2 Samuel 20

20:1 Down with the dynasty of David! By the same rallying cry, the northern Israelites later dissociated themselves from Solomon (1 Kgs 12:16). Sheba’s failed revolt foreshadowed the ultimate failure of the northern kingdom, which was founded on a similar revolt by Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12).

20:3 The fate of the ten concubines (15:16) whom Absalom had publicly violated (16:21-22) was like Michal’s (see 6:23 and corresponding note).

20:4-5 The king had installed Amasa in Joab’s place as commander of the armies (19:13-14). David apparently expected from Amasa the same efficiency and effectiveness as Joab had provided.

20:7 the king’s bodyguard: See study note on 8:18.

20:9 to kiss him: This affectionate greeting was not always genuine (cp. 14:33).

20:10 Amasa . . . died: For the second time, Joab killed a commander of the opposing army by treachery (the first was Abner, 3:26-27). Twice, David tried to merge feuding parties by absorbing the military leader of the opposing side (see 3:6-13; 17:25; 19:13); twice Joab scuttled David’s plans by treacherously murdering the rival commander (see also 3:22-30).

20:14 Abel-beth-maacah was in the northernmost region of Israelite territory, four miles west of the city of Dan.

20:15 A siege ramp was often an earthen ramp built up against the wall, a well-known tactic for breaching a walled city’s defenses (see also 2 Kgs 25:1; Jer 52:4).

20:16 wise woman: Cp. 14:2.

20:18-19 The woman told a saying to convince Joab not to slaughter an entire city, especially such a noble city as Abel (a shortened form of Abel-beth-maacah, 20:15), just to capture one criminal. • an important town in Israel (literally a town that is a mother in Israel): It was common to refer to outlying villages around a larger city as its “daughters.”

20:23-26 This list of David’s leaders and the similar list in 8:15-18 bracket chs 9–20 in David’s life. Even after the major crises described in these 12 chapters, David’s monarchy did not fall apart; he still had an intact administration.20:23 In 8:16, Joab was called “commander of the army,” but here he is commander of the army of Israel. David’s wider control of Israel was established when the northern secessionist movements were defeated.

20:24 Adoniram: The addition of the officer in charge of forced labor (not mentioned in 8:15-18; see also 1 Kgs 4:6) shows that David had now gained sufficient control of Israel to require the payment of taxes and to conscript labor throughout the kingdom (cp. 1 Sam 8:11-17).

20:25 In contrast to David’s personal priest (see 8:18; 20:26 and corresponding notes), Zadok and Abiathar presided over public worship.

20:26 David’s personal priest was probably not a Levite but rather a special class of religious servant appointed for his royal court (see study note on 8:18)