Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Samuel
Chapter 20: We Have No Part in David
Barely home, David faces a fresh revolt as Sheba cries, 'We have no part in David.' Ruthless Joab murders his rival Amasa and pursues the rebel to the walls of Abel, where a wise woman's counsel saves her city by giving up the one troublemaker. Order is restored, but the cost of rejecting the king runs high.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Samuel chapter 20. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 20 records Sheba's revolt, Joab's violence, and the wisdom that spared a city. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Sheba's Rebellion and Joab's Treachery (2 Samuel 20:1-13)
Sheba raises a fresh revolt against David, and Joab treacherously murders Amasa to reclaim command.
We Have No Part in David
"And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood. Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us. And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 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. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri."
Word Study
"We have no part in David," the cry of rebellion against the king. Sheba, "a man of Belial," seizes the tribal jealousy of chapter 19 and blows the trumpet of revolt: "We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse." It is the slogan of every heart that casts off the rightful king, and it will be heard again, almost word for word, when the ten tribes finally split from the house of David (1 Kings 12:16). To say "we have no part in David" is to forfeit the blessings that come only through the king, a self-inflicted disinheritance. So it is spiritually: to reject God's anointed King is to renounce our only inheritance, for "in Christ" alone we "have obtained an inheritance" (Ephesians 1:11). Alongside this tragic cry runs the tragedy of Joab, who, with a lying "Art thou in health, my brother?" and a Judas-like kiss, murders his rival Amasa in cold blood, as he had murdered Abner. Ambition unrestrained by conscience will shed any blood to keep its place. The two evils, rejecting the king and grasping for power, run together through the chapter, and both leave a trail of ruin.
Explanation
The jealous strife of the previous chapter erupts into open revolt. A troublemaker named Sheba sounds the trumpet, and the northern tribes desert David to follow him, though Judah stays loyal. David returns to Jerusalem, where he shelters but permanently sets aside the ten concubines Absalom had defiled. Then he orders Amasa (Absalom's former general, whom he had made commander to heal the rift) to muster Judah, but Amasa delays. Impatient, David sends Abishai and the standing army after Sheba. On the march, Joab, whom Amasa had displaced, greets him with feigned warmth and a kiss, then guts him with a hidden sword, and steps over the corpse to resume command. Amasa's body, wallowing in blood on the highway, halts the troops until it is dragged aside and covered. Joab, by murder, is again captain of the host, and the pursuit of Sheba goes on.
Gospel Focus
"We have no part in David" is the cry of the rebel heart, and it is spiritual suicide. To reject the king is to cut oneself off from the inheritance that comes only through him. So the gravest folly of all is to say of the true King, "we will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14), for in Him alone is our portion and our hope; to have no part in Christ is to have no part in life. Cleave to the King, as Judah clave to David, and share His inheritance. And beware the spirit of Joab, ambition so ruthless it will betray and murder to keep its place, cloaking the dagger with a brother's kiss. Such a man may hold his office by blood, but the reckoning comes; Joab's murders would at last return on his own head (1 Kings 2:5-6). The kingdom of God is never advanced by the assassin's knife or the grasping hand, but by those who cleave to the King in faith and serve Him with clean hands.
The Wise Woman of Abel (2 Samuel 20:14-22)
A wise woman's counsel spares her city, giving up the one rebel to end the siege.
A City and a Mother in Israel
"And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Bethmaachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel of Bethmaachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. 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? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. 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. Then the woman went unto all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king."
Word Study
"a wise woman," Hebrew ishshah chakamah (אִשָּׁה חֲכָמָה), "a woman of wisdom." For the second time in these chapters (compare the woman of Tekoah, chapter 14), a "wise woman" alters the course of events, this time saving a whole city. Abel was besieged for harboring Sheba, and Joab was battering its walls. But this woman, calling herself "one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel," parleys with Joab, appeals to the city's reputation for wisdom, and pleads that he not "swallow up the inheritance of the LORD." Learning that only Sheba is wanted, she wisely persuades the city to give up the one rebel rather than perish for his sake, and his head is thrown over the wall, ending the siege. Her wisdom is the wisdom of the peacemaker, "blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9), and of sound counsel that saves many. She teaches that one troublemaker is not worth the ruin of a whole community; the sin of one, harbored, endangers all. "How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!" (Proverbs 16:16). One wise, courageous voice, willing to speak and to act, spared "a city and a mother in Israel."
Explanation
Sheba flees north and takes refuge in the fortified city of Abel of Bethmaachah, and Joab besieges it, throwing up a siege ramp and battering the walls. As the city faces destruction, a wise woman calls out to Joab and negotiates. She reminds him of Abel's old renown for wise counsel, protests that she and the city are peaceable and faithful, and asks why he would destroy "a mother in Israel" and "the inheritance of the LORD." Joab replies that he has no wish to destroy the city; he wants only Sheba, the rebel against the king. The woman promises Sheba's head, and by her wisdom persuades the townspeople to execute the troublemaker and cast his head over the wall. Satisfied, Joab lifts the siege and returns to Jerusalem. One wise woman, by counsel and courage, has saved her whole city from ruin.
Gospel Focus
The wise woman of Abel models the peacemaking wisdom the LORD blesses. Where Sheba brought ruin, she brought deliverance, by speaking up, appealing to reason, and dealing decisively with the source of trouble. Her city was spared because it would not shelter a rebel against the king. There is a searching lesson here: harbored sin, one cherished rebellion against the King, endangers the whole community, and true wisdom deals with it rather than perishing for its sake. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6); the church, like Abel, must not shield what rebels against Christ. And the chapter honors the quiet, unnamed servants whose wisdom saves others; God delights to work great deliverances through humble, faithful people who are willing to speak and act for peace. Be a peacemaker like the woman of Abel, not a Sheba who sows revolt; and in your own life, do not shelter the rebellion that would bring the siege down on your soul.
David's Officials (2 Samuel 20:23-26)
With the revolt crushed, the roster of David's restored government is set down.
Joab Was Over All the Host
"Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites: And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David."
Word Study
The restored roster, echoing the earlier list of chapter 8:16-18. The chapter, and this whole troubled section of the book, closes with a brief list of David's officials, a quiet sign that order has been restored after the chaos of revolt. It deliberately echoes the earlier roster in chapter 8, framing the account of David's fall and its aftermath: the kingdom stood before the sin, and by God's mercy it stands again, though scarred. There is a sobering note in it: "Joab was over all the host," the murderer of Abner, Absalom, and Amasa still holds the highest command, for David could not, or would not, remove him. Sin's consequences, and the hard men it empowers, are not always cleared away in this life. Yet the kingdom endures, government resumes, priests still minister, and the LORD's purpose for the house of David moves on. Through David's grievous failure and its bitter harvest, God's covenant did not fail; the throne promised to endure for ever (chapter 7) still stands, carried forward by grace toward the greater Son of David.
Explanation
The narrative of rebellion and its suppression ends with a list of David's chief officers: Joab over the army, Benaiah over the royal guard, Adoram over the forced labor, Jehoshaphat as recorder, Sheva as scribe, Zadok and Abiathar as priests, and Ira as a chief minister. The list closely mirrors the one given at the height of David's reign in chapter 8, signaling that stable government has returned after the upheaval of Absalom's and Sheba's revolts. The kingdom, so nearly torn apart, is intact. Notably, Joab, despite his repeated murders, remains commander, a reminder that not every wrong is set right in this age. But David reigns again in Jerusalem, order is restored, and the covenant line continues.
Gospel Focus
The closing roster quietly preaches the faithfulness of God to His covenant. David had sinned grievously, and the sword had ravaged his house and kingdom, adultery, murder, rape, rebellion, and civil war, yet here at the end, the throne stands, the government functions, the priests minister, and the promise of chapter 7 remains unbroken. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). God's purposes are not overthrown by our failures; His covenant, grounded in His own faithfulness and reaching to great David's greater Son, cannot fail. There is realism too: Joab still holds power, for sin's hard consequences linger in this life. But the larger truth is grace, God carried His scarred, chastened servant through the storm and preserved the kingdom for His own name's sake. Whatever ruin our sin has caused, if we belong to the King, His faithfulness will carry His purpose through to the end, "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it" (Philippians 1:6).
Chapter 20 in Review
2 Samuel 20 records a fresh revolt and its suppression. Sheba, "a man of Belial," raises the northern tribes with the cry, "We have no part in David," while Judah stays loyal. Ruthless Joab, displaced as commander, murders his rival Amasa with a feigned kiss and reclaims his post, then pursues Sheba to the city of Abel. There a wise woman saves her city from destruction by persuading its people to give up the one rebel, whose head is thrown over the wall, ending the siege. The chapter closes with a roster of David's officials, echoing the earlier list and signaling that order has been restored, though Joab still holds command.
For the Apostolic reader, "we have no part in David" is the cry of the rebel heart and a spiritual disinheritance, for our whole portion is in the King; to reject Christ is to have no part in life. The wise woman of Abel models the peacemaking wisdom God blesses and warns that harbored rebellion endangers the whole community. And the closing roster, mirroring the days before David's fall, quietly proclaims God's covenant faithfulness: through grievous sin and its bitter harvest, the throne stood, the promise held, and God carried His scarred servant on toward the greater Son of David.
- "We have no part in David" is spiritual suicide; our inheritance is only in the King, cleave to Him.
- Joab's murderous ambition warns that grasping power by blood brings a reckoning; serve with clean hands.
- The wise woman of Abel saved her city; wisdom makes peace, and a community must not shelter rebellion.
- The restored roster shows God's covenant faithfulness through David's failure; His purpose does not fail.
Questions for Reflection
- Have you said, in any part of your heart, "we have no part in David"? Cleave to the King who is your inheritance.
- Are you a peacemaker like the woman of Abel, or do you sow the revolt of Sheba?
- What harbored sin might bring a siege on your soul, that wisdom would deal with now?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Sheba's revolt; rejecting the king; Joab's treachery: 2 Samuel 20:1-13; 1 Kings 12:16; Ephesians 1:11; Luke 19:14; 1 Kings 2:5-6.
- The wise woman of Abel; peacemaking wisdom; harbored rebellion: 2 Samuel 20:14-22; Matthew 5:9; Proverbs 16:16; 1 Corinthians 5:6.
- The restored roster; God's covenant faithfulness through failure: 2 Samuel 20:23-26; 2 Samuel 8:16-18; 2 Timothy 2:13; Philippians 1:6.