2 Samuel 20:16

16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Yo'av, 'Come near here, that I may speak with you.'"

2 Samuel 20:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 20:16

Then cried a wise woman out of the city
And such an one as the woman of Tekoah, supposed by some to be the governess of the city; but whoever she was, she well deserved the character of a wise woman; her conduct in this affair shows it: she cried with a loud voice, upon the wall of the city, to Joab's men, who were underneath battering it,

hear, hear;
which she repeated to make them hear:

say, I pray you, unto Joab, come near hither, that I may speak with
thee;
tell your general I desire to speak with him; which was wisely done, to have nothing to say but to the general himself.

2 Samuel 20:16 In-Context

14 He went through all the tribes of Yisra'el to Hevel, and to Beit-Ma`akha, and all the Beri`i: and they were gathered together, and went also after him.

15 They came and besieged him in Hevel of Beit-Ma`akha, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Yo'av battered the wall, to throw it down.

16 Then cried a wise woman out of the city, "Hear, hear! Please say to Yo'av, 'Come near here, that I may speak with you.'"

17 He came near to her; and the woman said, Are you Yo'av? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Hear the words of your handmaid. He answered, I do hear.

18 Then she spoke, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask [counsel] at Hevel: and so they ended [the matter].