2 Samuel 20

2 Samuel 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible.[1] According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan,[2] but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE.[3][4] This chapter contains the account of David's reign in Jerusalem.[5][6] This is within a section comprising 2 Samuel 9–20 and continued to 1 Kings 1–2 which deal with the power struggles among David's sons to succeed David's throne until 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon' (1 Kings 2:46).[5]

2 Samuel 20
The pages containing the Books of Samuel (1 & 2 Samuel) Leningrad Codex (1008 CE).
BookFirst book of Samuel
Hebrew Bible partNevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part3
CategoryFormer Prophets
Christian Bible partOld Testament
Order in the Christian part10

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 26 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[7] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 1Q7 (1QSam; 50 BCE) with extant verses 6–10[8][9][10][11] and 4Q51 (4QSama; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 1–2, 4, 9–14, 19, 21–25.[8][9][12][13]

Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[14][lower-alpha 1]

Old Testament references

Analysis

Verses 1–3 of this chapter conclude the account of Absalom's rebellion with David safely back in his residence in Jerusalem:[18]

Rebellion of Sheba (20:1–22)

The discontent of the northern tribes recorded at the end of the previous chapter led to another rebellion, this time under Sheba, 'the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite', and a representative of the Saulide camp (cf. Bechorath in 1 Samuel 9:1).[16] Although verse 2 suggests that 'all Israel' (the tribes other than Judah) left David and followed Sheba, verse 14 shows that only the Bichrites were the active rebels, but the significance of this group must not be overlooked.[16] David perceived in verse 6 that this dissent was potentially more harmful than Absalom's rebellion, because it endangered the structure of the kingdom.[16] Significantly Sheba's rallying cry (verse 1) was repeated when the kingdom of Israel was really divided after the death of Solomon (1 Kings 12:16).[16]

Once David had settled in Jerusalem and made arrangements for his ten concubines, whom he left behind (verse 3), he turned his focus to the dissension.[16] The newly appointed commander, Amasa (2 Samuel 19:13), was given three days to rally a force, but did not do as requested. Abishai was immediately put in charge of the army, but Joab who still had 'men' under his command (verse 7) took the lead to pursue Sheba.[16] When Amasa met them at Gibeon, Joab pretended to kiss Amasa by pulling his beard to kiss him, but used a hidden short sword in his girdle to kill Amasa.[16] Now Joab unquestionably became the leader of the army (his brother Abishai was no longer mentioned after verse 10) and the pursuit reached Abel of Beth-maacah in the north, near Dan, where Sheba went into.[16] During the siege a 'wise woman' spoke to Joab from the rampart, offering a plan to save Abel-beth-maachah, a city which had a reputation for wisdom (verse 18) and considered a 'mother city' in Israel (verse 19), by beheading Sheba and throwing his severed head to Joab. With this, the rebellion ended, all people went home to their own cities as Joab returned to Jerusalem to report to David.[16]

There are obvious links between the appearance of the wise woman of Abel and that of Tekoa in 2 Samuel 14:[16]

  1. Both women spoke to Joab
  2. the 'heritage of the LORD' became an issue in both (verse 19; cf. 2 Samuel 14:16).[16]

Verse 8
Then the king arose and took his seat in the gate.
And the people were all told, "Behold, the king is sitting in the gate."
And all the people came before the king.
Now Israel had fled every man to his own home.[19]
  • "Israel": comparing to 2 Samuel 18:16–17 this may refer to the supporters of Absalom (cf. 2 Samuel 18:6–7).[20]
  • "Every man to his own home": Hebrew: “each to his tent.”[21]

David's court officials (20:23–26)

The chapter concludes with another list of David's court officials not exactly identical to the previous list in 2 Samuel 8:15-18.[16] The comparison is as follows:[17]

David's officials
(Officials only found in either list are in italics)
2 Samuel 8:15–182 Samuel 20:23–26
Joab, commander of the armyJoab, commander of the army
Jehoshaphat, royal historianBenaiah, over the Cherethites and Pelethites
Zadok and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar), high priestsAdoram, in charge of forced labor
Seraiah, royal scribeJehoshaphat, royal historian
Benaiah, over the Cherethites and PelethitesSheva, royal scribe
David's sons, palace administratorsZadok and Abiathar, high priests
Ira, David's priest

Joab remained the established commander of the army, and Benaiah remained in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites. Adoram (written as "Adoniram" in 1 Kings 4:6), not mentioned in the previous list, was in charge of forced labor, which was established in the latter part of David's reign. All the other names are identical with those in the previous list, except Ira, who replaces David's sons at 2 Samuel 8:18 and was called 'the Jairite', probably denoting his origin from the village of Jair (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14).[16]

See also

Notes
  1. The whole book of 2 Samuel is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.[15]

References
  1. Halley 1965, p. 184.
  2. Hirsch, Emil G. "SAMUEL, BOOKS OF". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
  3. Knight 1995, p. 62.
  4. Jones 2007, p. 197.
  5. Jones 2007, p. 220.
  6. Coogan 2007, p. 459 Hebrew Bible.
  7. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
  8. Ulrich 2010, pp. 316–317.
  9. Dead sea scrolls - 2 Samuel
  10. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 19.
  11. 1Q7 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
  12. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 35.
  13. 4Q51 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
  14. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
  15.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  16. Jones 2007, p. 227.
  17. Steinmann 2017, p. 165.
  18. Morrison 2013, p. 203.
  19. 2 Samuel 20:8 ESV
  20. Note on 2 Samuel 18:17 and note [b] on 2 Samuel 20:8 in NET Bible
  21. Note [c] on 2 Samuel 20:8 in NET Bible

Sources

Commentaries on Samuel
  • Auld, Graeme (2003). "1 & 2 Samuel". In James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson (ed.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
  • Bergen, David T. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 9780805401073.
  • Chapman, Stephen B. (2016). 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1467445160.
  • Collins, John J. (2014). "Chapter 14: 1 Samuel 12 – 2 Samuel 25". Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. pp. 277–296. ISBN 978-1451469233.
  • Evans, Paul (2018). Longman, Tremper (ed.). 1-2 Samuel. The Story of God Bible Commentary. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 978-0310490944.
  • Gordon, Robert (1986). I & II Samuel, A Commentary. Paternoster Press. ISBN 9780310230229.
  • Hertzberg, Hans Wilhelm (1964). I & II Samuel, A Commentary (trans. from German 2nd edition 1960 ed.). Westminster John Knox Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0664223182.
  • Morrison, Craig E. (2013). Berit Olam: 2 Samuel. Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0814682913.
  • Steinmann, Andrew (2017). 2 Samuel. Concordia commentary: a theological exposition of sacred scripture. Concordia Publishing House. ISBN 9780758650061.

General
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