Verses 10-25
The Pursuit And Death of Sheba And Establishment Of The Kingdom (2 Samuel 20:10-25 ).
The pursuit of Sheba now went on relentlessly as David’s elite troops, ably led by Joab and Abishai, came up to Abel where Sheba and his men had taken refuge, having no doubt learned of the approaching forces. Sheba was aware that he had not yet had time to gather sufficient forces to meet them head on. For the men of Israel may angrily have returned home in response to his call, but it was clear that on the whole they had not yet again joined up with him (and possibly did not intend to. A walk out was one thing, secession was quite another).
And there Joab laid siege to Abel, no doubt having firstly made an offer for them to surrender peaceably (Deuteronomy 20:10). This offer had clearly been rejected, presumably by Sheba’s men who were guarding the gate. (Sheba would know what the consequences would be to him of surrender). Joab’s men therefore began to follow the expected procedures for siege warfare. They built up a mound leading up to the city and began to batter at the city walls.
But a wise woman in the city, who had had no part in the rebellion, and did not want to see the city devastated, went to the walls and called on Joab to ask why he was so intent on destroying a city which was so well known as being a source of wisdom, and why he was so keen on slaughtering innocent Israelites. Joab’s reply was that he wished to do neither. Let them but hand over Sheba and his troops would immediately withdraw. At that the wise woman promised that Sheba’s head would shortly be thrown to them over the wall, and on returning to the city elders, persuaded them that that was the wise and only thing to do. It is clear that she was a woman greatly respected for her wisdom and influence, for they took notice of her advice and accordingly Sheba’s head was thrown over the wall, at which Joab and his men returned to Jerusalem and to their homes.
The message intended to ring out from this passage is quite clear. Those who are truly wise follow the anointed of YHWH.
a And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichr (2 Samuel 20:10 b).
b And there stood by him (Amasa) one of Joab’s young men, and said, “He who favours Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab” (2 Samuel 20:11).
c And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a robe over him, when he saw that every one who came by him stood still (2 Samuel 20:12).
d When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maacah, and all the Berites, and they were gathered together, and went also after him (2 Samuel 20:13-14).
e ‘And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down (2 Samuel 20:15).
f Then a wise woman cried out of the city, “Listen, listen. Say, I pray you, to Joab, “Come near here, that I may speak with you” (2 Samuel 20:16).
g And he came near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your handmaid.” And he answered, “I’m listening” (2 Samuel 20:17).
f Then she spoke, saying, “It was their custom to speak in old time, saying, “They shall surely ask counsel at Abel,” and so they ended the matter’ (2 Samuel 20:18).
e “I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. Do you seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel? Why will you swallow up the inheritance of YHWH?” (2 Samuel 20:19).
d ‘And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so. But a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall” (2 Samuel 20:20-21).
c Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab (2 Samuel 20:22 a).
b And he blew the ram’s horn, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent (2 Samuel 20:22 b).
a And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. And Joab was over all the host of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites, and Adoram was over the men subject to taskwork, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder, and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests, and also Ira the Jairite was chief minister unto David. (2 Samuel 20:22-26).
Note that in ‘a’ Joab and Abishai set out (from Jerusalem) in pursuit of Sheba, and in the parallel Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king and became commander-in-chief over the whole of the armies of Israel, with all authority restored. In ‘b’ the man called for a loyal following of Joab, and in the parallel, having loyally followed him, Joab’s men returned home. In ‘c’ the traitor Amasa’s body lay wallowing in its blood, and in the parallel the bloody head of the traitor Sheba was thrown over the wall. In ‘d’ Sheba’s rebellion is described, and in the parallel Joab described Sheba’s rebellion to the wise woman. In ‘e’ the besiegers attempted to destroy the city, and in the parallel they were asked why they were attempting to destroy the city. In ‘f’ a ‘wise’ woman cried out from the city to Joab, and in the parallel she stressed that Abel was ‘the city of the wise’. Centrally in ‘g’ she managed to obtain the ear of Joab, something which was central to the successful conclusion of the siege.
2 Samuel 20:10 b ( e-Sword Note: For commentary on 20:10a, see the comments on 2 Samuel 20:9)
‘And Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri.’
Any controversy with Amasa having been swiftly cut short, Joab and Abishai then urgently pursued after Sheba.
‘And there stood by him (Amasa) one of Joab’s young men, and said, “He who favours Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab.” ’
Meanwhile one of Joab’s young men stood by the body of Amasa hoping to prevent it from delaying the pursuit. And as he stood there he called on the pursuers to consider their loyalty to Joab and David. Let them not be delayed by the custom of paying respects to a fallen hero (compare 2 Samuel 2:23). It would appear that when a recognised ‘hero’ had fallen during a pursuit, it was the custom for all who passed his body to stop and pay respects in a way that apparently caused considerable delay, probably involving some ritual. Part of the reason (but not the whole) may well have been in order to protect the body of the fallen ‘hero’ from scavenging birds and animals. The young man was afraid that in doing so, the men in question might cause an unacceptable delay.
Alternately it may be that he was speaking to the men of Judah who had come with Amasa who would naturally stop when they saw their leader lying dead in the highway, but in view of 2 Samuel 2:23 it appears that there was more to it than that.
‘And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a robe over him, when he saw that every one who came by him stood still.’
His efforts were, however, in vain, for as Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the midst of the highway all the people who passed stood still. Accordingly, recognising that he had no alternative if there was to be no delay in the pursuit, the young man lifted up the body of Amasa and carried it into the neighbouring field and covered it with a robe, precisely because all who came by stood still.
‘When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maacah, and all the Berites, and they were gathered together, and went also after him (2 Samuel 20:13-14).’
Once the body was removed from the highway there was no further delay, and all who passed that way continued on without hesitating, in order to pursue after Sheba. Sheba meanwhile went through ‘all the tribes of Israel’ mustering all who would follow him, from Abel, and from Beth-maacah (the region around Abel) and from ‘all the Berites’, and a goodly number followed him. ‘All’ regularly means ‘a portion of’ as it clearly does in this case, for his appeal appears to have been limited to three places, and in the end all who did follow him seemingly fitted within the walls of a city that was certainly not one of the largest in Israel.
“Abel and Beth-maacah.” The names appear in the name Abel-beth-hammaacah ("the meadow of the house of Maacah") in 1 Kings 15:20 and in 2 Kings 15:29. Here in 2 Samuel 20:14 we have Beth-maacah and in 2 Samuel 20:15 (in the Hebrew) it is Abel-beth-hammaacah (Maacah having the article ‘ha’ before it). ‘Beth-maacah was clearly a region far to the north which contained the city of Abel. In 2 Kings 15:9 Abel-beth-maacah is mentioned, along with Ijon and other places, as a city in Naphtali captured by Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria. This taking of the city also appeared in the records of Tiglath-pileser. In 1 Kings it is mentioned along with Ijon and Dan and "all the land of Naphtali" as being smitten by Benhadad of Damascus in the time of Baasha. In the account in 2 Chronicles 16:4, parallel to the one in 1 Kings 15:0, the cities mentioned are Ijon, Dan, and Abel-maim. Abel-maim may either be another name for Abel-beth-maacah, or the name of another similar place in the same vicinity. Abel is also mentioned in Egyptian records. There is therefore no doubting it to be historical. The prevailing identification of Abel-beth-maacah is with Abil, a city a few miles West of Dan, which is on a height overlooking the Jordan near its sources. The adjacent region is rich agriculturally, and the scenery and the water supply are especially fine. Abel-maim, "meadow of water," would thus not be an inapt designation for it. The Berites are otherwise unknown.
‘And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart, and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.’
On learning of the approach of Joab and Abishai, Sheba and his forces took refuge in the city of Abel in Beth-maacah. The inhabitants, while possibly sympathetic, would probably have had little choice in the matter, especially once Sheba’s forces had been allowed to enter the city as ‘locals’. And once David’s men had arrived they therefore set about trying to reduce the city by casting up a mound which enabled them to batter the walls. This was possibly necessary because the city stood on its own mound. Any appeal to surrender would have been addressed to those defending the gates, and those would have been Sheba’s men who were unlikely to surrender.
‘Then a wise woman cried out of the city, “Listen, listen. Say, I pray you, to Joab, “Come near here, that I may speak with you.”
But there were others in the city who were not quite so pleased at what was going on. So a wise woman came to the wall of the city (away from the gate) and called down to the invaders to bring Joab to speak to her. (The wall would not have been very high). Note her repetition of ‘listen, listen’, and compare Joab’s later ‘far be it, far be it from me’ in verse 20. Wise women (women especially recognised for their wisdom) clearly had great influence in Israel.
‘And he came near to her, and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” And he answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Listen to the words of your handmaid.” And he answered, “I’m listening”.’
When Joab came to speak with her in respect of her call, the woman then checked that it was really him and that he was really paying attention to her, and in reply Joab confirmed that it was he and declared, ‘I’m listening’. The continual stress on this is clearly intended to fix our concentration on the words that follow.
‘Then she spoke, saying, “It was their custom to speak in old time, saying, ‘They shall surely ask at Abel,’ and so they ended (the matter)”.’
The wise woman’s first emphasis was on the fact that by reputation Abel was a city renowned for its wisdom. In the past if anyone was seeking advice they would be told, ‘Ask at Abel,’ for there they could be certain they would find a wise man or wise woman who could solve their problem or dispute. And we already know that she was a wise woman. We are thus intended to recognise that whatever decision Abel comes to (which will be support for the Anointed of YHWH) will be a revelation of that wisdom.
“I am of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. Do you seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel? Why will you swallow up the inheritance of YHWH?”
She then emphasised that she herself was not involved in any attempt at secession or rebellion. She was one of those who were peaceable and faithful in Israel, as were most in her city, for she was one among many. She wanted peace not war, and was loyal to the king. Thus Joab should ask himself whether it really was his desire to destroy such a city (i.e. the inhabitants of such a city), when it was like a mother in Israel, and was part of the inheritance of YHWH.
Alternatively some would see the ‘mother in Israel’ as referring to the wise woman. The description of Israel as the inheritance of YHWH could signify the people (Deuteronomy 9:26; Deuteronomy 32:9) or the land and its cities (Deuteronomy 20:16; Deuteronomy 21:23; Deuteronomy 25:19; 1 Samuel 10:1; 1 Samuel 26:19). But what Joab was to be aware of was that he was swallowing up what was YHWH’s. And as we shall now see, the emotional picture conjured up by the words ‘swallow up the inheritance of YHWH’ clearly spoke to Joab’s heart.
‘And Joab answered and said, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so. But a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city.” And the woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall”.’
The repetition of ‘far be it, far be it’ brings out that Joab was moved by her words as he cried, ‘Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow or destroy --.’ And he insisted that it was not so. What did, however, concern him was that the city contained within it a man who had lifted up his hand against the king, even against David, a man whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri. Let him be delivered up to Joab and he would immediately withdraw his troops. It is a testimony to Joab’s reputation for honouring his word that he was immediately believed. He was a man in whom there was much good, a loyal servant to David, and if he was occasionally too quick to shed blood, he was also a man who knew how to refrain from shedding blood under other circumstances. We must remember in this regard how little time he had spent in princes’ palaces, and how much time he had been involved in the theatre of war, a place where to kill was often the only solution to a problem. Thus it is not surprising that he often sought bloody solutions.
The woman thought over what Joab was saying, and then promised him, ‘Behold his head will be thrown to you over the wall.’ Sheba had clearly not made too great an impression on at least one inhabitant of Abel.
‘Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.’
Then the woman went away to discuss the matter with the elders of the city, and through them with the people, advising them through her wisdom. And the result was that they banded together and, in spite no doubt of the resistance of some of his men, cut off Sheba’s head and threw it over the wall as the wise woman had promised. It is clear from this that Sheba’s actual support in the city was not all that great. They had probably only opened the gate to him because many of their fellow-countrymen had gathered to him, and they had felt it only loyal to do so. But few felt that they owed him enough support to interfere. The planned secession had seemingly been a bit of a damp squib.
Note the continued emphasis on the woman’s wisdom. What the city folk did was to be seen as wise, because it came from a wise source.
‘And he blew the ram’s horn, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent, and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.’
As good as his word, once he had verified that the head was Sheba’s, Joab then blew the ram’s horn and mustered his troops and they returned to their own homes, whilst Joab returned to Jerusalem to report to the king, and to continue to serve him loyally. Here at least was one man who always kept the king in touch and submitted his report on time. But what he had done to Amasa, whilst it could be partially justified as necessary in an atmosphere of war, was not forgotten by David. One day he would be called to account.
‘ And Joab was over all the host of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites, and Adoram was over the men subject to taskwork, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder, and Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests, and also Ira the Jairite was priest (chief minister) to David.’
The section closes with an indication that after the rebellion were quashed the land was once again at peace, and all was quiet. Joab was restored as commander-in-chief of ‘all the host of Israel, Benaiah was still over the royal bodyguard, Adoram was set over those who were subject to taskwork, probably mainly non-Israelites, part of whose responsibility would be the building of the royal palace and the strengthening of the fortifications in Jerusalem and other major cities, Jehoshaphat was still the recorder, and he would among other things be keeping the records of the events of David’s reign, Sheva was the Scribe, replacing Seraiah, who had possibly died, Zadok and Abiathar continued as Priests (High Priests), and Ira was David’s priest in the place of David’s son.
We can compare the list in 2 Samuel 8:15-18. Joab, Benaiah, Jehoshaphat, Zadok and Abiathar have retained, or have, at least in Joab’s case, been restored to, their positions, Sheva has replaced Seraiah as Scribe, possibly because Seraiah has since died, David’s sons are no longer mentioned as priests, possibly because those still alive were not yet of age, while those who would have been of age have died. They are therefore replaced by Ira the Jairite of whom nothing further is known. Adoram being appointed as task-master is an indication of the increasing sophistication and growing wealth of the kingdom.
Adoram is called Adoniram in 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14, where he is overseer over the tributary service in the time of Solomon. He is called Adoram in 1 Kings 12:18 and Hadoram in 2 Chronicles 10:18. These are both merely contracted forms of Adoniram. The same man appears to have filled a similar office under three kings, David, Solomon and Rehoboam, but we must bear in mind that he did not enter into office until the close of David's reign, (he is not mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:16) and that his name only occurs in connection with event taking place on Rehoboam's ascent of the throne, so that he need not have filled the office for any length of time under the latter. For the idea of tributary labourers compare 1 Kings 5:13.
The section thus ends on a note of optimism with normality restored and the future seen as fully under control.
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