The big picture
Sheba, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, rejects David, the restored king of Israel, and calls the tribes away. Judah, David's own tribe, stays with him. Amasa, the new army commander, is slow to gather troops. Joab, the former commander, kills him and leads the pursuit himself. Sheba takes refuge in Abel of Beth-maachah, a city whose people face a siege. A wise woman secures an end to the attack by arranging Sheba's death. David's rule survives amid further violence.
In this chapter
- Sheba Draws Israel Away 2 Samuel 20:1-3
Sheba sounds a trumpet and tells Israel it has no share in David.
- Joab Kills His Replacement 2 Samuel 20:4-10
David gives Amasa three days to gather Judah's men, but he is late.
- The Army Passes the Covered Body 2 Samuel 20:11-13
One of Joab's men calls the troops to follow Joab if they support David.
- A Wise Woman Saves Her City 2 Samuel 20:14-22
Joab's army reaches Abel of Beth-maachah and builds a bank against its wall.
- Joab Again Commands the Army 2 Samuel 20:23-26
The closing list places Joab over Israel's whole army.
Central truth
Sheba's revolt is stopped, but Joab regains command through murder and the palace women continue to bear the cost of rebellion.
Scripture beside the summary
2 Samuel · King James Version · 262 Samuel 20:1-3
Sheba Draws Israel Away
Sheba sounds a trumpet and tells Israel it has no share in David. The tribes follow him, while Judah remains with the king as he returns to Jerusalem. David then confines the ten lesser wives left to care for his house. He provides their food but no longer sleeps with them. They live shut away until death, like widows while he is alive. The political split continues outside the palace, and the women used by Absalom face a lasting loss of freedom within it.
In everyday life
A women's support worker records the long restrictions placed on residents after a public scandal involving those who controlled their housing. Meals are provided, but the women lose choice and contact with ordinary life. Material support does not erase confinement. David's lesser wives are shut away after Absalom used them in his claim to rule.
Notice
2 Samuel 20:3 The women receive food but remain confined for life. The account distinguishes being provided for from being restored to their former place in the household.
2 Samuel 20:1-3
King James Version1And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
2So every man of Israel 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.
3And 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, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
2 Samuel 20:4-10
Joab Kills His Replacement
David gives Amasa three days to gather Judah's men, but he is late. Fearing that Sheba will reach fortified cities, David sends Abishai with the available troops. Joab goes too. Near Gibeon they meet Amasa. Joab greets him as a brother and takes his beard as if to kiss him. Amasa does not guard against the sword in Joab's hand. Joab stabs him, and he dies from the wound. The friendly greeting hides a killing that removes the man appointed in Joab's place.
In everyday life
A personnel investigator watches packing-line footage of a former supervisor greeting her replacement. As they smile, she disables the controls he needs and leaves him unable to run the shift. The welcome has hidden an attack on his place. Joab's greeting ends in murder, not a reversible attempt to sabotage another worker's role.
Notice
2 Samuel 20:9 Joab's greeting calls Amasa his brother and moves toward a kiss. Those signs of closeness make the attack that follows a deliberate betrayal of trust.
2 Samuel 20:4-10
King James Version4Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
5So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
6And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
7And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
8When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.
9And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.
10But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.
2 Samuel 20:11-13
The Army Passes the Covered Body
One of Joab's men calls the troops to follow Joab if they support David. Amasa lies in his blood on the road, and people stop when they see him. The man moves the body into a field and covers it with a cloth. Once it is out of sight, the men continue the pursuit of Sheba. The army's movement resumes without a hearing about the killing. Covering the body clears the way, but it does not clear Joab of what he has done.
In everyday life
The road crew foreman sees workers stop at the wreck of a colleague's vehicle. Someone moves it behind a screen, and traffic starts again. The route is open, but the cause of the crash still needs an answer. Removing a visible reminder has not resolved the harm. Amasa's body is moved after Joab murders him.
Notice
2 Samuel 20:12 The body is removed because everyone stops at the sight of it. The practical action restores movement while leaving the murder itself unaddressed.
2 Samuel 20:11-13
King James Version11And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab.
12And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.
13When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
2 Samuel 20:14-22
A Wise Woman Saves Her City
Joab's army reaches Abel of Beth-maachah and builds a bank against its wall. A wise woman calls for a hearing. She asks why he would destroy a faithful city in Israel. Joab says he wants only Sheba, who has rebelled against David. She promises his head. The people follow her advice, kill Sheba, and throw his head over the wall. Joab sounds the trumpet and withdraws. Her words prevent wider destruction, but the settlement is secured through one man's execution.
In everyday life
A neighbourhood representative asks armed authorities what specific demand has brought them to her street. By getting a clear answer, she opens a path away from a wider clash. The residents can respond to a named issue rather than vague threats. The woman at Abel ends a siege by arranging a rebel's death and beheading.
Notice
2 Samuel 20:21 Joab identifies one man as his demand rather than the city as a whole. That distinction gives the woman a way to negotiate an end to the siege.
2 Samuel 20:14-22
King James Version14And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.
15And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
16Then 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.
17And 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.
18Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter.
19I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
20And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand 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.
22Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. 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 retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king.
2 Samuel 20:23-26
Joab Again Commands the Army
The closing list places Joab over Israel's whole army. Benaiah leads the Cherethites and Pelethites, while Adoram oversees tribute. Jehoshaphat keeps records and Sheva serves as scribe. Zadok and Abiathar are priests, and Ira holds a high place near David. These named duties show the government continuing after revolt and murder. Yet Joab's position is troubling in light of Amasa's death. The man who killed the new commander appears once more at the head of the army, with no punishment recorded here.
In everyday life
A public records clerk fixes a new command chart to the wall of a prison visiting room. Families see that the same chief remains after an unresolved death. The chart states who holds power but does not explain why no one has answered for the loss. Joab regains command after killing his own replacement.
Notice
2 Samuel 20:23 Joab is named over the army again after Amasa's murder. The list records his position without describing a trial or punishment for the killing.
2 Samuel 20:23-26
King James Version23Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
24And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder:
25And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
26And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
2 Samuel 20:1 begins with “And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in…”
Where the chapter turns
2 Samuel 20:10 forms a natural hinge: “But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck…”
The final note
2 Samuel 20:26 leaves the reader with “And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Joab, Amasa, Bichri, Sheba, David, Israel help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
