2 Samuel 20:21
in 2 Samuel 20That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The matter is not so: but a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
KJV
The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe matter is not so,.... I am not come with the army against this city with any ill will to it, and with an intention to destroy it: the case is this: but a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name; for though he was by birth a Benjaminite, his dwelling was in Mount Ephraim in that tribe; unless there was a place of this name in the tribe of Benjamin, so called from any memorable event there, as the wood of Ephraim, 2Sa 18:
This site's exposition
Far be it, far be it from me
on 2 Samuel 20:20-22
Joab answers the accusation of wanting to swallow up the city by doubling his denial, then narrows the siege to one name, Sheba the son of Bichri, and no more. The woman's wisdom secures the trade David never got from a battlefield: Sheba's head is thrown over the wall, the siege lifts at a single trumpet blast, and the city that produced a proverb about counsel now proves it works. Joab returns to Jerusalem with the second rival off his path inside the same chapter.
This site's exposition
thrown to you over the wall
John Gill and John Wesley reconcile Sheba's Benjamite birth with his home in the hill country of Ephraim, Gill by residence and Wesley by a place of that name within Benjamin. The woman promises the head before consulting anyone, and Adam Clarke takes this as proof of her sway in the city. Wesley thinks she may have governed it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shimei and he were both of Saul's tribe, and both retained the ancient grudge of that house. Against the kingdom of the Messiah there is an hereditary enmity in the serpent's seed, and a succession of attempts to overthrow it ( Ps. ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Ephraim - Probably mount Ephraim was a place in Benjamin so called, either because it was upon the borders of Ephraim or for some notable action or event of the Ephraimites in that place. His head - Which she undertook, because she knew the present temper of the citizens, and soldiers too. And it is not unlikely, that this woman might be a governness in that city.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
31 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | [is] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כֵ֣ן | khen | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הַדָּבָ֗ר | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כִּ֡י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִישׁ֩ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵהַ֨ר | mehar | from [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֶפְרַ֜יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| שֶׁ֧בַע | sheva' | [who is] Sheba | H7652 → | 10 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִּכְרִ֣י | bikhri | Bicri | H1075 → | 8 times |
| שְׁמ֗וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| נָשָׂ֤א | nasa' | he has lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| יָדוֹ֙ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בַּמֶּ֣לֶךְ | bamelekh | against the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּדָוִ֔ד | bedavid | against David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| תְּנֽוּ־ | tenu- | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֹת֣וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְבַדּ֔וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| וְאֵלְכָ֖ה | veelekhah | so let me go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַתֹּ֤אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹאָ֔ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| רֹאשׁ֛וֹ | rosho | head his | H7218 → | 599 times |
| מֻשְׁלָ֥ךְ | mushlakh | [is] about to be thrown | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אֵלֶ֖יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּעַ֥ד | bead | behind | H1157 → | 105 times |
| הַחוֹמָֽה׃ | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
לֹא־[is] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
כֵ֣ןso
khenH3651 →771 times
הַדָּבָ֗רthe matter
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
כִּ֡יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִישׁ֩a man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵהַ֨רfrom [the] hill country of
meharH2022 →546 times
אֶפְרַ֜יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
שֶׁ֧בַע[who is] Sheba
sheva'H7652 →10 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
בִּכְרִ֣יBicri
bikhriH1075 →8 times
שְׁמ֗וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
נָשָׂ֤אhe has lifted up
nasa'H5375 →656 times
יָדוֹ֙hand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
בַּמֶּ֣לֶךְagainst the king
bamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּדָוִ֔דagainst David
bedavidH1732 →999 times
תְּנֽוּ־give
tenu-H5414 →2011 times
אֹת֣וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
לְבַדּ֔וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
וְאֵלְכָ֖הso let me go
veelekhahH1980 →1546 times
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַתֹּ֤אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙the woman
haishahH802 →781 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹאָ֔בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
רֹאשׁ֛וֹhead his
roshoH7218 →599 times
מֻשְׁלָ֥ךְ[is] about to be thrown
mushlakhH7993 →125 times
אֵלֶ֖יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
בְּעַ֥דbehind
beadH1157 →105 times
הַחוֹמָֽה׃the wall
hachomahH2346 →133 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 Samuel 24:6So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 1:14
So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
- 1 Samuel 26:9–11
But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- Romans 12:14
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.
- Job 31:29–30
If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
- 1 Kings 21:3
But Naboth replied, “The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”
- 2 Samuel 1:14
Through
2 Kings 10:7And when the letter arrived, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:21
This is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring calamity on you and consume your descendants; I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free.
- 2 Kings 11:1
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.
- 1 Kings 21:21
Through
Judges 2:9They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:50
as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the city of Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, as he requested. He rebuilt the city and settled in it.
- Joshua 19:50
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.