2 Samuel 20 Study Notes

20:1 Sheba son of Bichri is not mentioned outside this account, but he was probably a leader among the Benjaminite delegation that escorted David back to Jerusalem. He blew the ram’s horn and called the people of Israel to break off from David (cp. 18:16), citing the more distant relationship.

20:2 In the heat of the moment, following Sheba seemed to many people the right thing to do, so the men of Israel deserted David. Meanwhile, the men of Judah escorted David all the way to Jerusalem to guarantee his safety.

20:3 David compassionately provided for the welfare of the ten concubines with whom Absalom had had sex during his coup attempt (16:22). However, he was not intimate with them again, perhaps because of Torah considerations (Lv 18:15) but more likely to ensure no confusion arose within the royal line.

20:4-5 Amasa, the new head of David’s army (19:13), was commanded to gather the men of Judah to crush Sheba’s revolt. Time was of the essence, a fact that Amasa apparently did not grasp.

20:6 Abishai was David’s next choice to lead the attack against Sheba.

20:7 On Cherethites and Pelethites, see note at 8:18.

20:8 Gibeon, about four miles northwest of Jerusalem, had been the site of Joab’s encounter with Abner’s forces (2:12-16). The site provided a panoramic view of the central Benjamin plateau and was large enough to gather a large fighting force. Amasa’s late arrival may have received a mixed response from the army; after all, he had led Absalom’s forces against David (17:25). Joab was present, though he was not in charge. His sword fell out of its sheath, probably a deceptive move by Joab so Amasa would not view him as drawing his weapon.

20:9 Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard—reached out and touched his face as he might do before greeting him with a kiss.

20:10 The sword in Joab’s hand did not seem a threat to Amasa because it appeared that Joab was merely picking it up after dropping it (v. 8). Did not stab him again, and Amasa died is literally “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.” The first blow was clearly a fatal one, though he may not have died at once (cp. v. 12).

20:11 One of Joab’s young men rallied everyone to follow Joab as their self-proclaimed, reappointed leader. Abishai apparently acquiesced to his brother’s leadership.

20:12-13 Seeing their commander dying in the road caused the troops a great deal of confusion.

20:14 Sheba retreated to the far north; Abel of Beth-maacah lay about thirty miles north of the Sea of Galilee.

20:15 Besieging a city generally involved surrounding it, cutting off its food and water supply, building a siege ramp to get over the wall, and constructing battering rams to break down the city’s wall.

20:16 This woman is described as wise in retrospect because of what she did in the narrative.

20:17 Joab no doubt approached the woman cautiously (Jdg 9:50-55).

20:18-19 The city of Abel, a city of long standing within the nation, had a reputation as a place where wisdom often settled disputes.

20:20-21 Joab responded that his fight was not with the city’s inhabitants, only with Sheba, whom they were harboring.

20:22 Once Sheba was dead, the revolt was ended. On blowing the ram’s horn, see note at 2:27-28.

20:23 Joab had become commander of the whole army of Israel again, and David may have felt that he should leave well enough alone. After all, Joab had been a factor in reuniting Israel and restoring David’s kingdom. Joab’s sin, however, was not forgotten, and David later instructed his son Solomon to deal with it when he became king (1Kg 2:5-6). On Benaiah and the Cherethites and Pelethites, see note at 8:18.

20:24 Forced labor appears here for the first time; during Solomon’s days, only non-Israelites made up this group (1Kg 9:20). Perhaps this was added late in David’s reign. On Jehoshaphat, see note at 8:16.

20:25 Jehoshaphat was now assisted by Sheva, who had apparently replaced Seraiah (8:17) as court secretary. Zadok’s influence would continue into Solomon’s reign (1Kg 2:35), though Abiathar would side against Solomon during the transition of power from David to Solomon and suffer banishment from the priesthood (1Kg 1:7; 2:26-27).

20:26 Ira the Jairite, otherwise unknown, was David’s priest, perhaps assisting him in matters of private worship, but certainly not functioning in place of Torah-prescribed patterns (unlike Micah in Jdg 17).