Chapter 19 ended with Israel and Judah quarrelling over their share in the king; chapter 20 begins with Sheba turning that quarrel into revolt. The kingdom survives, but its return has not healed the household or its commanders. Ten women live in confinement, Amasa dies beneath a greeting, and a city under siege needs the courage of a woman who will speak before the wall falls.
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No portion in David, and women left without repair (2 Samuel 20:1-3)
This study follows NKJV references. The reading is Brenton’s English Septuagint, with its printed verse labels retained.
Brenton source: 2 Samuel 20:1-3.
1 And there was a transgressor so called there, and his name was Sabee, a Benjamite, the son of Bochori: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jessæ: to thy tents, O Israel, every one. 2 And all the men of Israel went up from following David after Sabee the son of Bochori: but the men of Juda adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. 3 And David went into his house at Jerusalem: and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and he put them in a place of custody, and maintained them, and went not in to them; and they were kept living as widows, till the day of their death.
Commentary
Sheba’s trumpet translates wounded tribal pride into a declaration of separation. Israel’s claim of ten parts in 19:43 becomes the cry that it has no portion in David. The same rejection of the son of Jesse appears in 1 Kings 12:16 when the kingdom divides under Rehoboam. A quarrel over honour can prepare a rupture greater than the speakers intended. Judah remains with David, but the whole people have not been restored.
David enters the house and puts the ten women left behind in custody. He maintains them, but they live as widows until death. Their bodily provision does not make their lifelong confinement a healed outcome. The suffering begun in 16:21-22 now reaches this bleak conclusion within the public consequences announced in 12:11-12. Judgment upon David cannot be used to blame the women, and the narrative’s report does not require Christians to call the arrangement just.
The concubines should not disappear inside political analysis. They were used as public instruments of rebellion and then confined. The text records their suffering without giving a neat repair. Christian mercy requires attention to those whose lives remain damaged after the powerful declare that order has returned. Protection, a voice, material support, and accountability belong together; mere maintenance is not the whole of justice.
Joab’s greeting conceals a murder (2 Samuel 20:4-13)
This study follows NKJV references. The reading is Brenton’s English Septuagint, with its printed verse labels retained. Brenton names Amasa in verses 6-7, where the NKJV names Abishai.
Brenton source: 2 Samuel 20:4-13.
4 And the king said to Amessai, Call to me the men of Juda for three days, and do thou be present here. 5 And Amessai went to call Juda, and delayed beyond the time which David appointed him. 6 And David said to Amessai, Now shall Sabee the son of Bochori do us more harm than Abessalom: now then take thou with thee the servants of thy lord, and follow after him, lest he find for himself strong cities, so will he blind our eyes. 7 And there went out after him Amessai and the men of Joab, and the Cherethites, and the Phelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out from Jerusalem to pursue after Sabee the son of Bochori. 8 And they were by the great stone that is in Gabaon: and Amessai went in before them: and Joab had upon him a military cloak over his apparel, and over it he was girded with a dagger fastened upon his loins in its scabbard: and the dagger came out, it even came out and fell. 9 And Joab said to Amessai, Art thou in health, my brother? and the right hand of Joab took hold of the beard of Amessai to kiss him. 10 And Amessai observed not the dagger that was in the hand of Joab: and Joab smote him with it on the loins, and his bowels were shed out upon the ground, and he did not repeat the blow, and he died: and Joab and Abessai his brother pursued after Sabee the son of Bochori. 11 And there stood over him one of the servants of Joab, and said, Who is he that is for Joab, and who is on the side of David following Joab? 12 And Amessai was weltering in blood in the midst of the way. And a man saw that all the people stood still; and he removed Amessai out of the path into a field, and he cast a garment upon him, because he saw every one that came to him standing still. 13 And when he was quickly removed from the road, every man of Israel passed after Joab to pursue after Sabee the son of Bochori.
Commentary
Amasa fails to assemble Judah within the appointed time. David fears that Sheba will secure fortified cities. The pursuit then reaches the great stone at Gibeon, where Joab greets Amasa as his brother and takes his beard to kiss him. The dagger turns the gesture of nearness into the means of murder. Amasa’s body stops the troops until it is moved and covered; the campaign proceeds, but progress has been purchased by concealment.
Translation insight: “Amessai” in the pursuit
Brenton’s 20:6 addresses Amasa, and 20:7 names Amasa going out with Joab’s men. The NKJV names Abishai in those places. This study preserves Brenton’s printed sequence instead of silently substituting the familiar commander. In either reading, verse 10 names Joab and Abishai pursuing after Amasa has been killed. The difference cautions against treating every name in this scene as if the English editions were identical.
Joab repeats the treacherous violence of 3:27 against Abner. Proverbs 27:6 contrasts faithful wounds with deceptive kisses; Matthew 26:48-49 and Luke 22:48 record Judas using a kiss to betray Christ. This study compares the betrayal of friendship in those scenes. It does not claim the Gospel identifies Joab as Judas’s type. Christ receives the kiss without building His kingdom by a hidden knife.
The kingdom survives with Joab, but it is not healed by Joab. Later, 1 Kings 2:5-6 and 28-34 remembers the blood of Abner and Amasa when Solomon judges him. Political usefulness can delay an account; it cannot make murder cease to be murder. The path cleared of the body remains a path carrying the memory of blood.
Gems from the Fathers 💎
St. John Chrysostom’s interpretation of Ephesians 4:25 treats deceit as an assault upon the body’s shared life. It offers a thematic witness beside Joab’s false greeting: “For there is nothing, no, nothing so productive of enmity as deceit and guile.”1 His point is that members who depend upon each other cannot flourish through lies. Joab’s kiss violates precisely that trust. Peace in the Church therefore requires more than warm gestures; it requires words and deeds that can be trusted.
The wise woman speaks before the wall falls (2 Samuel 20:14-22)
This study follows NKJV references. The reading is Brenton’s English Septuagint, with its printed verse labels retained.
Brenton source: 2 Samuel 20:14-22.
14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Bethmacha; and all in Charri too were assembled, and followed after him. 15 And they came and besieged him in Abel and Phermacha: and they raised a mound against the city and it stood close to the wall; and all the people with Joab proposed to throw down the wall. 16 And a wise woman cried from the wall, and said, Hear, hear; say, I pray ye, to Joab, Draw near hither, and I will speak to him. 17 And he drew nigh to her, and the woman said to him, Art thou Joab? and he said, I am. And she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid; and Joab said, I do hear. 18 And she spoke, saying, Of old time they said thus, Surely one was asked in Abel, and Dan, whether the faithful in Israel failed in what they purposed; they will surely ask in Abel, even in like manner, whether they have failed. 19 I am a peaceable one of the strong ones in Israel; but thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother-city in Israel: why dost thou seek to ruin the inheritance of the Lord? 20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should ruin or destroy. 21 Is not the case thus, that a man of mount Ephraim, Sabee son of Bochori by name, has even lifted up his hand against king David? Give him only to me, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. 22 And the woman went in to all the people, and she spoke to all the city in her wisdom; and they took off the head of Sabee the son of Bochori; and took it away and threw it to Joab: and he blew the trumpet, and the people separated from the city away from him, every man to his tent: and Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
Commentary
The pursuit ends at Abel, where the army raises a siege mound and prepares to break the wall. A wise woman calls for Joab and insists that he hear her. Her question changes the scale of his intention: why should pursuit of one rebel ruin a city and a mother-city in Israel? Her speech identifies people and an inheritance that military urgency has nearly reduced to a target.
The woman of Tekoa in chapter 14 spoke a script arranged by Joab. The woman of Abel faces him from the wall and challenges the destruction his campaign threatens. Both have courage and skill, but their freedom in the scenes differs. Ecclesiastes 9:14-18 sets the wisdom that saves a little city beside the force that threatens it. Matthew 5:9 blesses peacemakers. This study reads her intervention beside those texts because peace here requires clear speech, not passive silence.
Her success comes with a terrible cost: Sheba is killed and his head thrown over the wall. The city’s deliverance cannot turn beheading into a Christian model for resolving disagreement. The chapter records a negotiated end to an ancient siege. Its Christian fruit lies in facing destructive power, protecting people from collective punishment, and seeking a truthful way to stop escalation. The means of preserving peace must themselves be judged before Christ.
The administration continues, with wounds beneath it (2 Samuel 20:23-26)
This study follows NKJV references. The reading is Brenton’s English Septuagint, with its printed verse labels retained. Brenton calls Adoniram the officer over tribute and Iras a priest to David; the NKJV uses revenue and chief minister.
Brenton source: 2 Samuel 20:23-26.
23 And Joab was over all the forces of Israel: and Banaias the son of Jodae was over the Cherethites and over the Phelethites. 24 And Adoniram was over the tribute: and Josaphath the son of Achiluth was recorder. 25 And Susa was scribe: and Sadoc and Abiathar were priests. 26 Moreover Iras the son of Iarin was priest to David.
Commentary
The final list resembles 8:16-18. Joab again stands over the army, Benaiah over the guard, Jehoshaphat as recorder, and Zadok and Abiathar as priests. The machinery of government continues after the revolt, but continuity is not the same as health. The man restored to military command is also the man who has just killed the king’s appointed commander.
Translation insight: “over the tribute”
Brenton calls Adoniram the officer “over the tribute” in 20:24; the NKJV calls Adoram the official in charge of revenue. The heading of an office can make its human cost sound distant. In 1 Kings 12:18 the official in charge of revenue is killed amid the later rupture. The administrative line here belongs to the long story of burdens and resentment, though it does not describe every practice of this official.
Brenton’s last verse calls Iras “priest to David,” while the NKJV calls Ira a chief minister. This study leaves the title as printed. It does not infer a complete theory of priestly ordination from one difficult office description. The ending is deliberately sober: the list can close, while the women remain confined and Amasa remains dead. Christ’s rule of service in Mark 10:42-45 measures government by the lives it protects rather than by the order of its names.
The Church’s Voice in Worship
Psalm 101 (LXX 100), prayed in the Ninth Hour, places mercy and judgment before the believer. Beside Joab’s violence and the wise woman’s intervention, it gives this study a prayer for authority that protects rather than destroys.2
Iconography Connection
The Gospel scene of Judas’s kiss belongs beside Joab’s greeting through Matthew 26:48-49 and Luke 22:48. The outward sign of friendship can be violated by the intention beneath it. Christ’s voluntary Passion reveals a kingship wholly different from Joab’s concealed violence. The wise woman’s action likewise directs attention toward preserved lives rather than the spectacle of an execution.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
The kiss and dagger expose the harm done when affectionate language hides rivalry. Repentance requires more than learning to sound peaceful. It may require naming the advantage we sought, relinquishing control, confessing harm, and accepting accountability. An effective worker or commander must be judged by conduct as well as results.
The wise woman’s question offers a better use of speech. In a conflict that has begun to gather force, a clear account of who will be harmed can interrupt escalation. The chapter’s confined women keep that account honest: a return to routine may leave victims without a voice. Mercy cannot require them to reconcile with those who harmed them or to accept exclusion as their fault. The Church’s care must protect life while seeking truth.
Lord Jesus Christ, blessed Peacemaker, make our words faithful to our hearts. Protect the vulnerable, reveal the harm hidden beneath useful appearances, and give us courage to speak for life before destruction advances. Amen.
Summary Table
| Passage | What the text reveals |
|---|---|
| 2 Samuel 20:1-3 | Order returns while victims remain harmed. |
| 2 Samuel 20:4-13 | A useful commander still carries bloodguilt. |
| 2 Samuel 20:14-22 | Truthful speech interrupts destruction. |
| 2 Samuel 20:23-26 | Administrative continuity cannot establish health. |
Closing Meditation
A voice rises from the wall while the mound stands against it. The woman names a mother-city and the Lord’s inheritance. Joab must hear about the people whom his urgent pursuit is endangering. After the trumpet sounds, the army leaves. Before Christ, peace begins to become truthful when the threatened people are allowed to count.
Teacher's Notes
No portion in David, and women left without repair (2 Samuel 20:1-3)
- Emphasize: Order returns while victims remain harmed.
- Ask: How does Sheba’s opening cry expose continuing division, and what remains unresolved for the ten women?
- Watch for: David’s resumption of rule does not repair the harm to the women; do not confuse provision with restoration.
Joab’s greeting conceals a murder (2 Samuel 20:4-13)
- Emphasize: A useful commander still carries bloodguilt.
- Ask: Why does moving Amasa’s body from the road fail to settle Joab’s guilt?
- Watch for: A useful commander’s efficiency cannot excuse murder concealed by a greeting.
The wise woman speaks before the wall falls (2 Samuel 20:14-22)
- Emphasize: Truthful speech interrupts destruction.
- Ask: What in the wise woman’s speech helps preserve life, and what in the ending cannot become a Christian method?
- Watch for: The city’s rescue does not authorize beheading as a Christian method of peacemaking.
The administration continues, with wounds beneath it (2 Samuel 20:23-26)
- Emphasize: Administrative continuity cannot establish health.
- Ask: What does the list of continuing offices establish, and why do tribute and Ira’s printed title not prove that the kingdom is morally healthy?
- Watch for: Administrative continuity is not moral health; explain the printed tribute and priestly title without silently substituting another text.
Discussion Questions
- How does chapter 19’s final verse prepare Sheba’s opening cry?
- What remains unresolved for the ten women when government resumes?
- Why does moving Amasa’s body from the road fail to settle Joab’s guilt?
- What in the wise woman’s speech helps preserve life, and what in the ending cannot become a Christian method?
Glossary
- Sheba / Sabee: The Benjamite whose trumpet turns tribal rivalry into another revolt.
- Amasa / Amessai: David’s appointed commander, murdered by Joab at Gibeon.
- Abel: The city threatened by the siege and defended through a wise woman’s speech.
- Mother-city: Brenton’s description of Abel as a significant city within Israel.
- Tribute: Brenton’s term for the office described as revenue in the NKJV.
Translation and Source Notes
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX). The study frame follows NKJV references, while the Scripture keeps Brenton’s wording and source verse labels. Brenton’s names, such as Abessalom, Achitophel, Chusi, and Siba, refer to the same persons called Absalom, Ahithophel, Hushai, and Ziba in the commentary.
The pursuit names, the officer over tribute, and Ira’s title differ from the NKJV and are discussed beside their readings. The printed text is left intact.
Sources
No direct reading from 2 Samuel 20 is listed in the Coptic lectionary sources consulted for this study. The worship connections above use the named Psalms, New Testament readings, or rite texts.
2 Samuel 3:27; 8:16-18; 12:11-12; 14; 16:21-22; 19:43; 20; 1 Kings 2:5-6, 28-34; 12:16, 18; Proverbs 27:6; Ecclesiastes 9:14-18; Matthew 5:9; 26:48-49; Luke 22:48; Mark 10:42-45; Ephesians 4:25-27.
Lancelot C. L. Brenton, trans., The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament with an English Translation.
The patristic work and English translation are identified in the footnotes below.
Footnotes
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St. John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on Ephesians, opening exposition of Ephesians 4:25, translated by William John Copeland, revised by Gross Alexander, NPNF First Series, vol. 13. Text. ↩
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Coptic Reader, Agpeya / 9th Hour. Reader. The application to this chapter is the study’s reading; this does not appoint the whole chapter. ↩