2 Samuel 20

This chapter concludes the account of Absalom's rebellion in the latter part of 2 Samuel. At the end of chapter 19, the men of Israel and the men of Judah quarreled over restoring David as king, and in this chapter that dispute erupts into a new rebellion.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, blows a trumpet and calls on the people to abandon David. The men of Israel follow Sheba, while the men of Judah cleave to the king from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
• Verse 3 David confines in a separate house the ten concubines he had left to keep the palace. They live in widowhood until the day of their death.
• Verses 4–7 Amasa is ordered to assemble the men of Judah within three days but fails to return by the appointed time. David tells Abishai to pursue Sheba, and Joab's men, together with the Cherethites and the Pelethites, set out with him.
• Verses 8–13 At the great stone in Gibeon, Joab pretends to greet Amasa and stabs him to death with his sword. Once the body is moved into the field and covered with a garment, the troops who had halted beside it go on after Joab.
• Verses 14–15 Joab's army besieges Sheba in Abel of Beth-maacah and casts up a siege mound in order to batter down the wall.
• Verses 16–22 A wise woman of the city negotiates with Joab. The people of the city cut off Sheba's head and throw it over the wall, and Joab withdraws his army and returns to Jerusalem.
• Verses 23–26 A list of David's officials follows: Joab, Benaiah, Adoram (Adoniram), Jehoshaphat, Sheva, Zadok and Abiathar, and Ira.

Key Verses

• 2 Samuel 20:1 "Every man to his tents, O Israel." The cry reflects a movement among the northern tribes to break away from the house of David.
• 2 Samuel 20:9–10 "Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him… so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib." The scene reveals Joab's ruthlessness and lust for power.
• 2 Samuel 20:19 "Why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?" In this passage the wisdom of one person saves an entire city.

Characters and Places

• David: The king who has endured rebellion and returned to Jerusalem.
• Sheba: The son of Bichri, a Benjamite, who raises a rebellion against David.
• Joab: David's army commander. By the end of the chapter he again has charge of the whole army.
• Amasa: Formerly Absalom's army commander, whom David had intended to appoint in place of Joab (2 Samuel 19:13).
• Abishai: Joab's brother.
• The Cherethites and the Pelethites: A group known as David's bodyguard.
• Abel of Beth-maacah: A city in northern Israel. It appears as a place so renowned for wisdom that there was an old saying, "They shall surely ask counsel at Abel."
• Benaiah, Zadok, and Abiathar: Officials and priests of David's court.

Points for Reflection

• Assessing Joab's murder: In this chapter David does not punish Joab for killing Amasa. In 1 Kings 2, however, David, citing the blood of Abner and Amasa, charges Solomon in his final instructions to deal with Joab, and Joab is put to death in Solomon's reign.
• The concubines and earlier events: The concubines in verse 3 are the women whom Absalom had violated in the sight of the people (2 Samuel 16:21–22). The passage is often read together with Nathan's prophecy (2 Samuel 12:11).
• A foreshadowing of division: The cry in verse 1 is nearly identical to the words of the northern tribes when they broke away in the time of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:16). For this reason the chapter is sometimes read as a harbinger of the division of the kingdom.
• The translation of Ira's title: In verse 26, the Korean Revised Version renders Ira's office as daesin ("chief minister"). Because the Hebrew word ordinarily means "priest," translations and interpretations differ.
• Comparison with the kiss of Judas: Joab's use of a kiss to catch his victim off guard is sometimes compared with the kiss of Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26:49).