2 Samuel 20

Right after Absalom’s revolt, a new rebellion flares up under Sheba, and Israel’s tribes drift away from David. Joab murders his rival Amasa, then hunts Sheba to the city of Abel-beth-maacah, where a wise woman saves the city by ending the revolt peacefully. The chapter shows how fragile unity was and how much depended on wisdom, loyalty and restraint.

2 Samuel 20:1

Sheba, a Benjamite, uses the moment of tension to stir up revolt. He blows the ram’s horn, the call to gather, and cries that Israel has no share in David. Calling him worthless marks him as a troublemaker with no regard for God’s chosen king.

BSA: worthless (“base, good-for-nothing”): The word marks Sheba as a man of low character who sows division. share (“part, portion”): Sheba claims the northern tribes have no stake in David’s house, which breaks the bond of one people.

Hebrew: בְּלִיַּעַל (beliyya’al, H1100) — “worthless, wicked.” The Hebrew word describes a man of no worth, with no restraint and no respect for what is good. It is often used for people who stir up trouble against God’s order.

See also: 2 Samuel 16:7.

2 Samuel 20:2

Israel’s men quickly leave David, even though they had just wanted him back. Judah, his own tribe, stays loyal and escorts him from the Jordan to Jerusalem. The north-south rift that later splits the kingdom is already showing.

BSA: stayed (“remained loyal, cleaved to”): Judah’s loyalty is pictured as clinging close to the king, in contrast to Israel’s desertion.

2 Samuel 20:3

David returns home and deals with the ten concubines Absalom had publicly violated. He keeps them safe and provided for, but never goes to them again. They live shut away like widows, the lasting cost of Absalom’s sin and of David’s own earlier failures.

BSA: confined (“shut up, enclosed”): The women are kept apart for life, protected but cut off from normal married life.

See also: 2 Samuel 16:21-22.

2 Samuel 20:4-5

David tells Amasa, the commander who had led Absalom’s army, to call out Judah’s men within three days. Amasa is now trusted with Joab’s old role. He is late, and the delay costs time when speed matters.

BSA: Summon (“call, assemble, gather”): Amasa is to call the men of Judah together to form an army quickly.

See also: 2 Samuel 19:13.

2 Samuel 20:6-7

David sees that Sheba could be more dangerous than Absalom if he reaches walled cities. He sends Abishai with the royal guard rather than waiting. Joab’s men and David’s elite troops go out, and Joab is not far from the action.

BSA: harm (“cause greater trouble, inflict more damage”): David judges that a slow response to Sheba could bring worse trouble than Absalom’s revolt.

2 Samuel 20:8-10

Joab meets Amasa at Gibeon, greets him warmly, and stabs him while pretending to kiss him. Amasa does not guard against the hidden dagger. Joab removes the man who replaced him, just as he had once killed Abner. Treachery dressed as friendship is a grim picture.

BSA: brother (“close relative or friend”): Joab uses a family word, since Amasa was his cousin, to hide the murder he intends. kiss (“show affection or greeting”): A sign of friendship becomes the cover for betrayal.

Hebrew: הֲשָׁלוֹם (hashalom, H7965) — “is it peace? are you well?.” Joab’s greeting asks about peace as he prepares to kill. The word for wellbeing is turned into a trick.

See also: 2 Samuel 3:27; Matthew 26:49.

2 Samuel 20:11-13

Amasa’s body lies in the road, and the soldiers stop to stare. A young man of Joab’s calls them to follow Joab, then the body is moved out of sight. Once the grim sight is gone, the troops go on under Joab, who has seized command by violence.

BSA: wallowed (“wallowing, rolling”): The word gives a stark picture of Amasa’s dying body in the road.

2 Samuel 20:14

Sheba moves through the tribes to the far north, to Abel-beth-maacah, gathering followers as he goes. The Berites, likely his own clan, join him. The revolt now has a base in a walled city near Israel’s northern border.

BSA: gathered together (“assembled, came together in unity”): Sheba finds real support, which shows how serious the revolt is.

2 Samuel 20:15

Joab’s army surrounds Abel-beth-maacah, builds a siege ramp against its wall, and starts battering it. A whole city is about to be destroyed because one man took refuge in it.

BSA: siege ramp (“mound, bank”): Attackers piled up earth to reach the top of the wall.

2 Samuel 20:16-17

A wise woman calls out from the wall and asks for Joab. She makes sure she is speaking to the right man, then asks him to hear her. Wisdom here begins with speaking up and with being heard.

BSA: wise (“intelligent, discerning”): She is marked as discerning, someone who sees how to save her city.

Hebrew: חֲכָמָה (chakhamah, H2450) — “wise.” This is the Hebrew word for skill in living. Here it means practical good sense that brings peace in a crisis.

See also: Ecclesiastes 9:14-15.

2 Samuel 20:18-19

The woman reminds Joab that Abel was known as a place to seek counsel and settle disputes. She says her city is peaceful and faithful, a mother in Israel. To destroy it would be to swallow up what belongs to the LORD.

BSA: mother (“a maternal figure, a nurturing presence”): Abel is a city that nurtures and is a parent to its surrounding towns. inheritance (“a possession passed down, a family heirloom”): The land and its people belong to the LORD and are not Joab’s to destroy.

See also: Deuteronomy 32:9.

2 Samuel 20:20-21

Joab says he has no wish to destroy the city. He only wants Sheba, who has lifted his hand against the king. The woman agrees at once and promises his head. Joab accepts that the aim was never the city but the rebel.

BSA: lifted up (“raised, exalted”): To lift up the hand is to rebel openly against the king.

2 Samuel 20:22

The woman speaks to the people with wisdom, and they kill Sheba and throw his head over the wall. Joab blows the ram’s horn to end the siege, and his men go home. One wise voice has saved a city and ended a rebellion without a battle.

BSA: dispersed (“scattered, retreated”): The army breaks up and goes home, as the horn signal ends the siege.

See also: Proverbs 21:22.

2 Samuel 20:23-26

The chapter ends with a list of David’s chief officers: Joab over the army, Benaiah over the royal guard, and others over labor, records and writing. Two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, serve with Ira. David’s kingdom is back in order, with Joab still in charge despite his crimes.

BSA: recorder (“remembering and marking the king’s actions, to recall and document”): This officer kept the record of the king’s affairs and reminded him of matters. forced labor (“taskworkers, men subject to labor as a form of tax”): Labor was demanded of people as a kind of tax for royal projects.

See also: 2 Samuel 8:15-18.