2 Samuel 20 Joab killed Amasa

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
2 Samuel 20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” 5 But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.

6 David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.”[a] 7 So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.

8 While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.

9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bikri.

11 One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!” 12 Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him. 13 After Amasa had been removed from the road, everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.​

a. 2 Samuel 20:6 Or and do us serious injury

I have to admit... I had a problem understanding who was doing what in this chapter. It's very choppy. First it was about Sheba and how he was starting a political move against David. Then it jumped to the concubines [almost an after thought IMHO]. Then it's back to Sheba and Amasa got killed.

This is from Bibletrack.org.

David sends his new commander out to gather together the army from among the men of Judah, but Amasa doesn't show up with an army in the three days he was allocated to do so. David then appoints Abishai (another of David's nephews and brother of Joab) to take David's men and go after Sheba. Joab and his men tag along; Amasa then catches up with them. Joab goes to greet Amasa...with a sword! While greeting Amasa, Joab takes the sword in his hand and kills him...whoa...didn't see that coming! That was easy; now Joab is commander of the army again. Ironically, Joab had remained faithful to David in Absalom's treason, and Amasa had rallied around Absalom. It was a political compromise that allowed Amasa to remain in control over the army after David's restoration to the throne. Really, he couldn't be trusted, and Joab knew it.​

This is how Bible.org reports the events.

The next item of business for David is the rebellion that is under way, led by Sheba. David knows speed is of the essence. He does not dare allow Sheba time to gather a following, organize his army, and find fortified cities in which to hide or from which to fight. The sooner David's army can overtake Sheba and deal with him, the better. And so David summons his new commander, Amasa and instructs him to go muster the military forces of Judah, and then pursue and subdue Sheba as quickly as possible.

For some unexplained reason Amasa does not assemble the armed forces of Judah in the three-day time frame David sets down. You can imagine how uneasy David must be, knowing that every hour Sheba is free, the threat to his kingdom increases. It must pain David greatly to finally admit Amasa is not coming, at least not for a while, and to call for Abishai, the brother of Joab and long-time pain-in-the-neck for David (see 1 Samuel 26:6-11; 2 Samuel 16:9-12; 19:21-22). David would not ask Joab to do the job, for it would appear to be an admission that he has erred in firing Joab and replacing him with Amasa. But when Abishai goes out from Jerusalem, leading David's select warriors (the Green Berets or Navy Seals of his day) in pursuit of Sheba, he is accompanied by Joab.

Joab and his men go out, along with David's royal guard, the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the “mighty men of valor.” When they arrive at the large and well-known stone in Gibeon, Amasa comes out to meet them. I would expect Abishai to take the lead here. It is possible that the forces that left Jerusalem in search of Sheba divided into smaller groups, which fanned out to locate this traitor as quickly as possible. From this point on in the chapter, Abishai is only incidentally mentioned, while Joab is prominent. It may just be that Joab went out on his own with his own men, and providentially encountered Amasa. It is also possible that Joab believed he knew where Amasa could be found and decided to deal first with him. Is Amasa a bungler, who just couldn't do the job? Or is he a coward, afraid to try? We are given no clues, but his conduct is certainly an enigma. One way or the other, his actions providentially prepare the way for what is about to take place.

Joab and Amasa are approaching each other. Joab's greeting to Amasa seems warm and friendly (“my brother,” verse 9), so Amasa is hardly on guard. Joab is in military uniform, which includes a belt and a sheath, holding a sword. Somehow (it doesn't appear to be deliberate) as Joab moves forward, his spear falls out of its sheath. Joab bends down and picks up his sword in his left hand. Amasa does not seem to even notice the sword in Joab's hand as they draw near. It would seem at that very moment, Joab sizes up the situation and realizes how easy it would be for him to kill Amasa, and so he does, on what seems to be a spur-of-the-moment impulse. Joab seizes Amasa by the beard, which is apparently the usual way one would hold on to the man being kissed. As he grasps Amasa with his right hand, he runs him through with his left, probably twisting it about in his abdomen, causing his innards to spill out.

Almost immediately, it seems, Joab turns and walks away, along with his brother Abishai, to resume his pursuit of Sheba. From what the text tells us, I am not sure Joab intended anything more than to kill Amasa. We are not told that he sought to take control of the army of David; we are only told that he set out to continue his pursuit of Sheba.​


Now it's all settled.... simply put... Amasa was the head of David's army and he was told to go get his soldiers and return in 3 days. Well he didn't make it back in time.... so David put Abishai in charge and told him to go get Sheba before Sheba could get to a fortified city. If Sheba made it to one of those fortified cities... the battle to take him out would be bloodier. Joab went out with Abishai... his brother. Joab isn't the general in charge... but his brother is. Then Amasa finally showed up. Joab walked up to him as if to welcome him, drops his
sword, picks it up... and then he ran Amasa through and through..... yuck.

So... let me put the characters in order.....

  • David is king.
  • Abishai is general in charge.
  • Joab is general under Abishai who happens to be his brother.
  • Sheba, apparently loyal to Saul, is at large and campaigning against David.

So... now... Abishai and Joab are back in control and they are in the hunt for Sheba... that worthless nogoodnick who is campaigning against David.

:coffee:
 
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