2 Samuel 20:4

JOAB'S TREACHEROUS MURDER OF AMASA

"Then the king said to Amasa, "Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself." So Amasa went to summon Judah; but he delayed beyond the set time which had been appointed him. And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and cause us trouble." And there went out after Abishai, Joab and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; they went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing a soldier's garment, and over it was a girdle with a sword in its sheath fastened upon his loins, and as he went forward, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother"? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword which was in Joab's hand; so Joab struck him with it in the body, and shed his bowels to the ground, without striking a second blow; and he died."

"Then the king said to Amasa" (2 Samuel 20:4). "This man was a nephew of David, the son of David's sister Abigail, and his father was an Ishmaelite (1 Chronicles 2:13-17).[7]

"Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself" (2 Samuel 20:4). This assignment should have been easy enough for Amasa, as he was specifically recognized as the leader of Absalom's army gathered from all Israel. The situation required haste. The king recognized that Sheba should not be given time to amass an army and to rally the people behind him.

There is no doubt that this action was David's preliminary move leading to the formal appointment of Amasa as commander-in-chief in the place of Joab. "But this first step toward the fulfillment of that promise to Amasa was a very imprudent act, like the promise itself."[8]

"But he delayed beyond the set time appointed him" (2 Samuel 20:5). Why was this delay? Willis suggested the following reasons: (1) he did not think it necessary to hurry; (2) he did not know how to summon the troops quickly; or (3) the men of Judah had lost confidence in him.[9] There is also the possibility that he might have contemplated casting his lot with the new rebellion under Sheba. Whatever the reason, David, still reluctant to place Joab in command, summoned Abishai and sent him after Sheba.

"And David said to Abishai, Take your lord's servants and pursue him" (Sheba) (2 Samuel 20:6). This, of course, was David's way of insulting Joab, whom he would not forgive for the murder of Absalom. It is to Joab's credit that he, along with the "mighty men" and David's personal bodyguard of the Cherethites and the Pelethites, consented to follow after Abishai. David's instructions for Abishai to take your lord's servants is a reference to David's personal bodyguard.[10]

"Sheba ... will do us more harm than Absalom" (2 Samuel 20:6). "David need not have been worried. The tribes had had their fill of war, and the next time we hear of Sheba he is unsuccessfully canvassing the country for support, accompanied only by his own clan."[11]

"And they went out after Abishai" (2 Samuel 20:7). This means that Abishai was the commander, but that situation did not prevail very long. Joab was the real leader in whom all of the soldiers placed their trust and confidence.

"When they were ... in Gibeon ... Amasa came to meet them" (2 Samuel 20:8). Joab, no doubt, had anticipated this meeting and had prepared for it.

"Joab was wearing a soldier's garment; over it was a girdle with a sword in its sheath ... and as he went forward it fell out" (2 Samuel 20:8). "The sacred text here as well as that of the Septuagint (LXX) is corrupt, and we can only guess,"[12] as to exactly what happened here. Some believe that Joab murdered Amasa with the sword that fell out of the sheath; but others suppose that he used a second weapon concealed in the sleeve of his left hand. Cook favored the first of these views,[13] and Tatum suggested this: "Joab tricked Amasa by letting one sword fall from his belt; and then, pretending to greet Amasa as a brother; and when he came close, he drew out a hidden sword and thrust it into his abdomen."[14] To this writer, Tatum's explanation seems more likely to have been the way it happened. It is hard to believe that Amasa would have seen Joab pick up a naked sword off the ground (even if it had been with his left hand) without any suspicion or caution on Amasa's part.

"And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him (2 Samuel 20:9) ... But Amasa did not observe the sword which was in Joab's hand" (2 Samuel 20:10). Joab's right hand was on Amasa's beard, so the sword had to be in his left hand, and the fact that Amasa did not see it indicates that Joab had concealed it in his sleeve until the moment he used it.

"Without striking a second blow; and he (Amasa) died" (2 Samuel 20:10a). "The experienced slayer of men knew the most effective stroke."[15]