CHAPTER XX _Sheba raises an insurrection, and gains a party in Israel_, 1, 2. _David shuts up the ten concubines who were defiled by Absalom_, 3. _Amasa is sent to assemble the men of Judah_, 4, 5. _And in the mean time Abishai is sent to pursue Sheba_, 6, 7. _Joab treacherously murders Amasa_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:3. _THE TEN WOMEN_] He could not well divorce them; he could not punish them, as they were not in the transgression; he could no more be familiar with them, because they had been defiled by his son; and to have married them to other men might have been dangerous to the state: there... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:4. _THEN SAID THE KING TO AMASA_] Thus he invests him with the command of the army, and sends him to collect the men of Judah, and to come back to receive his orders in relation to Sheba, in three days. It appears that Amasa found more difficulty in collecting his country-men than... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:8. _JOAB'S GARMENT_] It appears that this was not a military garment; and that Joab had no arms but a short sword, which he had concealed in his girdle; and this _sword_, or _knife_, was so loose in its sheath that it could be easily drawn out. It is thought farther, that Joab, in... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:10. _IN THE FIFTH RIB_] I believe חמש _chomesh_, which we render here and elsewhere the _fifth rib_, means any part of the abdominal region. The _Septuagint_ translate it την ψοαν, _the groin;_ the _Targum, the right side of the thigh_, i.e., (the phrase of the Targumist being inte... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:11. _HE THAT FAVOURETH JOAB_] As if he had said, There is now no other commander besides Joab; and Joab is steadily attached to David: let those therefore who are loyal follow Joab.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:12. _AMASA WALLOWED IN BLOOD_] It is very likely that Amasa did not immediately die; I have known instances of persons living several hours after their bowels had been shed out.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:14. _UNTO ABEL_] This is supposed to have been the capital of the district called Abilene in St. Luke's Gospel, Luke 3:1. _BETH-MAACHAH_] Is supposed to have been in the northern part of the Holy Land, on the confines of Syria, and probably in the tribe of Naphtali.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:15. _THEY CAST UP A BANK AGAINST THE CITY_] The word סללה _solelah_, which we render _bank_, means, most probably, a _battering_ _engine_ of some kind, or a _tower_ overlooking the walls, on which archers and slingers could stand and annoy the inhabitants, while others of the besie... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:16. _A WISE WOMAN_] She was probably governess.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:18. _THEY SHALL SURELY ASK_ COUNSEL _AT ABEL_] This is a proverb, but from what it originated we know not; nor can we exactly say what it means: much must be supplied to bring it to speak sense. Abel was probably famed for the wisdom of its inhabitants; and parties who had disputes... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:19. _I - PEACEABLE AND FAITHFUL IN ISRAEL_] I am for peace, not contention of any kind; I am _faithful_-I adhere to David, and neither seek nor shall sanction any rebellion or anarchy in the land. Why then dost thou proceed in such a violent manner? Perhaps the woman speaks here in... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:21. _HIS HEAD SHALL BE THROWN TO THEE_] Thus it appears she had great sway in the counsels of the city; and that the punishment of a state rebel was then, what it is now in this kingdom, _beheading_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:23. _JOAB_ WAS _OVER ALL THE HOST_] He had murdered Amasa, and seized on the supreme command: and such was his power at present, and the service which he had rendered to the state by quelling the rebellion of Sheba, that David was obliged to continue him; and dared not to call him... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:24. _ADORAM WAS OVER THE TRIBUTE_] Probably the chief receiver of the taxes; or _Chancellor of the Exchequer_, as we term it. _JEHOSHAPHAT - RECORDER_] The registrar of public events.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:25. _SHEVAH WAS SCRIBE_] The king's secretary.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Samuel 20:26. _IRA - WAS A CHIEF RULER ABOUT DAVID._] The Hebrew is לדויד כהן _cohen ledavid, a priest to David_; and so the _Vulgate,_ _Septuagint, Syriac_, and _Arabic_. The _Chaldee_ has רב _rab_, a _prince_, or _chief_. He was probably a sort of _domestic chaplain_ to the king. We know t... [ Continue Reading ]