2 Samuel 20

Joab murders David’s new top general

Israel revolts against David

1There was a piece of work in the crowd, a royal troublemaker. His name was Sheba. And he was a son of Bichri, from Benjamin’s tribe. He said:

“What’s David to us?
Jesse’s son is nothing to us.
Israel, let’s go home.” [1]

2The people of Israel left. They walked away from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the people of Judah stuck with David, following their king all the way home from the Jordan River to Jerusalem. 3David went into his Jerusalem palace, to the 10 concubines he left to look after the place while he was gone. He confined them in a separate house, under guard. They stayed there for the rest of their lives. He never had sexual relations with them again. They lived like widows. [2]

Judah’s army hunts rebel leader

4The king told Amasa, “Assemble the soldiers of Judah. Get them here within three days. I want you here, too.” 5Amasa went out to get the men. Three days later, he still hadn’t returned.

6David told one of his commanders, Abishai, [3] “Sheba that son of Bichri will cause us more trouble than Absalom ever did. Take your men and hunt him down before he lines up support of leaders in walled cities.” 7Joab’s soldiers joined the hunt. So did both units of the king’s royal bodyguard, the Cherethites and the Pelethites. [4] Everyone available in the military went.

Joab murders Amasa

8When they reached a big landmark rock at Gibeon, Amasa saw them and came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military clothes. He wore a belt on the outside to hold his sword in a sheath. As he leaned forward to greet Amasa, his sword slipped out of the sheath.

9Joab greeted Amasa, “How are you doing, my brother?” Joab with his right hand took hold of Amasa’s beard, as if about to welcome him with a kiss. 10Amasa didn’t notice that Joab’s left hand had caught hold of the sword as it fell out. [5] Joab stabbed Amasa [6] in the belly and cut him open. Amasa’s intestines rolled out onto the ground. He eventually died. But Joab didn’t put him out of his misery with a second blow. Afterward, Joab and his brother Abishai hunted Sheba, the son of Bichri.

11One of Joab’s men stood beside the dying Amasa and yelled, “If you’re with David, follow Joab.” [7] 12On the ground beside him, Amasa lay covered in blood and gore, and writhing in pain. The soldier saw that other soldiers were stopping to look at their dying commander. So, he hauled Amasa off the trail and covered him with some clothing. 13With Amasa out of sight, the soldiers followed Joab on the hunt for Sheba the son of Bichri.

Sheba loses his head

14Sheba went recruiting throughout the northern tribes of Israel. His extended family clan, the Bichri’s, followed him one day into the walled city of Abel Beth Maacah. [8]

15Joab’s army surrounded the city. Some men started building a siege ramp to the top of the wall. Others used a battering ram to try breaking through the walls. 16A wise woman inside the town called out to the attacking soldiers. “Hey listen! Listen! Tell Joab I want to talk with him.”

17Joab came over and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He said, “Yes, I am.” She said, “Please listen to me.” He said, “Go ahead, I’m listening.” 18She said, “There’s an old saying in Israel, ‘Ask it in Abel.’ After that, people would work out their differences. 19I’m one of the peace-loving people in Israel. And I’m watching you destroy one of the mother cities of Israel. You’re tearing into the heritage of the LORD himself. Why would you do this?”

20Joab said, “That’s the last thing on my mind. No way would I want to destroy this place. 21That’s not my plan. But there’s a man inside who has launched a rebellion against King David. The man comes from the hills of Ephraim. His name is Sheba, a son of Bichri. Give him to me and we will leave your town.” The woman said, “We’ll toss his head over the wall.”

22The savvy woman pitched her survival plan to others in town. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and threw it over to Joab. He ordered his trumpeter to blow the ram’s horn signal to stand down and withdraw. The soldiers went home. Joab went to see the king in Jerusalem.

David’s kingdom officials

23Joab got his old job back, commanding the king’s army.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada commanded the king’s bodyguards, the Cherethites and the Pelethites.
24Adoram ran the department of slavery and forced-labor.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept notes of kingdom business, as royal historian.
25Sheva was the palace secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.
26Ira from the town of Jair was David’s private priest.

Footnotes

Intro to 2 Samuel

120:1

This became a rally cry of the northern tribes, often called “Israel.” They used the cry when they wanted to badmouth the kingmaker tribe of Judah in the south. They’ll use it again when they secede from the union, and leave King Solomon’s son and successor with a fraction of what had been Israel (1 Kings 12:16).

220:3

Harsh. But Absalom had taken them very publicly. David apparently considered them sexually ruined and off limits. Jews frowned on a father and son having sex with the same woman (Amos 2:7). But Absalom was the only one who broke Jewish law. Jewish law forbade a son to sleep with his father’s wife (Leviticus 18:8). Still, locking up the women, as David ordered, seems so patriarchal. But these were the patriarchal days.

320:6

Abishai was Joab’s brother. Both men commanded units of David’s armies during the battle with Absalom, who led a coup against his father, David.

420:7

Possibly mercenaries. Scholars often link the Cherethites to warriors from Crete and the Pelethites with the Philistines. They show up this way in 2 Samuel 8:18, Ezekiel 25:15, and Zephaniah 2:5.

520:10

The original Hebrew text of this verse is unclear about how Joab managed to get his hands on a blade. One theory is that his sword fell onto the ground, which made Amasa relax at greeting the man whose job he had taken after David demoted Joab (2 Samuel 19:13). David put Amasa in charge of the military. But, as the theory goes, Joab had a hidden dagger. Another theory is that Joab had his robe tied up higher and tucked in, for marching. The sword fell into the rolled up clothes, ready to use. Scholars seem to agree that however Joab killed Amasa, it was intentional and planned.

620:6

Amasa was the second top general Joab murdered. Saul’s top general, Aber, was the first—also with a blade to the belly (2 Samuel 3:27).

720:11

This soldier’s quote took some chutzpah given that Joab had just murdered David’s man, the general David appointed to take the place of the demoted Joab.

820:14

Abel is linked to Abil el-Qamh, a site on Israel’s northern border. It’s north of the Sea of Galilee, a few miles west of Dan, at the foot of Mount Hermon.