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2 Samuel
Chapter Twenty
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 20
This
chapter gives an account of a new rebellion raised by Sheba, 2 Samuel 20:1; of
David's shutting up his concubines unto the day of their death, whom Absalom
had lain with, 2 Samuel 20:3; of
Amasa being ordered to assemble the men of Judah to crush the rebellion, but
being dilatory, Abishai is sent out with David's servants, and was followed by
Joab with the men under him, 2 Samuel 20:4; and
of the murder of Amasa by Joab, 2 Samuel 20:8; and
of Sheba being shut up in the city Abel, 2 Samuel 20:14;
whose head, by the means of a wise woman, was delivered to Joab, and so an end
was put to the rebellion, 2 Samuel 20:16;
and, lastly, of the chief officers in David's camp and court, 2 Samuel 20:23.
2 Samuel 20:1 And
there happened to be there a rebel,[a] whose name
was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and
said: “We have no share in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of
Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!”
YLT
1And 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.'
And there happened to be a man of Belial,.... A wicked
man, as the Targum, a lawless, yokeless man, that had cast off the yoke of the
law, and was without it, as Belial is by some interpreted; or one unprofitable
and useless, yea, noxious and pernicious: this man, though, with respect to
second causes, may be said to be there by chance, yet it was so ordered by the
providence of God that he should be present at this time for the further
fulfilment of the threatening to David, that the sword should not depart from
his house:
whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; one perhaps
that had been in the rebellion of Absalom, and had a grudge against David for
the removal of the kingdom out of that tribe:
and he blew a trumpet; which was done to draw
off the Israelites from David, and gather a party to himself:
and said, we have no part in David; so he interpreted what
the men of Judah said, because they claimed kindred to David, the rest of the
Israelites had no interest in him; thus they, who just before said they had ten
parts in him, now had none at all:
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; so he calls
David by way of contempt, as if he was no king, but a private person, and a
descendant from a mean family:
every man to his tent, O Israel; there to consider what
to do, and whom to choose to be their king, and let Judah take David for their
king, and enjoy him alone, since they had so slighted, and dealt so injuriously
and roughly with the rest of the tribes.
2 Samuel 20:2 2 So every man of Israel
deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of
Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.
YLT
2And 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.
So every man of Israel went up from after David,.... Those
that met him on the road departed from him, and went no further with him:
and followed Sheba the son of
Bichri; and made him their captain, who was the author of their mutiny
and sedition:
but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan to
Jerusalem: never left him, after they had conducted him over Jordan, until
they had brought him safely to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 20:3 3 Now 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 seclusion and supported them, but did
not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in
widowhood.
YLT
3And 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.
And David came to his house at Jerusalem,.... His
palace there, which was in that part of the city called the fort of Zion, and
city of David:
and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had
left to keep the house; when he fled from Jerusalem because of Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:16,
and put them in ward; partly as a punishment
for easily yielding to the lust of Absalom, and partly that they might not be
seen, which would bring to remembrance his sin:
and fed them; he did not put them to death, nor put them
away, but kept them thus confined, and made a proper provision for them, not
suffering them to marry any other, and be maintained by them:
but went not in unto them: into their apartments to
lie with them, having been defiled by his son, 2 Samuel 16:22,
so they were shut up unto the day of their death; kept in the
ward till they died:
living in widowhood; neither used by the king
as his concubines, as they had been before, nor suffered to many any other; or
"in the widowhood of life"F15אלמנות
חיות "in viduitate vitae", Pagninus,
Montanus. , which is so expressed, to distinguish it from widowhood made by
death; this was such sort of widowhood as obtained while their husband was
living; so the Targum,"widows of their husband alive,' or remaining.
2 Samuel 20:4 4 And the king said to
Amasa, “Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here
yourself.”
YLT
4And the king saith unto
Amasa, `Call for me the men of Judah [in] three days, and thou, stand here,'
Then said the king to Amasa,.... Whom he had promised
to make general of his army, 2 Samuel 19:13; and
by the following order declared him such:
assemble me the men of Judah within three days; which was
done by the sound of the trumpet, or by the proclamation of a herald; it seems
that the men of Judah, who attended David to Jerusalem, were gone to their
respective cities and places of abode, or there would have been no occasion for
such a summons; though it is strange they should, when the men of Israel
appeared so inclinable to a new rebellion:
and be thou here present; to take the command of
them.
2 Samuel 20:5 5 So Amasa went to assemble the
men of Judah. But he delayed longer than the set time which David had
appointed him.
YLT
5and Amasa goeth to call
Judah, and tarrieth beyond the appointed time that he had appointed him;
So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah,.... To
gather, them together out of their several tribes, and bring them to Jerusalem:
but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him: than the
three days; whether this was owing to the remissness of Amasa, or the
unwillingness of the people to serve under him, who had been Absalom's general
in the late rebellion, or not having time sufficient allowed him, is not
certain.
2 Samuel 20:6 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, lest he find for himself fortified cities, and
escape us.”
YLT
6and 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.'
And David said to Abishai,.... For it seems he
would have nothing to say to Joab, being displeased with him for slaying
Absalom, and having removed him from his posts; and therefore speaks to the
next officer in his army, Abishai; though JosephusF16Antiqu. l. 7.
c. 11. sect. 6. says, he addressed himself to Joab, contrary to the express
words of the text:
now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did
Absalom; gain a greater party, and give more trouble to subdue him,
unless suppressed in time:
take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him; without
waiting for Amasa, and the troops he was assembling; delays in such a case as
an insurrection being dangerous, which ought to be nipped in the bud, and
crushed as soon as possible; in order to which, he bids him take his servants
that were about him, his bodyguards, and pursue Sheba:
lest he get him fenced cities; where he may secure
himself, and hold out a siege a long time, and give a great deal of trouble:
and escape us; for the present; or "escape our
eyes", as the "Keri", or marginal reading is; we shall lose
sight of him, and not know which way he is gone, if he is not pursued quickly.
2 Samuel 20:7 7 So Joab’s men, with the
Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, went out after him. And
they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.
YLT
7And 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;
And there went out after him Joab's men,.... Who
though he was removed from his post as general, yet might still have the
command of a regiment:
and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; over whom
Benaiah was, 2 Samuel 20:23;
these attended David in his flight, and had now returned with him, 2 Samuel 15:18,
and all the mighty men; the military men that
were at Jerusalem as many as could be spared:
and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of
Bichri; with Abishai at the head of them; JosephusF17Antiqu.
l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7. says there were six hundred, besides the soldiers at
Jerusalem that went on this pursuit.
2 Samuel 20:8 8 When they were at
the large stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them. Now Joab was
dressed in battle armor; on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its
sheath at his hips; and as he was going forward, it fell out.
YLT
8they [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.
When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon,.... Which,
according to JosephusF18Antiqu. l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7. , was forty
furlongs, or five miles from Jerusalem: what this great stone was, whether an
obelisk, or what, is not certain; one of the greatest stones we read of was
that which Semiramis cut out of the mountains of Armenia, which was an hundred
thirty feet long, and twenty five broad and thickF19Diodor. Sic. l.
2. p. 100. Vid. ib. p. 53. Herodot. Euterpe, c. 111. . This place was appointed
for the rendezvous of David's forces, and hither Amasa came with what he had
assembled together, and joined them, and took the command of them: for it
follows:
Amasa went before them; as the general of them:
and Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him; who went
along with his brother Abishai at the head of his own men, to which he was
obliged by virtue of his commission; or went of himself to serve the common
cause, and perhaps chiefly with a design to murder Amasa, whom he envied,
because he was put into his post as general, and therefore accoutred himself
for it; he put on, not a coat of mail, but a common garment which he girt about
him, that it might be no incumbrance to him or hinderance of him, in doing what
he intended, but that he might more expeditiously execute it:
and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins
in the sheath thereof; the sword in the belt was not on his thigh, but on his loins, on
the outside of his clothes, and was put into a sheath too large, and placed in
such a position, that with the least motion, when he pleased, it would easily
drop out of it, without drawing it, and so give no suspicion of his design:
and as he went forth; to meet Amasa, just as
he came to him:
it fell out; the sword fell out of the sheath to the ground.
2 Samuel 20:9 9 Then Joab said to Amasa, “Are
you in health, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right
hand to kiss him.
YLT
9And 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;
And Joab said to Amasa,.... In a friendly
manner, with all the air of pleasantry and good humour:
art thou in health, my
brother? this looked like a friendly salutation to ask of his health, and
wish him it, and a loving appellation to call him brother; though they were
near of kin, sisters' children, and so own cousins; thus he addressed him, to
cover his design:
and Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him: as was usual
for the eastern people to do when they addressed and saluted one another in an
affectionate way, and as the Turks and Arabs do to this day, as travellers
relate. BarthiusF20Animadv. ad Claudian. de Raptu Proserp. l. 1.
ver. 50. vid. Homer. Iliad. ver. 500,501. Iliad. 8. ver. 371. & Alex. ab
Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 19. has collected passages from the Greek poets,
which show it to be a custom, that when a man asked a favour of another, he
caught hold of his beard with the right hand, and of his knee with the left;
and in such a posture Joab might easily do what follows.
2 Samuel 20:10 10 But Amasa did not notice
the sword that was in Joab’s hand. And he struck him with it in the
stomach, and his entrails poured out on the ground; and he did not strike
him again. Thus he died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the
son of Bichri.
YLT
10and 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.
But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand,.... In his
left hand, for with his right hand he took him by the beard; he might see the
sword drop out of the scabbard, and Joab take it up, which he supposed he did
in order to put it into its sheath again, having no suspicion of his wicked
design, and therefore not at all upon his guard to prevent it:
so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib; in the same
place where Abner smote Asahel, and Joab Abner; See Gill on 2 Samuel 2:23 and
See Gill on 2 Samuel 3:27, he
must strike him, as some observe, on the left side, because he was embracing
him; and the stroke must be deadly, because he struck him in the pericardium,
which surrounds the heart round with water, to refrigerate it; for the lower
part of the heart reaches to the fifth rib; see John 19:34 F21Weemse's
Portrait of Man, p. 25. :
and shed out his bowels to the ground; which fell
out through the incision made by the sword:
and struck him not again: he gave him such a home
thrust, there was no need to repeat it, he dispatched him at once:
and he died; and thus, though he was pardoned by David, and promoted to
honour by him, yet the providence of God would not suffer him to go unpunished
for joining with Absalom in an unnatural rebellion against his uncle:
so Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of
Bichri: for Amasa being slain, Joab without any ceremony reassumed his
post as general, and, with his brother Abishai under him, made all the haste
they could in pursuit of the rebel.
2 Samuel 20:11 11 Meanwhile one of Joab’s
men stood near Amasa, and said, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for
David—follow Joab!”
YLT
11And 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!'
And one of Joab's men stood by him,.... By the body of
Amasa; no doubt by the order of Joab, to satisfy the people as they came up,
and reconcile them to this fact, and to exhort them not to stop, but to follow
after Joab; for though Amasa their general was dead, Joab had taken the command
of the army, and the pursuit was carried on with as much rigour as ever:
and said, he that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David,
let him go after Joab: he that likes Joab should be general, and
is in the interest of David, let him make no stay here, but follow after Joab;
Joab and David are put together, as if their interests were the same; though
there seems to be an indecency in placing Joab first.
2 Samuel 20:12 12 But Amasa wallowed in his
blood in the middle of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people
stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment
over him, when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted.
YLT
12And 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.
And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway,.... By which
it seems, that though the wound was mortal, and of which he died, that as yet
there was life in him, and through the pain he was in, and the pangs of death
on him, he rolled himself about in his own blood in the high road, where the
fact was committed:
and when the man saw that all the people stood still; gazing at the
shocking sight, and could not be prevailed upon to go on:
he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field; which was
adjoining to it:
and cast a cloth upon him; that the body might not
be seen:
when he saw that everyone that came by him stood still; and so
retarded the people in their march, to prevent which he took the above method,
and it was a very prudent one.
2 Samuel 20:13 13 When he was removed from
the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba the son of
Bichri.
YLT
13When he hath been removed
out of the highway, every man hath passed on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba
son of Bichri.
When he was removed out of the highway,.... Into the
field, and covered over with a cloth, that he could not be seen:
all the people went on after Joab; made no stop at all,
knowing nothing of the matter, or what had happened:
to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri; these were
the troops that Amasa had been assembling, which followed one another after
him; for Joab and Abishai, with their men, were at Gibeon first.
2 Samuel 20:14 14 And he went through all
the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maachah and all the Berites. So they were
gathered together and also went after Sheba.[b]
YLT
14And 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,
And he went through all the tribes of Israel,.... That is,
Sheba the son of Bichri, last mentioned, 2 Samuel 20:13, who
passed through all the tribes of Israel to get as many to be of his party as he
could, and to be proclaimed their king; or finding himself pursued, he passed
on as fast as he could from place to place, through all the tribes, until at
length he fixed for safety in a place later named; though JosephusF23Ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7.) understands this of Joab pursuing Sheba
through all the tribes of Israel with the forces under him; and to this sense
the Syriac and Arabic versions, and so R. Isaiah interprets it; but the first
sense is more generally received, that Sheba is meant, who passing through
various tribes, came
unto Abel, and unto Bethmaachah; which were two places
very near one another, if not one and the same place; since Abel is in 2 Samuel 20:15
called Abel of Bethmaachah, to distinguish it from any other place: it was a
city that lay to the north of Israel near Syria; and from 2 Kings 15:29, it
appears to be in the tribe of Naphtali. There was one city of this name of
Abel, six miles from Philadelphia, another twelve miles from Gadara, and a
third between Paneas and Damascus, which, of the three, Reland thinksF24Palestina
Illustrata, tom. 2. p. 519. , is most eligible to be the place here meant;
though he rather chooses to look for it in Galilee, to the west or south of
Paneas, than to the east or north in the way to Damascus; and so AdrichomiusF25Theatrum
Terrae S. p. 101. calls it a city of upper Galilee, sixty furlongs or seven and
an half miles from Jordan; and though he also places it in the tribe of
Naphtali, in the plain of the country of Berim (from whence perhaps were the
Berites next mentioned), not far from Caesarea Philippi; see 1 Kings 15:20,
and all the Berites; the inhabitants of
Beeroth, in the tribe of Benjamin, of which tribe Sheba was, they followed him
hither, as in the next clause:
and they were gathered together, and went also after him; unto Abel; of
these, see Joshua 18:25;
though perhaps these Berim or Berites were nearer to Abel; or rather that was
in their country, as has been observed by Adrichomius.
2 Samuel 20:15 15 Then they came and
besieged him in Abel of Beth Maachah; and they cast up a siege mound against
the city, and it stood by the rampart. And all the people who were with
Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
YLT
15and 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.
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah,.... That is,
Joab and Abishai, with the forces under them, who pursued him hither:
and they cast up a bank against the city; which some
understand of a warlike machine or engine, with which stones were cast; but it
rather seems to be a bank of earth thrown up, for the better working of such
engines to more advantage against the city, by throwing from thence darts into
the city, or stones against the walls of it, to batter it down; such banks were
used in sieges, as that Caesar's soldiers raised in twenty five days, which was
three hundred thirty feet broad, and eighty feet highF26Caesar.
Comment. l. 7. c. 24. ; Kimchi interprets this of filling up the ditches round
about the city with dust and earth, and so making it level, whereby they could
come the more easily to the walls and batter them, or scale them, and take the
city by storm:
and it stood in the trench; the army under Joab
stood where the trench round the city had been, now filled up:
and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall to
throw it down; with their engines, or whatever battering instruments they had;
so, often, as HesiodF1Opera & Dies, l. 1. ver. 236. says, a
whole city suffers for one bad man.
2 Samuel 20:16 16 Then a wise woman cried
out from the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come nearby, that I may
speak with you.’”
YLT
16And a wise woman calleth
out of the city, `Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, and
I speak unto thee.'
Then cried a wise woman out of the city,.... And such
an one as the woman of Tekoah, supposed by some to be the governess of the
city; but whoever she was, she well deserved the character of a wise woman; her
conduct in this affair shows it: she cried with a loud voice, upon the wall of
the city, to Joab's men, who were underneath battering it:
hear, hear; which she repeated to make them hear:
say, I pray you, unto Joab, come near hither, that I may speak
with thee; tell your general I desire to speak with him; which was wisely
done, to have nothing to say but to the general himself.
2 Samuel 20:17 17 When he had come near to
her, the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then
she said to him, “Hear the words of your maidservant.” And he answered, “I am
listening.”
YLT
17And 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.'
And when he was come near unto her,.... As he did, upon the
information of his men, that a woman on the wall had something to say to him:
the woman said, art thou Joab? she was
willing to be satisfied that he was really the general, before she would impart
her mind to him:
and he answered, I am he; the very person you ask
after:
and she said unto him, hear the words of thine handmaid; though a
woman, vouchsafe to hear what I have to say:
and he answered, I do hear: am ready to hear, and
shall patiently and attentively hear whatever may be spoken; which was giving
her leave and encouragement to proceed.
2 Samuel 20:18 18 So she spoke, saying,
“They used to talk in former times, saying, ‘They shall surely seek guidance
at Abel,’ and so they would end disputes.
YLT
18and she speaketh, saying,
`They spake often in former times, saying, Let them diligently ask at Abel, and
so they finished.
Then she spake, saying, they were wont to speak in old time,.... It was a
common saying, a proverbial expression among the ancient sages:
saying, they shall surely ask counsel at Abel, and so they
ended the matter. Abel, it seems, had been a city so famous for wise and prudent
men, that it was common for the inhabitants of other cities, in the several
parts of the kingdom, when any controversy arose among them, to say to one
another, since we cannot agree this matter among ourselves, let us go to Abel,
and take advice there, and leave it to their arbitration; and so they did, and
things were presently brought to an issue, and happily concluded; nay, when the
king had a mind to make a decree or law, as R. Isaiah observes, he used to send
to Abel to know whether they would submit to it; and if they agreed to it, then
he proceeded in it; for other cities followed their example, so famous was this
city, and of so great account: now the woman argues from hence, that surely
such a renowned city should not hastily be destroyed; but the Targum directs to
another sense, and which perhaps is best, and is followed by Jarchi, Kimchi,
and others, paraphrasing the words thus,"she spake, saying, I remember now
what is written in the book of the law, to ask a city first, saying, (will ye
make peace?) so shouldest thou have asked of Abel, will ye make peace, or
receive terms of peace?'referring to the law in Deuteronomy 20:10;
signifying, if that had been attended to as it ought (for if such methods were
to be taken with Heathen cities, much more with a city of Israel, as Abel was),
things would soon have been agreed and issued; had Joab upon approaching the
city proposed his terms of peace, they would have immediately yielded to them,
and so the matter would have ended at once; for they were a peaceable people,
as it follows: though Dr. LightfootF2Works, vol. 2. p. 367. gives
another sense of these words, that Sheba and his party when they came to the
city,"they at first certainly said thus, that they would ask Abel of its
peace (or on whose side it was), and so they made the matter entire, or made a
show of their own integrity:'by which this woman assured Joab, that the men of
Abel had not invited, nor willingly received Sheba and his rebels into the
city, but they had deceived them by fawning and false words, pretending only to
inquire about the peace and welfare of their city.
2 Samuel 20:19 19 I am among the
peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a
mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?”
YLT
19I [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?
I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in
Israel,.... Her meaning is, that she was of a city which consisted of peaceable
and faithful men, that were peaceable among themselves, and faithful to their
king, who never were concerned in any insurrection or rebellion, not in the
late one under Absalom:
thou seekest to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel; a metropolitan
city, which had several towns and villages under its jurisdiction, which were
as daughters to it. Some think she means herself, because very old, supposedF3Jarchi
& Kimchi in loc. Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2Reg. fol. 79. L. to be Serah, the
daughter of Asher, a son of Jacob, which is improbable:
wilt why thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? a city which
is a part of the land, that is the Lord's inheritance.
2 Samuel 20:20 20 And Joab answered and
said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy!
YLT
20And Joab answereth and
saith, `Far be it -- far be it from me; I do not swallow up nor destroy.
And Joab answered and said, far be it from me, far be it from me,.... He
repeats these words, to show how detestable it was to him to do what she
suggested:
that I should swallow up or destroy; any in a violent and
unrighteous manner, and especially a city of which she had given such a
character for its greatness and worth, and for the peaceableness and fidelity
of its inhabitants.
2 Samuel 20:21 21 That is not so. But
a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has
raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will
depart from the city.” So the woman said to Joab, “Watch, his head will be
thrown to you over the wall.”
YLT
21The 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.'
The matter is not so,.... I am not come with
the army against this city with any ill will to it, and with an intention to
destroy it: the case is this:
but a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name; for though he
was by birth a Benjaminite, his dwelling was in Mount Ephraim in that tribe;
unless there was a place of this name in the tribe of Benjamin, so called from
any memorable event there, as the wood of Ephraim, 2 Samuel 18:6. This
same man, says Joab:
hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against
David; is in rebellion against the king, even so great and good a king
as David; he has lifted up his hand, and blown a trumpet to draw off men from
David, and after himself; he has committed acts of hostility and treason; he
has drawn his sword, and raised an insurrection and rebellion in the nation:
deliver him only, and I will depart from the city: he did not
desire any of his followers to be delivered up, only himself, knowing the
rebellion would cease upon the delivery of him; and being unwilling that the
blood of any Israelite should be shed, whom he had unawares drawn into this
rebellion, and who he knew would return to their own cities upon this:
and the woman said unto Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to
thee over the wall; she knew the fright the inhabitants of the city were in, and how
disposed they were to do anything to save their city; she knew what influence
she had among them, and how weak Sheba's party was, and therefore could assure
Joab that this should be done.
2 Samuel 20:22 22 Then the woman in her
wisdom went to all the people. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of
Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. Then he blew a trumpet, and they
withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at
Jerusalem.
YLT
22And 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.
Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom,.... Went from
the wall of the city into it, and convened the principal inhabitants together,
and made so wise a speech to them, and represented things in such a light, and
so prudently conducted, that they unanimously agreed to her motion:
and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it
out to Joab; whose face Joab knew full well, and was satisfied it was his
head that was thrown over:
and he blew a trumpet; as a sign of retreat:
and they retired from the city, every man to his tent; the army
under Joab broke up the siege, and departed, every man to his own city, as the
Targum:
and Joab returned unto Jerusalem unto the king; to give him
an account of his success, and how the rebellion was crushed; and this gave him
courage and boldness to appear before the king, which one would wonder else he
should have, when he had killed his general in cold blood, the king had sent
out, and without his leave had reassumed his post as general of the army; but
he was a bold daring man, a man of blood, and hardened in sin, and had power in
the army, and over David himself, that he could not do what he would with him,
but was obliged to be silent, and overlook things, and even to reestablish him
in his office, as appears by what follows.
2 Samuel 20:23 23 And Joab was over
all the army of Israel; Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the
Cherethites and the Pelethites;
YLT
23And Joab [is] over all the
host of Israel, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the Cherethite, and over
the Pelethite,
Now Joab was over all the host of Israel,....
Established in the post in which he formerly was; either having been never
displaced, which though David thought to do, he was not able to effect it,
because of his power and influence with the people; or if he had displaced him,
which by some things in this chapter seemed to be the case, yet Amasa being
dead, and the rebellion crushed by Joab, which still made him more haughty, and
increased his popularity, David saw it most advisable to replace him; and
because mention is made of him, as established in his office as general over
the whole army, an account is given of the rest of David's officers; and the
rather, as it was a sort of beginning his reign anew, after quelling the above
rebellions:
and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites,
and over the Pelethites; was continued in his post, see 2 Samuel 8:18.
2 Samuel 20:24 24 Adoram was in
charge of revenue; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
YLT
24and Adoram [is] over the
tribute, and Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] the remembrancer,
And Adoram was over the tribute,.... Or over
those that collected and brought it, as the Targum; this was a new office, and
which respected both the revenue he received from his own people, and the
tribute brought him from the nations conquered by him:
and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; who was in
this office before, and now continued and established in it, 2 Samuel 8:16.
2 Samuel 20:25 25 Sheva was scribe;
Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;
YLT
25and Sheva [is] scribe, and
Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests,
And Sheva was scribe,.... Either the same with
Benaiah, or he was dead or removed, and Sheva was put in his place, see 2 Samuel 8:17,
and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests; as before;
See Gill on 2 Samuel 8:17.
2 Samuel 20:26 26 and Ira the Jairite was a
chief minister under David.
YLT
26and also, Ira the Jairite
hath been minister to David.
And Ira also the Jairite,.... Which some take to
be the same with Ira the Ithrite, 2 Samuel 23:38; a
son of Jether or Ithra the Israelite, 2 Samuel 17:25;
though others suppose he was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 2 Samuel 23:26; and
so the Targum here calls him Ira the Jairite, which was of Tekoah; and Tekoah
being the chief place in Israel for oil oliveF4Misn. Menachot, c. 8.
sect. 3. , with which the lamps were lighted, Jarchi thinks he had the name of
Jairite from Jair, which signifies to enlighten; but rather he was a descendant
from Jair the Gileadite, and perhaps was a great friend to David when in
Gilead, and from whence he brought him and promoted him: for he
was a chief ruler about David; a prime minister, an
intimate friend, the chief of his privy council; perhaps he succeeded
Ahithophel; it is much we hear nothing of Hushai.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)