Chapter 20

1 By occasion of the quarrel, Sheba maketh a party in Israel. 3 David’s ten concubines are shut up in perpetual prison. 4 Amasa, made captain over Judah, is slain by Joab. 14 Joab pursueth Sheba unto Abel. 16 A wise woman saveth the city by Sheba’s head. 23 David’s officers.

1. Sheba. A Benjamite who still retained a spirit of enmity to the house of David. He took advantage of the dispute between the men of Israel and Judah (ch. 19:41–43) to raise the cry of revolt against the king.

To his tents. For the use of this phrase, see 1 Kings 12:16; 2 Chron. 10:16.

2. From after David. Only a short time before the men of Israel were loud in their protestations that they had a greater claim upon David than had the men of Judah (ch. 19:43). Human nature is fickle indeed. David’s throne was still far from secure in spite of all the loud words of welcome.

The men of Judah clave. The rebellion of Absalom had originated in Judah, and it was Judah that had been tardy in returning to the standard of David (ch. 19:11), but now Judah clave to him. It was well for David that he had wooed rather than alienated the affections of Judah, for it was to these men who were so slow to welcome him that he now owed his throne.

3. Living in widowhood. The tragic fate of David’s ten concubines was obviously the result of Absalom’s shameful deed carried out at the suggestion of Ahithophel (ch. 16:21). The women would continue to be housed and fed as long as they lived, but to all intents and purposes their husband was dead to them.

4. To Amasa. David had promised Amasa that he would be his commander in chief (ch. 19:13), and he kept his promise. A grave crisis had arisen, and Amasa was ordered to have the army in readiness within three days to crush the revolt. For a new man this was not an easy task at such a time of division and turmoil.

5. He tarried longer. No cause is given for Amasa’s delay in mustering the army. The wily Joab still had a great hold on the people, and he could hardly be expected to do much to expedite the organization of a fighting force that was to be under the command of his rival and successor. Amasa probably did his best, but may have been thwarted on every hand by officers and men who were still loyal to Joab and by the difficulties inherent in the general unrest and division then prevailing.

6. Abishai. The brother of Joab (ch. 2:18). David had recently manifested his impatience with him (ch. 19:22), but now turned to him rather than to Joab. He was evidently determined to pass over Joab, regardless of the seriousness of the crisis. But Joab was not easily eliminated, as the sequence of events was to reveal.

Do us more harm. The nation was still in a state of dissatisfaction and unrest, and David had not yet regained a firm grip on affairs. In this general state of disorganization almost anything could happen, and David was keen enough to sense the extreme peril of the situation. Furthermore, the cleavage was along the old Judah-Israel line of division.

Fenced cities. If Sheba was given opportunity to secure a number of fortified cities and entrench himself behind the walls of one of them, the task of stamping out his rebellion would become exceedingly difficult. David’s greatest hope was speed, before Sheba could consolidate his forces and establish a strong defensive position.

Escape us. Literally, “take away our eye.” Several interpretations have been given to this passage. The KJV translators understood the phrase “take away our eye,” as meaning, “eluding the eye.” The LXX may be translated, “cast a shadow over our eyes.” However, the Targums read, “cause us harm,” from which the RSV takes its rendering, “cause us trouble.”

7. Joab’s men. David had made a desperate effort to deprive Joab of his command, but the army was still largely his and the men still acknowledged allegiance to him.

The Cherethites, and the Pelethites. These men formed the special bodyguard of David (see on ch. 15:18). They constituted a small body of well-trained men whose loyalty could be absolutely depended upon. To send them out into the battle shows the extreme gravity of the situation, for it would leave David largely unprotected in Jerusalem.

All the mighty men. This was a special body of heroes, men who had particularly distinguished themselves during David’s early days as an outlaw and later as king (see ch. 23:8–39).

8. Gideon. A town nearly 6 mi. (9.6 km.) northwest of Jerusalem, now ejРJйЖb.

Went before them. Or, “came into their presence.” It seems that Amasa gathered his troops and followed Abishai northward.

It fell out. The details are not entirely clear. Joab was wearing a military cloak bound about with a girdle into which he had thrust his dagger. As he was walking along, the dagger dropped out. Some think he stooped down and picked it up with his left hand as Amasa appeared. Others think that he may have had another weapon, concealed, and dropped his sword to make it appear that he was unarmed.

9. With the right hand. Joab’s act of taking his cousin by the beard and kissing him was evidently a common form of salutation among kinsmen.

10. Took no heed. Everything happened so quickly and Joab’s actions seemed so guileless that Amasa had no suspicion of treachery.

In the fifth rib. He struck him in the abdomen and disemboweled him (see on ch. 2:23).

So Joab and Abishai. With Amasa dead, there was no question as to who was now commander in chief of the forces of David, regardless of the king’s command. Amasa had been given the post (v. 4), and then Abishai was sent forth with the available troops (v. 6). But now Joab simply stepped into his old position, and without asking any questions continued the pursuit of Sheba.

11. One of Joab’s men. The important item of the moment was the swift pursuit of Sheba and the putting down of the rebellion. Once that object had been achieved Joab felt that he would be in a position to make his peace with David. In the meantime, however, there was the matter of Amasa, who lay on the ground wallowing in his own blood (v. 12). Joab stationed one of his trusted men on the spot who raised a cry that would make it appear that Amasa had himself been slain because of treachery to the cause of David, and that it was now Joab who was leading the pursuit of the rebels to the end that David might be assured his throne. Joab’s loyalty to David was well known to the men in the present conflict, and they also remembered Amasa as the man in command of the forces of Absalom, against whom they had been so recently arrayed. These men had little confidence in Amasa, and were probably happy to have him out of the way. Joab, of course, slew Amasa because he could not brook him as a rival and because he was determined to continue in his old position.

12. When the man saw. As the soldiers in pursuit of Sheba saw that Amasa was dead they naturally stopped and questioned. This was interfering with the pursuit; hence, Amasa’s body was removed from the road. The men now arriving at this spot continued on their way, simply following the men before them.

14. And he. That is, Sheba.

Unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah. This was probably Abel-beth-maachah, in the far north of Israel, a fortified town in the tribe of Naphtali (1 Kings 15:20; 2 Kings 15:29). It is believed to be the modern Tell Abil, situated on a knoll west of the headwaters of the Jordan, about 12 mi. north of Lake Huleh, near Dan.

All the Berites. This may be the name of a family or clan living in the vicinity of Abel-beth-maachah. Nothing else is known of them. Some believe the Bichrites, the members of Sheba’s clan, are here referred to. Sheba was a son of Bichri (v. 1).

After him. They went after Sheba. Evidently Sheba was gathering strength here in this northern region, and if left alone would soon be in a position to put up a formidable struggle against David’s forces.

15. Besieged him. Sheba had had time enough to establish himself in a fortified town that could be taken only be siege.

Cast up a bank. See 2 Kings 19:32; Isa. 37:33. This was a common method of siege warfare in the ancient Orient. The weakest part of a wall was the part near the top, which might be made of only mud bricks, whereas the bottom would be of stone. A bank of earth would be thrown up against the wall, and siege engines, if such were employed, mounted on it. In this way a hole could be battered through the wall and the city entered.

Trench. Heb. chel, “a rampart.” Some take chel to refer to a fortified area between a lower outer wall and the main wall of the city, or the outer wall itself, or the glacis, others, by metonymy, to a moat or ditch. With a bank thrown up in this area, against the main wall itself, the besiegers would be in position to make their final attack.

Battered the wall. It is doubtful whether the forces of David were in possession of siege engines, such as battering-rams. These were common in later years with the Assyrian and Babylonian armies and gave these peoples their great success.

16. A wise woman. The woman asked for a conference with Joab. Her city was about to be deluged with blood for the sake of one man who was in revolt against David. This did not appear reasonable to her.

19. To destroy a city. Joab’s war against Sheba had become a war against Abel, and that ancient city, with its peaceful inhabitants, was now in danger of destruction.

22. All the people. The woman proved herself to be wise indeed. She went to the people whose interests and existence were at stake and discussed the issues with them. If she had gone to Sheba, she would doubtless have gained nothing for the people and only trouble for herself. If nothing had been done, the inhabitants of Abel would have had to pay the price for Sheba’s selfishness and ambition.

Blew a trumpet. The signal for the end of hostilities (see chs. 2:28; 18:16).

His tent. His home (see on ch. 18:17).

23. Joab was over all the host. David’s officers are listed in vs. 23–26. There are some changes from the officers listed earlier (ch. 8:16–18). Joab retained his position as commander in chief after the rebellion of Sheba had been suppressed.

Benaiah. Benaiah continued in command of David’s bodyguard (see 2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Chron. 18:17). He was one of the mighty men of David, who had distinguished himself by slaying “two lionlike men of Moab” (2 Sam. 23:20).

24. Over the tribute. Literally, “over the labor gang” (see 1 Kings 5:14, where the same Hebrew word here translated “tribute” is translated “levy”). This office is not mentioned in the earlier list in 2 Sam. 8:16–18 or in 1 Chron. 18:14–17, and it seems to have been created only toward the close of David’s reign. The same office was held by “Adoniram the son of Abda” (1 Kings 4:6) during Solomon’s reign and by “Adoram” during the early part of the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:18). It is possible that these different texts all refer to the same individual. The system of forced labor came to be such a thorn in the flesh of the Israelites during Solomon’s reign that Adoram was stoned to death during the early difficulties of Rehoboam’s reign when the northern tribes revolted (1 Kings 12:18).

Jehoshaphat. Mentioned in the early list of David’s officers. He still held the same office during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 4:3). For his work, see on 2 Sam. 8:16.

25. Zadok and Abiathar. Earlier Zadok and “Ahimelech the son of Abiathar” were named as the priests (ch. 8:17). The present list, however, is for a later period of David’s reign, and it is surprising, therefore, to see that the son seems to have preceded his father as priest. For a discussion of these men see on ch. 8:17.

26. Ira also the Jairite. This officer is not listed in ch. 8:16–18 nor in 1 Chron. 18:14–17. It has been conjectured that “Ira an Ithrite,” listed among David’s mighty men in 2 Sam. 23:38, may be the same man, but the Word is silent on this point.

Ellen G. White comments

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