2 Samuel 20:19
in 2 Samuel 20I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I am of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of Jehovah?
KJV
I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The answer of Joab brings out the character of that ruthless veteran as a patriot at heart, who, on securing the author of this insurrection, was ready to put a stop to further bloodshed and release the peaceable inhabitants from all molestation.
This site's exposition
cried a wise woman out of the city
on 2 Samuel 20:16-19
An unnamed wise woman does what no man in the city attempted, calling Joab to the wall and negotiating before the first breach opens. She invokes the city's old reputation for settling disputes by counsel rather than the sword, and then names the city with a title that carries weight elsewhere in Scripture, a mother in Israel. Her question, why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord, answers Sheba's own opening cry at verse 1 almost word for word, inheritance turned from a rebel's grievance into a plea for a city that belongs to God.
This site's exposition
a mother in Israel
John Wesley explains that a great city was called a mother and the towns depending on it her daughters, which John Gill reads as a metropolitan city. Deborah bears the same title at Judges 5:7. Albert Barnes notes the woman speaks for the whole city as loyal.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A mother - Great cities are commonly called mothers; as lesser towns or villages subject to them, and depending upon them, are called their daughters. Inheritance - That is, a considerable part of, that land which God hath chosen for his particular possession.
I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel,.... Her meaning is, that she was of a city which consisted of peaceable and faithful men, that were peaceable among themselves, and faithful to their king, who never were concerned in any insurrection or rebellion, not in the late one under Absalom: thou seekest to destroy a city, and a mother in Israel; a metropolitan city, which had several towns and villages under its jurisdiction, which were as daughters to it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I am one ... - The woman speaks in the name of the whole city, which she means to say was peaceable and loyal.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָנֹכִ֕י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| שְׁלֻמֵ֖י | shelumei | [am] [the] peaceful [ones] of | H7999 → | 116 times |
| אֱמוּנֵ֣י | ʾemunei | [the] faithful [ones] of | H529 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מְבַקֵּ֗שׁ | mevakesh | [are] seeking | H1245 → | 225 times |
| לְהָמִ֨ית | lehamit | to kill | H4191 → | 839 times |
| עִ֤יר | ʾir | a city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְאֵם֙ | veem | and a mother | H517 → | 220 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לָ֥מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| תְבַלַּ֖ע | tevala' | will you swallow up | H1104 → | 49 times |
| נַחֲלַ֥ת | nachalat | [the] inheritance of | H5159 → | 222 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
אָנֹכִ֕יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
שְׁלֻמֵ֖י[am] [the] peaceful [ones] of
shelumeiH7999 →116 times
אֱמוּנֵ֣י[the] faithful [ones] of
ʾemuneiH529 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אַתָּ֣הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
מְבַקֵּ֗שׁ[are] seeking
mevakeshH1245 →225 times
לְהָמִ֨יתto kill
lehamitH4191 →839 times
עִ֤ירa city
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
וְאֵם֙and a mother
veemH517 →220 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לָ֥מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
תְבַלַּ֖עwill you swallow up
tevala'H1104 →49 times
נַחֲלַ֥ת[the] inheritance of
nachalatH5159 →222 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
1 Timothy 2:2for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9–13
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Jeremiah 29:7
Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
- Romans 13:1–7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Ezra 6:10
Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
- Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- 1 Peter 2:9–13
Through
2 Corinthians 5:4So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 15:53–54
For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
- 2 Corinthians 5:2
For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
- 1 Corinthians 15:53–54
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.