8085 say, H559 I pray you, unto Joab, H3097 Come near H7126 hither, that I may speak H1696 with thee.
17 And when he was come near H7126 unto her, the woman H802 said, H559 Art thou Joab? H3097 And he answered, H559 I am he. Then she said H559 unto him, Hear H8085 the words H1697 of thine handmaid. H519 And he answered, H559 I do hear. H8085
18 Then she spake, H559 saying, H559 They were wont H1696 to speak H1696 in old time, H7223 saying, H559 They shall surely H7592 ask H7592 counsel at Abel: H59 and so they ended H8552 the matter.
19 I am one of them that are peaceable H7999 and faithful H539 in Israel: H3478 thou seekest H1245 to destroy H4191 a city H5892 and a mother H517 in Israel: H3478 why wilt thou swallow up H1104 the inheritance H5159 of the LORD? H3068
20 And Joab H3097 answered H6030 and said, H559 Far be it, H2486 far be it H2486 from me, that I should swallow up H1104 or destroy. H7843
21 The matter H1697 is not so: but a man H376 of mount H2022 Ephraim, H669 Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri H1075 by name, H8034 hath lifted up H5375 his hand H3027 against the king, H4428 even against David: H1732 deliver H5414 him only, and I will depart H3212 from the city. H5892 And the woman H802 said H559 unto Joab, H3097 Behold, his head H7218 shall be thrown H7993 to thee over H1157 the wall. H2346
22 Then the woman H802 went H935 unto all the people H5971 in her wisdom. H2451 And they cut off H3772 the head H7218 of Sheba H7652 the son H1121 of Bichri, H1075 and cast H7993 it out to Joab. H3097 And he blew H8628 a trumpet, H7782 and they retired H6327 from the city, H5892 every man H376 to his tent. H168 And Joab H3097 returned H7725 to Jerusalem H3389 unto the king. H4428
23 Now Joab H3097 was over all the host H6635 of Israel: H3478 and Benaiah H1141 the son H1121 of Jehoiada H3077 was over the Cherethites H3774 H3746 and over the Pelethites: H6432
24 And Adoram H151 was over the tribute: H4522 and Jehoshaphat H3092 the son H1121 of Ahilud H286 was recorder: H2142
25 And Sheva H7864 H7724 was scribe: H5608 and Zadok H6659 and Abiathar H54 were the priests: H3548
26 And Ira H5896 also the Jairite H2972 was a chief ruler H3548 about David. H1732
1 And there happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
2 So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and provided them with sustenance, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 Then said the king to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be thou here present.
5 So Amasa went to call `the men of' Judah together; but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.
7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and thereon was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with thee, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And there stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, let him follow Joab.
12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.
13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And he came near unto her; and the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask `counsel' at Abel: and so they ended `the matter'.
19 I am of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?
20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;
24 and Adoram was over the men subject to taskwork; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister unto David.
1 And there hath been called there a man of worthlessness, and his name `is' Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and saith, `We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel.'
2 And every man of Israel goeth up from after David, after Sheba son of Bichri, and the men of Judah have cleaved to their king, from the Jordan even unto Jerusalem.
3 And David cometh in unto his house at Jerusalem, and the king taketh the ten women-concubines -- whom he had left to keep the house, and putteth them in a house of ward, and sustaineth them, and unto them he hath not gone in, and they are shut up unto the day of their death, in widowhood living.
4 And the king saith unto Amasa, `Call for me the men of Judah `in' three days, and thou, stand here,'
5 and Amasa goeth to call Judah, and tarrieth beyond the appointed time that he had appointed him;
6 and David saith unto Abishai, `Now doth Sheba son of Bichri do evil to us more than Absalom; thou, take the servants of thy lord, and pursue after him, lest he have found for himself fenced cities, and delivered himself `from' our eye.'
7 And the men of Joab go out after him, and the Cherethite, and the Pelethite, and all the mighty men, and they go out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba son of Bichri;
8 they `are' near the great stone that `is' in Gibeon, and Amasa hath gone before them, and Joab `is' girded; his long robe he hath put on him, and upon it a girdle -- a sword `is' fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and he hath gone out, and it falleth.
9 And Joab saith to Amasa, `Art thou `in' peace, my brother?' and the right hand of Joab layeth hold on the beard of Amasa to give a kiss to him;
10 and Amasa hath not been watchful of the sword that `is' in the hand of Joab, and he smiteth him with it unto the fifth `rib', and sheddeth out his bowels to the earth, and he hath not repeated `it' to him, and he dieth; and Joab and Abishai his brother have pursued after Sheba son of Bichri.
11 And a man hath stood by him, of the young men of Joab, and saith, `He who hath delight in Joab, and he who `is' for David -- after Joab!'
12 And Amasa is rolling himself in blood, in the midst of the highway, and the man seeth that all the people have stood still, and he bringeth round Amasa out of the highway to the field, and casteth over him a garment, when he hath seen that every one who hath come by him -- hath stood still.
13 When he hath been removed out of the highway, every man hath passed on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba son of Bichri.
14 And he passeth over through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-Maachah, and to all the Berites, and they are assembled, and go in also after him,
15 and they go in and lay siege against him, in Abel of Beth-Maachah, and cast up a mount against the city, and it standeth in a trench, and all the people who are `are' with Joab are destroying, to cause the wall to fall.
16 And a wise woman calleth out of the city, `Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, and I speak unto thee.'
17 And he cometh near unto her, and the woman saith, `Art thou Joab?' and he saith, `I `am'.' And she saith to him, `Hear the words of thy handmaid;' and he saith, `I am hearing.'
18 and she speaketh, saying, `They spake often in former times, saying, Let them diligently ask at Abel, and so they finished.
19 I `am' of the peaceable -- faithful ones of Israel; thou art seeking to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel; why dost thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?
20 And Joab answereth and saith, `Far be it -- far be it from me; I do not swallow up nor destroy.
21 The matter `is' not so; for a man of the hill-country of Ephraim -- Sheba son of Bichri his name -- hath lifted up his hand against the king, against David; give ye up him by himself, and I go away from the city.' And the woman saith unto Joab, `Lo, his head is cast unto thee over the wall.'
22 And the woman cometh unto all the people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri, and cast `it' unto Joab, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and they are scattered from the city, each to his tents, and Joab hath turned back to Jerusalem unto the king.
23 And Joab `is' over all the host of Israel, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada `is' over the Cherethite, and over the Pelethite,
24 and Adoram `is' over the tribute, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud `is' the remembrancer,
25 and Sheva `is' scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar `are' priests,
26 and also, Ira the Jairite hath been minister to David.
1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel.
2 Then all the men of Israel went up from after David, following Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah clave to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women, concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in a house of confinement and maintained them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 And the king said to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and do thou attend here.
5 So Amasa went to call together [the men of] Judah; but he delayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities and escape our sight.
7 And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. And Joab was girded with his coat, his dress, and upon it was the girdle of the sword which was fastened on his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou well, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
10 And Amasa had taken no notice of the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him with it in the belly and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab's young men stood by [Amasa] and said, He that favours Joab, and he that is for David, let him follow Joab.
12 Now Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by stood still.
13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri,
14 who went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-Maacah, and all the Berim; and they gathered together, and went also after him.
15 And they came and besieged him in Abel-Beth-Maacah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it was raised in the trench; and all the people that were with Joab sapped the wall, to throw it down.
16 And a wise woman cried out of the city, Hear, hear: say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.
17 And he came near to her; and the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he said, I [am he]. And she said to him, Listen to the words of thy handmaid. And he said, I am listening.
18 And she spoke saying, They were wont to speak in old time saying, Just inquire in Abel; and so they ended.
19 I am peaceable [and] faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?
20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so; but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David: give up him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
23 And Joab was over all the host of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;
24 and Adoram was over the levy; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 and Ira also, the Jairite, was David's chief ruler.
1 There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel.
2 So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.
3 David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in custody, and provided them with sustenance, but didn't go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.
4 Then said the king to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be here present.
5 So Amasa went to call [the men of] Judah together; but he stayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6 David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take your lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.
7 There went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and thereon was a sash with a sword fastened on his loins in the sheath of it; and as he went forth it fell out.
9 Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.
10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he struck him therewith in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and didn't strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
11 There stood by him one of Joab's young men, and said, He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab.
12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.
13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
14 He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
15 They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, 'Come near here, that I may speak with you.'"
17 He came near to her; and the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of your handmaid. He answered, I do hear.
18 Then she spoke, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask [counsel] at Abel: and so they ended [the matter].
19 I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel: you seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why will you swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?
20 Joab answered, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21 The matter is not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. The woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall.
22 Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;
24 and Adoram was over the men subject to forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;
25 and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister to David.
1 Now by chance there was present a good-for-nothing person named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he, sounding the horn, said, We have no part in David, or any interest in the son of Jesse: let every man go to his tent, O Israel.
2 So all the men of Israel, turning away from David, went after Sheba, the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah were true to their king, going with him from Jordan as far as Jerusalem.
3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem: and the king took the ten women to whom he had given the care of the house, and had them shut up, and gave them the necessaries of life, but did not go near them. So they were shut up till the day of their death, living as widows.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, Get all the men of Judah together, and in three days be here yourself.
5 So Amasa went to get all the men of Judah together, but he took longer than the time David had given him.
6 And David said to Abishai, Sheba, the son of Bichri, will do us more damage than Absalom did; so take some of your lord's servants and go after him, before he makes himself safe in the walled towns, and gets away before our eyes.
7 So there went after Abishai, Joab and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the fighting-men; they went out of Jerusalem to overtake Sheba, the son of Bichri.
8 When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came face to face with them. Now Joab had on his war-dress, and round him a band from which his sword was hanging in its cover; and while he was walking, it came out, falling to the earth.
9 And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well, my brother? And with his right hand he took him by the hair of his chin to give him a kiss.
10 But Amasa did not see danger from the sword which was now in Joab's left hand, and Joab put it through his stomach so that his inside came out on to the earth, and he did not give him another blow. So Joab and his brother Abishai went on after Sheba, the son of Bichri.
11 And one of Joab's young men, taking his place at Amasa's side, said, Whoever is for Joab and for David, let him go after Joab!
12 And Amasa was stretched out in a pool of blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people were stopping, he took Amasa out of the highway and put him in a field, with a cloth over him, when he saw that everyone who went by came to a stop.
13 When he had been taken off the road, all the people went on after Joab in search of Sheba, the son of Bichri.
14 And Sheba went through all the tribes of Israel, to Abel of Beth-maacah; and all the Bichrites came together and went in after him.
15 And Joab and his men got him shut up in Abel of Beth-maacah, and put up an earthwork against the town: and all Joab's men did their best to get the wall broken down.
16 Then a wise woman got up on the wall, and crying out from the town, said, Give ear, give ear; say now to Joab, Come near, so that I may have talk with you.
17 And he came near, and the woman said, Are you Joab? And he said in answer, I am. Then she said, Give ear to your servant's words. And he said, I am giving ear.
18 Then she said, In the old days, there was a saying, Let them put the question in Abel and in Dan, saying, Has what was ordered by men of good faith in Israel ever come to an end?
19 Your purpose is the destruction of a mother-town in Israel: why would you put an end to the heritage of the Lord?
20 And Joab, answering her, said, Far, far be it from me to be a cause of death or destruction;
21 Not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba, son of Bichri, by name, has taken up arms against the king, against David: give up this man only, and I will go away from the town. And the woman said to Joab, His head will be dropped over the wall to you.
22 Then the woman in her wisdom had talk with all the town. And they had Sheba's head cut off and sent out to Joab. And he had the horn sounded, and sent them all away from the town, every man to his tent. And Joab went back to Jerusalem to the king.
23 Now Joab was over all the army; and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was at the head of the Cherethites and the Pelethites;
24 And Adoram was overseer of the forced work; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder;
25 And Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
26 And in addition, Ira the Jairite was a priest to David.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 2 Samuel 20
Commentary on 2 Samuel 20 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Sheba's Rebellion. - 2 Samuel 20:1. There happened to be a worthless man there, named Sheba , a Benjaminite. He blew the trumpet, and said, “We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel!” “To his tents,” i.e., to his home, as in 2 Samuel 19:9, etc.
2 Samuel 20:2
All the men of Israel responded to this call, and went up (to the mountains) away from David and after Sheba; but the men of Judah adhered to their king from the Jordan to Jerusalem. The construction of דּבק with ועד ... מן is a pregnant one: they adhered to and followed him. The expression “from Jordan” does not prove that Sheba's rebellion broke out at the Jordan itself, and before David's arrival in Gilgal, but may be accounted for from the fact that the men of Judah had already fetched the king back across the Jordan.
2 Samuel 20:3
As soon as David returned to his palace at Jerusalem, he brought the ten concubines whom he had left behind, and with whom Absalom had lain, into a place of safety, and took care of them, without going in unto them any more. The masculine suffixes attached to יתּגם , יכלכּלם , and אליהם are used, as they frequently are, as being the more general and indefinite, instead of the feminine, which is the more definite form. Thus were they shut up in lifelong widowhood until the day of their death. אלמנוּת is an adverbial accusative, and חיּוּת signifies “condition in life;” literally, in widowhood of life.
2 Samuel 20:4
David then ordered Amasa to call the men of Judah to pursue Sheba the rebel, and attack him within three days, and then to present himself to him again. This commission was intended as the commencement of the fulfilment of the promise which David had given to Amasa (2 Samuel 19:14). It was no doubt his intention to give him the command over the army that marched against Sheba, and after the defeat of the rebel to make him commander-in-chief. But this first step towards the fulfilment of the promise was a very imprudent act, like the promise itself, since Joab, who had been commander of the army for so many years, was grievously offended by it; and moreover, being a well-tried general, he had incomparably more distinction in the tribe of Judah than Amasa, who had taken part in Absalom's rebellion and even led the rebel army, could possibly have.
2 Samuel 20:5-6
But when Amasa stayed out beyond the time fixed for the execution of the royal commission (the Chethib וייחר is the Piel וייחר , whilst the Keri is either the Hiphil ויּוחר , or the imperfect Kal of יחר = אחר , cf. תּחז , 2 Samuel 20:9, and is quite unnecessary), probably because the men of Judah distrusted him, and were not very ready to respond to his summons, David said to Abishai, “Now will Sheba the son of Bichri be more injurious (more dangerous) to us than Absalom. Take thou the servants (soldiers) of thy lord and pursue after him, lest he reach fortified cities, and tear out our eye ,” i.e., do us a serious injury. This is the correct explanation given by Böttcher, who refers to Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechariah 2:12, where the apple of the eye is the figure used to signify the most valuable possession; for the general explanation, “and withdraw from our eye,” cannot be grammatically sustained.
2 Samuel 20:7
Thus there went after him (Abishai) Joab's men (the corps commanded by Joab), and the Crethi and Plethi (see at 2 Samuel 8:18), out of Jerusalem, to pursue Sheba.
2 Samuel 20:8
“When they were by the great stone at Gibeon, and Amasa came to meet them (there), Joab was girded with his armour-coat as his clothing, and the girdle of the sword was bound over it upon his loins in its sheath, which came out, and it fell (i.e., the sheath came out of the sword-belt in which it was fastened, and the sword fell to the ground), Joab said to Amasa,” etc. The eighth verse contains only circumstantial clauses, the latter of which (from ויואב onwards) are subordinate to the earlier ones, so that ויּאמר (2 Samuel 20:9) is attached to the first clause, which describes the meeting between the advancing army and Amasa.
There is something striking, however, in the fact that Joab appears among them, and indeed, as we see from what follows, as the commander of the forces; for according to 2 Samuel 20:6, David had commissioned Abishai, Joab's brother, to pursue Sheba, and even in 2 Samuel 20:7 Joab's men only are mentioned. This difficulty can hardly be solved in any other manner than by the simple assumption that David had told Abishai to go out with Joab, and that this circumstance is passed over in the brief account in 2 Samuel 20:6, in which the principal facts alone are given, and consequently the name of Joab does not occur there. Clericus adopts the following explanation. “Mention,” he says, “has hitherto been made simply of the command given to Abishai, but this included an order to Joab to go as well; and there is nothing to preclude the supposition that Joab's name was mentioned by the king, although this is not distinctly stated in the brief account before us.”
(Note: This difficulty cannot be removed by emendations of the text, inasmuch as all the early translators, with the exception of the Syriac, had our Hebrew text before them. Thenius does indeed propose to alter Abishai into Joab in 2 Samuel 20:6, after the example of Josephus and the Syriac; but, as Böttcher observes, if Joab had originally formed part of the text, it could not have been altered into Abishai either accidentally or intentionally, and the Syriac translators and Josephus have inserted Joab merely from conjecture, because they inferred from what follows that Joab's name ought to be found here. But whilst this is perfectly true, there is no ground for Böttcher's own conjecture, that in the original text 2 Samuel 20:6 read as follows: “Then David said to Joab, Behold, the three days are gone: shall we wait for Amasa?” and through the copyist's carelessness a whole line was left out. For this conjecture has no tenable support in the senseless reading of the Cod. Vat ., πρὸς Ἀμεσσαΐ́ for Ἀβισαΐ́ .)
2 Samuel 20:9-10
Joab asked Amasa how he was, and laid hold of his bear with his right hand to kiss him. And as Amasa took no heed of the sword in Joab's hand, he smote him with it in the paunch (abdomen), and shed out his bowels upon the ground, “ and repeated not (the stroke) to him ” (cf. 1 Samuel 26:8). Laying hold of the beard to kiss is still customary among Arabs and Turks as a sign of friendly welcome (vid., Arvieux, Merkwürdige Nachrichten , iv. p. 182, and Harmar, Beobachtungen , ii. p. 61). The reason for this assassination was Joab's jealousy of Amasa. Joab and Abishai then followed Sheba.
2 Samuel 20:11
One of Joab's attendants remained standing by him (Amasa), no doubt at Joab's command, and said to the people who came thither, i.e., to the men of Judah who were collected together by Amasa (vid., 2 Samuel 20:4), “He that favoureth Joab, and he that (is) for David, let him (go) after Joab,” i.e., follow him to battle against Sheba.
2 Samuel 20:12-13
Amasa lay wallowing in blood in the midst of the road; and when the man (the attendant) saw that all the people stood still (by the corpse), he turned (pushed) Amasa from the road to the field, and threw a cloth over him, whereupon they all passed by and went after Joab.
2 Samuel 20:14
But Joab “went through all the tribes of Israel to Abela, and Beth-maacah, and all Berim.” Abela (2 Samuel 20:15), or Abel (2 Samuel 20:18), has been preserved in the large Christian village of Abil , a place with ruins, and called Abil-el-Kamh on account of its excellent wheat ( Kamh ), which lies to the north-west of Lake Huleh, upon a Tell on the eastern side of the river Derdâra ; not in Ibl-el-Hawa , a place to the north of this, upon the ridge between Merj Ayun and Wady et Teim (vid., Ritter, Erdk . xv. pp. 240, 241; Robinson , Bibl . Researches , pp. 372-3; and v. de Velde, Mem . p. 280). Beth-maacah was quite close to Abela; so that the names of the two places are connected together in 2 Samuel 20:15, and afterwards, as Abel-beth-maacah (vid., 1 Kings 15:20, and 2 Kings 15:29), also called Abel-maim in 2 Chronicles 16:4. Berim is the name of a district which is unknown to us; and even the early translators did not know how to render it. There is nothing, however, either in the πάντες ἐν χαῤῥί is the lxx or the omnes viri electi of the Vulgate, to warrant an alteration of the text. The latter, in fact, rests upon a mere conjecture, which is altogether unsuitable; for the subject to ויּקּהלוּ cannot be כּל־הבּרים on account of the vav consec ., but must be obtained from ישׂראל בּכל־שׁבטי . The Chethib ויקלהו is evidently a slip of the pen for ויּקּהלוּ .
2 Samuel 20:15
They besieged him (Sheba) in Abel-beth-maacah, and piled up a rampart against the city , so that it rose up by the town-moat ( חל , the moat with the low wall belonging to it); and all the people with Joab destroyed to throw down the wall .
2 Samuel 20:16-18
Then a wise woman of the city desired to speak to Joab, and said (from the wall) to him (2 Samuel 20:18), “They were formerly accustomed to say, ask Abel; and so they brought (a thing) to pass.” These words show that Abel had formerly been celebrated for the wisdom of its inhabitants.
2 Samuel 20:19
“I am of the peaceable, faithful in Israel: thou seekest to slay a city and mother in Israel; wherefore wilt thou destroy the inheritance of Jehovah?” The construing of אנכי with a predicate in the plural may be explained on the simple ground that the woman spoke in the name of the city as well as in its favour, and therefore had the citizens in her mind at the time, as is very evident from the figurative expression אם (mother) for mother-city or capital.
(Note: The correctness of the text is not to be called in question, as Thenius and Böttcher suppose, for the simple reason that all the older translators have followed the Hebrew text, including even the lxx with their ἐγώ εἰμι εἰρηνικὰ τῶν στηριγμάτων ἐν Ἰσραήλ ; whereas the words ἅ ἔθεντο οἱ πιστοὶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ , which some of the MSS contain at the close of 2 Samuel 20:18 after ει ̓ ἐξέλιπον , and upon which Thenius and Böttcher have founded their conjectures, are evidently a gloss or paraphrase of התמּוּ וכן , and of so little value on critical grounds, that Tischendorf did not even think the reading worth mentioning in his edition of the Septuagint.)
The woman gave Joab to understand, in the first place, that he ought to have asked the inhabitants of Abela whether they intended to fight for Sheba before commencing the siege and destruction of the town, according to the law laid down in Deuteronomy 20:10. with reference to the siege of foreign towns; and secondly, that he ought to have taken into consideration the peaceableness and fidelity of the citizens of Abela, and not to destroy the peace-loving citizens and members of the nation of God.
2 Samuel 20:20
The woman's words made an impression upon Joab. He felt the truthfulness of her reproaches, and replied, “Far be it, far be it from me, to swallow up or destroy.” אם , as in the case of oaths: “ truly not .”
2 Samuel 20:21
“It is not so (sc., as thou sayest), but a man of the mountains of Ephraim (which extended into the tribe of Benjamin: see at 1 Samuel 1:1), Sheba the son of Bichri, hath lifted up his hand against the king David. Only give him up, and I will draw away from the city.” The woman promised him this: “Behold, his head shall be thrown out to thee over the wall.”
2 Samuel 20:22
She then came to all the people (i.e., the citizens of the town) “ with her wisdom ,” i.e., with the wise counsel which she had given to Joab, and which he had accepted; whereupon the citizens cut off Sheba's head, and threw it out to Joab. Then Joab had a trumpet blown for a retreat, and the men disbanded, whilst he himself returned to Jerusalem to the king.
David's Ministers of State. - The second section of the history of David's reign closes, like the first (2 Samuel 8:16.), with a list of the leading ministers of state. The author evidently found the two lists in his sources, and included them both in his work, for the simple reason that they belonged to different periods, as the difference in the names of some of the officers clearly shows, and that they supplemented on another. The list before us belongs to a later period of David's reign than the one in 2 Samuel 8:16-18. In addition to the office-bearers mentioned in 2 Samuel 8, we find here Adoram over the tribute, and Ira the Kairite a confidential counsellor ( cohen : see at 2 Samuel 8:18), in the place of the sons of David noticed in 2 Samuel 8:18. The others are the same in both lists. The Chethib הכרי is to be read הכּרי (cf. 2 Kings 11:4, 2 Kings 11:19), from כוּר , perfodit , and is synonymous with הכּרתי (see at 2 Samuel 8:18). Adoram is the same person as Adoniram, who is mentioned in 1 Kings 4:6 and 1 Kings 5:14 as overseer over the tributary service in the time of Solomon; as we may see from the fact, that the latter is also called Adoram in 1 Kings 12:18, and Hadoram in 2 Chronicles 10:18. Hadoram is apparently only a contracted form of the name, and not merely a copyist's mistake for Adoniram. But when we find that, according to the passage cited, the same man filled this office under three kings, we must bear in mind that he did not enter upon it till the close of David's reign, as he is not mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:16., and that his name only occurs in connection with Rehoboam's ascent of the throne; so that there is no ground for assuming that he filled the office for any length of time under that monarch. המּס does not mean vectigal , i.e., tribute or tributary service, but tributary labourers. The derivation of the word is uncertain, and has been disputed. The appointment of a special prefect over the tributary labourers can hardly have taken place before the closing years of David's reign, when the king organized the internal administration of the kingdom more firmly than before. On the tributary labourers, see at 1 Kings 5:13. Ira the Jairite is never mentioned again. There is no ground for altering Jairi (the Jairite) into Jithri (the Jithrite), as Thenius proposes, since the rendering given in the Syriac (“from Jathir”) is merely an inference from 2 Samuel 23:38; and the assumption upon which this conclusion is founded, viz., that Ira , the hero mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:38, is the same person as Ira the royal cohen , is altogether unfounded.