2 Samuel 20:4

4 Then the king said to ¹Amasa, "Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself."

2 Samuel 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 20:4

Then said the king to Amasa
Whom he had promised to make general of his army, ( 2 Samuel 19:13 ) ; and by the following order declared him such:

assemble me the men of Judah within three days;
which was done by the sound of the trumpet, or by the proclamation of a herald; it seems that the men of Judah, who attended David to Jerusalem, were gone to their respective cities and places of abode, or there would have been no occasion for such a summons; though it is strange they should, when the men of Israel appeared so inclinable to a new rebellion:

and be thou here present;
to take the command of them.

2 Samuel 20:4 In-Context

2 So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah remained steadfast to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

3 Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.

4 Then the king said to Amasa, "Call out the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself."

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

6 And David said to Abishai, "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom; take your lord's servants and pursue him, so that he does not find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight."

Cross References

• 1. 2 Samuel 17:25; 2 Samuel 19:13