2 Samuel 14:20
in 2 Samuel 14Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
KJV
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAccording to the wisdom of an angel of God - This is quite in the style of Asiatic flattery. A European is often addressed, “Saheb can do every thing; we can do nothing; none can prevent the execution of Saheb’s commands; Saheb is God.” See Ward.
This site's exposition
Hide not from me
on 2 Samuel 14:18-20
David sees through the performance and asks straight out, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this, and the woman confirms it without apology. Her closing flattery repeats the angel of God comparison from verse 17, now turned to praise the king's own perception of the very plot laid against him. Wesley notes that the substance of Joab's coaching held even where its exact wording bent to fit whatever the king said back, the mark of a genuinely wise performer rather than a fixed script.
This site's exposition
this change of affairs
John Wesley explains the change of affairs as Joab's aim to present the people's wish for Absalom's return through a parable. Adam Clarke hears her closing praise as the flattery of Eastern courts, which credited a ruler with knowing everything. Nathan had used a parable on David at 12:1.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
21 And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. 22 And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
To fetch - That is, to propose his, and the peoples desire of Absalom's restitution in this parabolical manner. In the earth - Or, in this land, in all thy kingdom; all the counsels and devices of thy subjects.
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְבַעֲב֤וּר | levaavur | <to> in order | H5668 → | 49 times |
| סַבֵּב֙ | sabev | to change | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַדָּבָ֔ר | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| עָשָׂ֛ה | ʾasah | he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֥ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יוֹאָ֖ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וַאדֹנִ֣י | vadoni | and lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| חָכָ֗ם | chakham | [is] wise | H2450 → | 138 times |
| כְּחָכְמַת֙ | kechakhemat | like [the] wisdom of | H2451 → | |
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לָדַ֖עַת | ladaat | to know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ ס | baaretz | [is] in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
לְבַעֲב֤וּר<to> in order
levaavurH5668 →49 times
סַבֵּב֙to change
sabevH5437 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַדָּבָ֔רthe matter
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
עָשָׂ֛הhe did
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
עַבְדְּךָ֥servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
יוֹאָ֖בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וַאדֹנִ֣יand lord my
vadoniH113 →333 times
חָכָ֗ם[is] wise
chakhamH2450 →138 times
כְּחָכְמַת֙like [the] wisdom of
kechakhematH2451 →
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
לָדַ֖עַתto know
ladaatH3045 →945 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ ס[is] in the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 14:17And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God.…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 29:9
Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 19:27
and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
- 1 Samuel 29:9
Through
2 Samuel 19:27and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 14:17
And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God.…
- 2 Samuel 14:17
Through
Proverbs 29:5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
it leads to
- Hosea 5:1
“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on…
- Job 17:5
If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
- Psalms 5:9
For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Psalms 12:2
They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- 2 Samuel 14:17–24
And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God.…
- Hosea 5:1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.