2 Samuel 20:1-2

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ¹  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ²  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ³  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ⁴  O Israel!”

20:2 So all the men of Israel deserted ⁵  David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River ⁶  to Jerusalem. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 20:6-7

20:6 Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure ⁸  fortified cities for himself and get away from us.” 20:7 So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

2 Samuel 20:10

20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab ⁹  stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s ¹⁰  intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. ¹¹  Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

2 Samuel 20:21-22

20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled ¹²  against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute ¹³  his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”

20:22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. Joab ¹⁴  blew the trumpet, and his men ¹⁵  dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. ¹⁶  Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

[20:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”

[20:1]  ² tn The expression used here יְמִינִי (yÿmini) is a short form of the more common “Benjamin.” It appears elsewhere in 1 Sam 9:4 and Esth 2:5. Cf. 1 Sam 9:1.

[20:1]  ³ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ⁴ tc The MT reads לְאֹהָלָיו (lÿ’ohalav, “to his tents”). For a similar idiom, see 19:9. An ancient scribal tradition understands the reading to be לְאלֹהָיו (le’lohav, “to his gods”). The word is a tiqqun sopherim, and the scribes indicate that they changed the word from “gods” to “tents” so as to soften its theological implications. In a consonantal Hebrew text the change involved only the metathesis of two letters.

[20:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “went up from after.”

[20:2]  ⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[20:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “find.” The perfect verbal form is unexpected with the preceding word “otherwise.” We should probably read instead the imperfect. Although it is possible to understand the perfect here as indicating that the feared result is thought of as already having taken place (cf. BDB 814 s.v. פֶּן 2), it is more likely that the perfect is simply the result of scribal error. In this context the imperfect would be more consistent with the following verb וְהִצִּיל (vÿhitsil, “and he will get away”).

[20:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.”

[20:21]  ¹² tn Heb “lifted his hand.”

[20:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “Look!”

[20:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Joab’s men) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his tents.”