2 Samuel 20:1-7

1 And a man of Belial happened to be there, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Jemini, and he blew the shofar, saying, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel.

2 So all the men of Israel went up from after David and followed Sheba, the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah cleaved unto their king from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

3 And when David came to his house at Jerusalem, the king took the ten women, his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward and fed them, but did not go in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

4 Then the king said to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah for the third day, and be thou here present.

5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

6 And David said to Abishai, Now Sheba, the son of Bichri, shall do us more harm than Absalom; take thou thy lord’s slaves and pursue after him lest he find fenced cities and escape us.

7 Then Joab’s men went out after him, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba, the son of Bichri.

2 Samuel 20:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 20

This chapter gives an account of a new rebellion raised by Sheba, 2Sa 20:1,2; of David's shutting up his concubines unto the day of their death, whom Absalom had lain with, 2Sa 20:3; of Amasa being ordered to assemble the men of Judah to crush the rebellion, but being dilatory, Abishai is sent out with David's servants, and was followed by Joab with the men under him, 2Sa 20:4-7; and of the murder of Amasa by Joab, 2Sa 20:8-13; and of Sheba being shut up in the city Abel, 2Sa 20:14,15; whose head, by the means of a wise woman, was delivered to Joab, and so an end was put to the rebellion, 2Sa 20:16-22; and, lastly, of the chief officers in David's camp and court, 2Sa 20:23-26.