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2 Samuel 20:13

in 2 Samuel 20

As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

KJV

When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 20

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

he that is for David, let him go after Joab

on 2 Samuel 20:11-13

One of Joab's men turns the murder into a loyalty test on the spot, pairing Joab's name with David's so that following Joab reads as following the king. Amasa's own body still lies in the highway, and the army stops in its tracks at the sight until someone drags him into a field and throws a cloth over him. Only once the corpse is out of view does the column move again, all of Amasa's newly gathered men included, after the man who killed him.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

When he was removed out of the highway,.... Into the field, and covered over with a cloth, that he could not be seen: all the people went on after Joab; made no stop at all, knowing nothing of the matter, or what had happened: to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri; these were the troops that Amasa had been assembling, which followed one another after him; for Joab and Abishai, with their men, were at Gibeon first.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Wicked men think themselves safe in their wickedness if they can but conceal it from the eye of the world: if it be hidden, it is with them as if it were never done. But the covering of blood with a cloth cannot stop its cry in God's ear for vengeance, or make it the less loud.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

A soldier conjoined his name with David's, and such a magic spell was in the word "Joab," that all the people "went on"--Amasa's men as well as the rest. The conjunction of these two names is very significant.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

When it was withdrawn. When it was removed as we find. "When the impurities are removed from silver", 5 Mishlei:4. and as find "When the wicked are removed from before the king". 6 Ibid,:5.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 20:13:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
When he saw that all who passed by it remained there. When the man saw that everyone who passed by it would remain there.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 20:12:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
He [Shevah] went through all the tribes of Yisroel. Shevah, the son of Bichri [went] to convince them to declare him king over them.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 20:14:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר<just> when

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • הֹגָ֖הhe had removed [him]

    hogahH3014 →

  • מִן־from

    min-H4480 →1188 times

  • הַֽמְסִלָּ֑הthe highway

    hamsilahH4546 →27 times

  • עָבַ֤רhe passed by

    ʾavarH5674 →556 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • אִישׁ֙person

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • אַחֲרֵ֣יafter

    ʾachareiH310 →715 times

  • יוֹאָ֔בJoab

    yoavH3097 →144 times

  • לִרְדֹּ֕ףto pursue

    lirdofH7291 →143 times

  • אַחֲרֵ֖יafter

    ʾachareiH310 →715 times

  • שֶׁ֥בַעSheba

    sheva'H7652 →10 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • בִּכְרִֽי׃Bicri

    bikhriH1075 →8 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Samuel 20:11One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”3 worksJudges 21:19“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”2 worksJeremiah 31:21“Set up the roadmarks, establish the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.2 works2 Kings 18:17Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.2 worksProverbs 16:17The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.2 worksIsaiah 7:3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,2 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 36:2And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.2 works2 Samuel 20:12–13But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it.2 worksMark 10:46Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.2 worksIsaiah 62:10Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!2 worksNumbers 20:19“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”2 works1 Samuel 6:12And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Proverbs 16:17

    The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 35:8

      And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.

    • Proverbs 19:16

      He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul, but he who is careless in his ways will die.

    • Proverbs 10:9

      He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

  • Through

    Isaiah 7:3

    Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 36:2

      And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Kings 18:17

      Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by…

  • Through

    2 Kings 18:17

    Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 7:3

      Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,

    • Isaiah 20:1

      Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,

    • 2 Kings 20:20

      As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in…

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 20 →

This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 20 →