2 Samuel 20

AND there happend His presence was casual in it self, though certain, and ordered by God's Providence. to be there a man of Belial A Lawless person, one that attempted to shake off the Yoke of Civil Authority; See Deut. 13. 13., whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite Agrieved at the Translation of the Kingdom from Saul, and that Tribe, to David., and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David The Tribe of Iudah have Monopolized the King to themselves, and will not allow us any share in him; let them therefore enjoy him alone, and let us seek out a new King., neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse The Tribe of Iudah have Monopolized the King to themselves, and will not allow us any share in him; let them therefore enjoy him alone, and let us seek out a new King.: every man to his tents An Expression of Contempt, implying their Rejection of him, that he was no more to be owned as their King, but as a private Person, as the Son of Iesse. f Let us all desist from this unthankful Office, of bringing the King back, and go each to our homes, that we may consider, and then meet together to choose a New King., O Israel.

So every man of Israel i. e. The generality of those Israelites who were present. went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

¶ And 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 ward Partly, because they had not vigorously Opposed Absaloms Lustful Desire, as they should have done, even with the hazard of their Lives: and partly, lest the sight of them should renew the Memory of Absalom's Filthiness, and of their own and David's Reproach, which it was fit to bury in perpetual Oblivion: and partly, because it might appear Incestuous to have to do with those who had been defiled by his own Son: and partly, because as David would not, so it was not now convenient that any other man should have any Conjugal conversation with them., and sed them, but went not in unto them, so they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

¶ Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah And March in the Head of them as their General, as I have promised thee; Chap. 19. 13., within three days Which he supposed Amasa having been their late General could easily do: and the business required haste., and be thou here present Within that time to receive Orders and Instructions from me..

So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah; but he tarried longer than the set time Either, because the people being wearied out by the late Civil War, were not forward to Engage in another: or, because the Soldiers had more Affection to Ioa..., than to their new General; to whose ill Conduct possibly they might impute their unsuccessfulness in the last Battel: Or, because Amasa for his own Interest might seek delays, to render himself more necessary and useful to the King, and to keep up his Honourable and Profitable Employment, which is the common Policy of such Men. which he had appointed him.

And David said to Abishai Not to Ioab; lest by this means he should recover his Place, and Amasa be discontented, and David's Fidelity in making good his Promise to Amasa be questioned., Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lords servants i. e. My Guards that attend upon my Person, and the other Soldiers who are now present with me. He speaks of himself in the Third Person, as is very frequent. For it is not probable he would now call Ioab his lord, whom he had lately Deposed; nor Amasa, who had not yet taken actual Possession of his Place, nor had the Command over the King's Guards., and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.

And there went out after him Joabs men The remainders of Ioab's Army who were there present, with whom also Ioab might go as a Reformade, watching an opportunity to do what he designed. and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites Of whom, see on Chap. 8. 18., the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of.

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them Having gathered some Forces, and given due Orders for the rest to follow him, he returned to Ierusalem, and by the Kings Command went after those mentioned ver. 7. and being come up to them at the place where they waited for him, he put himself into the Head of Ioab's men, and the Cher... thites and the Pelethites, and such as he had brought along with him, and Marched before them as their Chief and General.; and Joabs garment that he had put on, was girded unto him After the manner of Travellers and Soldiers., and upon it a girdle with a sword fastned upon his loins in the sheath thereof, and as he went forth To meet and Salute Amasa, who was coming towards him to do him Honor. it fell out Things having (it is likely) been so contrived by Ioab, that upon the least Motion of his Body, his Sword should drop out, and he might take it up without raising Amasa's Suspition..

And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard As the manner of Ancient times was, when they kissed and saluted one another. with the right hand to kiss him.

But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joabs hand Which falling out, as it seemed, casually, he supposed that Ioab intended only to put it into its Scabbard, and therefore took no care to defend himself against the stroke.: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib See on Chap. 2. 23., and shed out his bowels to the ground, and strook him not again He dispatched him at one stroke; or, gave him his Deaths Wound at the first blow, and needed not to smite him again., and he died: so Joab Who now boldly resumed his former Place, and Marched in the Head of the Army. It is not strange, that Amasa's Soldiers did not fight to Revenge his Death; partly, because not many of them were yet come up, but came by degrees, as the following Verses... hew; and partly, because Ioab's Interest and Authority with the Military-men was very great; especially, with David's Guards, who were here present, and who had no kindness for Amasa, as having been the General of the Rebellious Army; and, as they might think, was not fit to be put into a Place of so great Power and Trust. and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.

And one of Joabs men Left there on purpose to deliver the following Message. stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab He that would have Ioab to be General, rather than such a Perfideous Rebel and Traytor as Amasa, and he that is for David He that wisheth David good success against Sheba, and against all Rebels. Whereby he implies, that though this Fact of his was done against the Kings Command, yet it was for his Interest and Defence., let him go after Joab.

And Amasa wallowed Heb. rolled himself, being in the Pangs of Death; yet having so much Life left, as to move himself a little, though not to raise himself up from his place. in blood In his own blood, which was shed there. in the midst of the high-way: and when the man saw that all the people To wit, the Soldiers which were upon their March. stood still Wondering at the Spectacle, and enquiring into the Author and occasion of it., he removed Amasa out of the high-way into the field Perceiving, that it both incensed them against Ioab, and hindred the Kings present Service., and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him, stood still.

When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

And he Either, 1. Ioab, who pursued Sheba through all the Tribes as far as Abel. Or rather, 2. Sheba, who was last mentioned, who Marched from Tribe to Tribe to stir them up to Sedition; and to him the following words seem best to agree. went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah Or rather, to Abel, even to Bethmaachah; i. e. unto Abel-beth-maachah, as this place is called here in the Hebrew text, ver. 15. and 1 King. 15. 20. 2 King. 15. 29. to distinguish it from other Abels; and to signifie, that this was that Abel which was in the Tribe of Napthali in the Northern border of Canaan towards that part of Syria called Maachah, 2 Sam. 10. 8., and all the Berites Such as lived in the City, or Territory of Beeroth of Benjamin, Iosh. 18. 25. who being of the same Tribe, if not City with Sheba, and his greatest Acquaintance and Friends: or, being most Implacable against David, adhered to Sheba, and followed him through all the Tribes of Israel.: and they to wit, the Tribes of Israel; i. e. a considerable Number of them; as might well be expected, when the discontents were so high and general. were gathered together, and went also after him i. e. After Sheba..

And they i. e. Ioab and his Army, which is easily understood, both from the foregoing and following Verses. came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city From whence they might either batter the Wall, or shoot at those who defended it against them, who should Assault it. See 2 King. 19. 32. Ier. 32. 24. and 33. 4. Otherwise, they threw down the bank of the City, which they had raised up to Defend the City on the weakest side., and it stood in the trench i. e. The Bank stood in, or near to the Trench, or the Wall of the City; so that the City was in great danger of being taken. Otherwise, the City stood within the Trench, or Wall, being Defended only by a single Trench, or a weak Wall; the Bank which was raised up there to Defend it, being thrown down.: and all the people that were with Joab, † battered the wall to throw it down:

¶ Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, Hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee.

And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he: Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear.

Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matters. s According to this Translation the sense is, This City which thou art about to Destroy, is no mean and contemptible one, but so honourable and considerable for its Wisdom, and the Wise People in it, that when any differences did arise among any of the Neighbours, they used Proverbially to say, We will ask the Opinion and Advice of the Men of Abel about it, and we will stand to their Arbitration; and so all parties were satisfied, and Disputes ended. But there is another Translation in the Margent, embraced also by some others, which seems to be the best; They (i. e. The Citizens of this City) plainly (or, commonly) spake (among themselves) in the beginning (to wit, when Sheba and his Men first came into the City, and they were informed, That Ioab was pursuing him) saying, Surely they will ask of Abel, and so make an end: i. e. They will peaceably Expostulate the business with us, and enquire, Why we received Sheba into our City? and whether we would deliver him up into their hands, and would inform us of the reason of their Hostile Attempt upon us, and offer to us Conditions of Peace, which by Gods Law Deut. 20. 10. they were to do even to strange, and much more to Israelitish Cities. So she does both modestly reprove Ioab for the neglect of his Duty, and oblige him to the Performance of it.

I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel Or, I (to wit, the City of Abel, in whose Name and Person she speaks this) am one of the peaceable and faithful Cities of Israel. Whatsoever Sheba may design, whom we have innocently received into our City, before we well understood the matter; We of this City abhor the thoughts of Warring, and Rebelling against the King, as having had no hand in Absalom's late Rebellion: which is probable enough, considering both their Scituation in the utmost Borders of the Land, very remote from the Seat of that Civil War; and their open Profession of their Peaceableness, and Fidelity, or Loyalty to the King; which had been Impudent if they had been so lately Involved in the last War and Rebellion.: thou seekest to destroy a city, and a mother i e. A Mother City: for great Cities are commonly called Mothers; as lesser Towns or Villages subject to them, and depending upon them, for Direction and Defence, are called their Daughters, as Ezek. 16. 27, 46. in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD i. e. A considerable part of that Land which God has chosen for his peculiar Possession. The Destruction which thou art about to bring upon us, is an injury also to Israel, and to the God of Israel.?

And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up, or destroy.

The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim Qu. How can this be so, when he is called a Benjamite? ver. 1. Answ. Either he was a Benjamite by Birth, but dwelt in the Tribe of Ephraim, as many did upon several occasions dwell out of their own Tribes: or, mount Ephraim was a place in Benjamin, which might be so called, either because it was upon the Borders of Ephraim, and looked towards it; or from some notable Action or Event of the Ephraimites in that place. Comp. Chap. 18. 6. (Sheba the son of Bichri by name) has lift up his hand i. e. Taken up Arms, or raised Rebellion. against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall Which she undertook, because she knew the present temper, and great fears of the Citizens, and Soldiers too; and that considering their evident and extream Danger, they were generally desirous of Peace, from which they were restrained only by Sheba's Authority and Interest; and therefore did not doubt by God's Blessing upon her Wise Counsel to effect it, as indeed she did. And it is not unlikely, that this Woman might be a Governess in that City. For though this Office was commonly performed by Men; yet were not the Women wholly Excluded, but sometimes Imployed in the Government: As we see in Deborah, who Judged Israel, Iudg. 4. 4. And Queen Athalia, 2 King. 11..

Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom Prudently Treated with them about it, either severally or joyntly, as she saw fit; representing to them the certainty and nearness of all their Ruine, if they did not speedily comply with her Desires, and certain Deliverance if they did., and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab: and he blew a trumpet, and they Ioab and his Army which Besieged them. † retired from the city, every man to his tent: and Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.

¶ Now Joab was over all the host of Israel The good success of this, and of former Expedition, under the conduct of Ioab, had so fixed his Interest in the Army, and others of David's fastest Friends, that the King could not, without danger to the publick weal displace him.: and Benajah the son of Jehoiadah was over the Cherethites, and over the Pelethites.

And Adoram was over the tribute The receiver and manager of the Kings publick Revenue. See on 1 King. 4. 6.: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder See 2 Sam 8. 16..

And Sheba was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests See 2 Sam. 8. 17. and 15. 35.:

And Ira also the Jairite So called from his birth or dwelling in the Countrey of Iair in Gilead, Numb. 32. 41. Iudg. 10. 4. was a chief ruler Either the President of the Kings Council: or, his Chief Minister (as the Hebrew word Cohen signifies) of State, instead of Ahitophes: or in some other very high place near the Kings Person. Compare 2 Sam. 8. 18. where this title is given to David's Sons, the Chief of which were now cut off. And these things are here repeated with some alteration, to show that David was now fully reestablished in his former Estate. about David.