2 Samuel 20
Introduction
Chapter 20 is the first crisis after David's restoration, and it comes before he is even settled again in Jerusalem. Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, exploits the unresolved quarrel between Israel and Judah at the Jordan with a slogan that will return at the permanent division of the kingdom: "We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse's son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!" These are the words that will later accompany the rupture under Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:16). Sheba recognizes the tribal resentment David's return has not healed, and for a moment the revolt threatens to undo that return.
The chapter is framed by two signs of the human cost of these struggles: the ten concubines, confined to a permanent widowhood of mourning, the consequence of Ahithophel's counsel and Absalom's violation in chapter 16; and Joab's violent reassertion of command, which removes the man David had appointed in his place. Both scenes show that restoration is never whole. The past leaves its mark. Yet the chapter's moral center is an unnamed wise woman of Abel-beth-maacah who, under siege, negotiates directly with Joab and saves her city. In a narrative crowded with generals, rebels, and kings, she is the one who brings the bloodshed to an end.
Sheba's Rebellion and the Concubines' Fate (vv. 1–3)
1 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!" 2 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. 3 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of 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.
1 Now there happened to be there a worthless man whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew the ram's horn and said, "We have no share in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel!" 2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem. 3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to keep the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.
Notes
Sheba is introduced as אִישׁ בְּלִיַּעַל — "a worthless/wicked man," literally "a man of Belial." The term beliyya'al in Hebrew describes someone socially destructive, unscrupulous, and indifferent to covenantal bonds. The narrator's verdict comes at once. Yet Sheba is politically shrewd: he seizes the moment while the bitterness between Israel and Judah is still fresh.
Sheba's slogan is the language of the later division of the kingdom. When the northern tribes reject Rehoboam and split the monarchy, the people cry, "What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel!" (1 Kings 12:16). The grievance Sheba voices reflects a tribal resentment David never fully resolved. Sheba is suppressed; the slogan remains.
The concubines (v. 3) are the ten women left to keep the palace when David fled (2 Samuel 15:16), violated publicly by Absalom in fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy (2 Samuel 12:11), and now returned to David's house. David does not sleep with them again. They live בְּאַלְמְנוּת חַיּוּת — "in living widowhood," an unsettling phrase: widows while their husband lives, confined, provided for, but permanently set aside. They are the human remainder of Nathan's judgment and Ahithophel's strategy. The narrator gives them a sentence and moves on.
Joab Murders Amasa (vv. 4–13)
4 Then the king said to Amasa, "Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself." 5 So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he took longer than the time allotted him. 6 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." 7 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. 8 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. 9 "Are you well, my brother?" Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him. 10 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. 11 One of Joab's young men stood near Amasa and said, "Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!" 12 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. 13 As soon as Amasa's body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.
4 Then the king said to Amasa, "Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be present here yourself." 5 So Amasa went to call Judah together, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. 6 And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself into fortified cities and escape from us." 7 And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and Pelethites and all the mighty men, and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment over his clothing, and on it was a belt with a sword in its sheath fastened at his waist. And as he went forward, the sword fell out. 9 And Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his intestines on the ground without striking him again, and he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri. 11 And one of Joab's young men took his stand beside Amasa and said, "Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab." 12 And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road. When the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa off the road into the field and threw a garment over him. 13 When he was taken out of the road, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
Notes
The detail of Joab's sword is deliberately ambiguous. The text says "the sword fell out" (v. 8), but what follows makes clear that this was no accident. The narrator may be describing Joab's preparatory motion; in either case, the scene presents a staged opening. Amasa "did not notice the sword," and the treachery succeeds.
Joab's murder of Amasa echoes his murder of Abner in 2 Samuel 3:27 with deliberate precision. Both men are killed under the cover of greeting: Joab "took Abner aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and struck him in the stomach." Here he grasps Amasa by the beard to kiss him and strikes him in the stomach. Both men are rivals for military command; both are connected to Joab by blood or alliance. Joab greets rivals with one hand and kills them with the other.
For David, who had just appointed Amasa as commander, this is the third time Joab has overridden him by violence: the murder of Abner (2 Samuel 3:27), the killing of Absalom against explicit orders (2 Samuel 18:14), and now Amasa. Each time David proves unable to act against Joab in the moment because he needs him too much. "These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me," David had said (2 Samuel 3:39).
The detail of Amasa's body halting the army on the road has a grim practicality: soldiers stop at the sight of a fallen general in his blood. One of Joab's men drags the body aside and covers it so the pursuit can continue. The murder is absorbed into the campaign almost at once.
The Siege of Abel and the Wise Woman (vv. 14–26)
14 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. 15 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, 16 a wise woman called out from the city, "Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him." 17 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. 18 Then the woman said, "Long ago they used to say, 'Seek counsel at Abel,' and that is how disputes were settled. 19 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?" 20 "Far be it!" Joab declared. "Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy! 21 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." 22 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. 23 Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; 24 Adoram was in charge of the forced labor; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was David's priest.
14 And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel-beth-maacah, and all the Berites assembled and followed him in. 15 And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel-beth-maacah, and they built a siege mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart. And all the people who were with Joab were battering the wall to throw it down. 16 Then a wise woman called from the city, "Listen! Listen! Tell Joab, 'Come here that I may speak to you.'" 17 And he came near to her, and the woman said, "Are you Joab?" He answered, "I am." Then she said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." And he answered, "I am listening." 18 Then she spoke, saying, "In the old days they used to say, 'Let them inquire at Abel'; and so they settled a matter. 19 I am one of the peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?" 20 Joab answered, "Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy! 21 That is not so. But a man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba the son of Bichri, has lifted his hand against King David. Give him up alone, and I will withdraw from the city." And 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, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it out to Joab. So he blew the ram's horn, and they dispersed from the city, every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. 23 Now Joab was over all the army of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; 24 and Adoram was over the forced labor; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; 25 and Sheva was the secretary; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 26 and Ira the Jairite was also a priest to David.
Notes
The אִשָּׁה חֲכָמָה — "wise woman" — of Abel is the second such figure in 2 Samuel, after the woman of Tekoa in 2 Samuel 14:2. Neither woman is named. Both appear where the named male figures have reached an impasse. The woman of Tekoa uses narrative wisdom to persuade a king; the woman of Abel uses negotiation to stop a siege. Both embody a wisdom the narrative elsewhere commends (Proverbs 31:26) but seldom depicts so directly.
Her appeal to Abel's ancient reputation — "In the old days they used to say, 'Let them inquire at Abel'" — is a claim about the city's civic heritage. Abel-beth-maacah was known as a place of wisdom and arbitration. She turns that tradition against the siege itself: Joab is attacking a city meant to settle disputes, not provoke them. The phrase אֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל — "a mother in Israel" — marks a city of settled importance, a center of identity and continuity for the nation.
Joab's response is immediate and pragmatic: "Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy. Give me the one man, and I will go." He has no interest in the city itself; he wants Sheba. The woman relays this to the inhabitants, and they act quickly. One man ends the siege.
The negotiation is more decisive than any battle in the chapter. No military action here resolves matters cleanly; the woman of Abel does so by asking a question, receiving an answer, and acting on it. The resolution is proportionate and restrained, achieving what force could not and recalling what Ahithophel once proposed for David (2 Samuel 17:2-3).
The official list (vv. 23-26) mirrors the administrative roster in 2 Samuel 8:15-18. Joab is back at the top, Benaiah commands the elite troops, and the administration is restored. But the differences are telling: where chapter 8 listed David's sons as priests, now Ira the Jairite holds that role. The household has changed. The kingdom stands again, but it bears the marks of what it has endured.
Interpretations
On Joab: Joab is a morally complex figure in the David narrative, and interpreters across traditions have wrestled with him. On one hand, he is indispensable: without him, David's kingdom might not survive Absalom's rebellion or Sheba's revolt. On the other hand, he murders rivals with premeditated treachery and violates direct royal commands. Calvin saw Joab as an example of how God uses even corrupt instruments to accomplish his purposes, the same concursive providence visible in 2 Samuel 17:14. Lutheran interpreters have noted that Joab functions almost as David's shadow: the violence David cannot personally commit, Joab commits on his behalf. Neither tradition excuses him; both recognize that the narrative uses Joab to ask how kingdoms are actually maintained.
On the wise woman of Abel: Protestant commentators have often treated the wise woman as an example of the wisdom commended throughout Scripture, especially Proverbs' portrait of wisdom as a woman who speaks in public, mediates conflict, and preserves life. She exercises authority she does not formally hold and saves lives through words rather than weapons. Some Reformed interpreters have noted that her action reflects the principle that the aim of governance is peace, not conquest (cf. Romans 13:4, where the ruler is a servant for good).