2 Samuel 20:16

16 Then a wise woman from the city called out, "Listen, listen! Please speak to Joab [to] come near here so that I may speak to 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 had passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel and Beth Maacah; now all of the Berites had been treated badly, so they also followed after him.)

15 And they came and besieged him in Abel Beth Maacah. They threw up a siege ramp against the city, and they stood against the ramparts. And all the army who [were] with Joab [were] battering to cause the wall to fall.

16 Then a wise woman from the city called out, "Listen, listen! Please speak to Joab [to] come near here so that I may speak to you."

17 Then he came near to her, and the woman asked, "[Are] you Joab?" And he said, "I [am]." Then she said to him, "Listen to the words of your servant." He said, "I [am] listening."

18 Then she said, "In former times, {they would always say}, 'By all means, let them inquire in Abel,' and so they settled things.