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2 Samuel 20:8

in 2 Samuel 20

And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. And Joab was girded with his apparel of war that he had put on, and thereon was a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

KJV

When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab’s garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 20

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Joab’s garment - It appears that this was not a military garment; and that Joab had no arms but a short sword, which he had concealed in his girdle; and this sword, or knife, was so loose in its sheath that it could be easily drawn out.

This site's exposition

the great stone which is in Gibeon

on 2 Samuel 20:8-9

Amasa reaches Joab's column first, and Joab's sword falls loose from its sheath as he steps forward, a detail the older commentators read as staged rather than accidental. Joab greets him as a brother and takes him by the beard to kiss him, the customary greeting between kinsmen, with the loose sword already in his other hand. The friendliness is the weapon; Amasa has no reason to watch a hand that seems only to be reaching for an embrace.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Girded - After the manner of travelers and soldiers. Went forth - To meet and salute Amasa, who was coming towards him to do him honour. It fell - Things having (it is likely) been so contrived by Joab, that upon the least motion of his body, his sword should drop out, and he might take it up without raising Amasa's suspicion.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The more there is of plot in a sin the worse it is. He did it treacherously, and under pretence of friendship, that Amasa might not be upon his guard.
When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon,.... Which, according to Josephus (r), was forty furlongs, or five miles from Jerusalem: what this great stone was, whether an obelisk, or what, is not certain; one of the greatest stones we read of was that which Semiramis cut out of the mountains of Armenia, which was an hundred thirty feet long, and twenty five broad and thick (s).

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Amasa went before them--Having collected some forces, he by a rapid march overtook the expedition at Gibeon, and assumed the place of commander; in which capacity, he was saluted, among others, by Joab. Joab's garment, that he had put on was girded unto him--in the fashion of travellers and soldiers. a sword . . . and as he went forth it fell out--that is, out of the scabbard.
Amasa went before them - Rather, “advanced to meet them.” Amasa was no doubt returning to Jerusalem, according to his orders 2Sa 20:4, and was probably much surprised to meet the army in march. Joab’s resolution was quickly taken. And Joab’s garment ... - Render, “And Joab was girded with his military garment, as his clothing, and upon it” - i. e., the military garment - (or “him”), “the girdle of a sword fastened on his loins in its sheath, and as he went forth” (to meet Amasa) “it fell” out of the sheath. What appears to have happened is that, by accident or design, Joab’s sword fell out of the scabbard on the ground as he was going to meet Amasa, and that he picked it up with his left hand so as to have his right hand free for the customary salutation 2Sa 20:9. This awakened no suspicion in Amasa’s mind. Compare the case of Ehud, Jdg 3:21.

The words behind it

23 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.

  • הֵ֗םthey

    hemH1992 →553 times

  • עִם־[were] near

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • הָאֶ֤בֶןthe stone

    haevenH68 →273 times

  • הַגְּדוֹלָה֙<the> great

    hagedolahH1419 →526 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בְּגִבְע֔וֹן[is] in Gibeon

    begivonH1391 →38 times

  • וַעֲמָשָׂ֖אand Amasa

    vaamasa'H6021 →16 times

  • בָּ֣אhe came

    ba'H935 →2568 times

  • לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם<to> before them

    lifneihemH6440 →2123 times

  • וְיוֹאָ֞בand Joab

    veyoavH3097 →144 times

  • חָג֣וּר׀[was] girded

    chagurH2296 →44 times

  • מִדּ֣וֹrobe his

    midoH4055 →

  • לְבֻשׁ֗וּclothing his

    levushuH3830 →

  • וְעָלָ֞יוand over it

    vealoH5921 →5755 times

  • חֲג֥וֹרa belt of

    chagorH2290 →

  • חֶ֙רֶב֙a sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • מְצֻמֶּ֤דֶת[was] fastened

    metzumedetH6775 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • מָתְנָיו֙loins his

    matenavH4975 →

  • בְּתַעְרָ֔הּin sheath its

    beta'rahH8593 →

  • וְה֥וּאand he

    vehu'H1931 →1879 times

  • יָצָ֖אhe went forward

    yatza'H3318 →1067 times

  • וַתִּפֹּֽל׃ סand it fell

    vatipolH5307 →435 times

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

Related verses

4 in all, six open

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

    2 Samuel 2:13

    So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 8:16

      Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

    • 1 Chronicles 2:16

      Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel.

    • 2 Samuel 2:18

      The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

    • 1 Kings 1:7

      So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.

    • 1 Kings 2:28–35

      When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 3:30

    (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 2:19–23

      and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.

    • Acts 28:4

      When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to…

    • Proverbs 28:17

      A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.

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 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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 20 →