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2 Samuel 20 Bible study: A mother in Israel
Sheba's revolt opens with "neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse" (20:1) and ends with a wise woman asking Joab, "Why will you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?" (20:19): the same Hebrew word, nachalah. And her "a mother in Israel" is, in Hebrew, the two words Deborah used of herself (Judges 5:7).
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“I am among those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Sheba's revolt begins with a trumpet blast and ends with one.”
Is that in 2 Samuel 20, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
No portion, no inheritance
Sheba's revolt comes right after the quarrel that ends chapter 19. The men of Israel had told the men of Judah, "We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more claim to David than you" (19:43), and "The words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel" (19:43). Then: "There happened to be there a wicked fellow, whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite" (20:1) (tap wicked). He "blew the trumpet" (20:1) and cried, "We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!" (20:1) (tap portion and inheritance). The split runs along the line of that quarrel: "all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem" (20:2). David takes it seriously: "Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did" (20:6).
Where it leads to Jesus
A greeting and a kiss
2 Samuel 20:9leads toLuke 22:48
Joab greets Amasa, "Is it well with you, my brother?" (20:9), takes him by the beard "to kiss him" (20:9), and kills him (20:10). When Judas came to Jesus, he "said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him" (Matthew 26:49). In Jesus' words: "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48). No New Testament passage cites 2 Samuel 20, so setting the two side by side is a reading. Some hear in Jesus' question what this chapter shows: harm hidden under a warm greeting (20:9-10; Matthew 26:49). Others keep them apart: Joab and Amasa were rival captains in a civil war (17:25, 19:13), while Judas was "one of the twelve" (Luke 22:47), and Jesus' words speak of Judas and the Son of Man alone.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about 2 Samuel 20
That was a taste
The rest of 2 Samuel 20 is waiting in Favor
- "Is it well with you, my brother?"
- A mother in Israel
- The officials, a second time
- Sheba's words, heard again
- 10 questions as you read
- 12 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
נַחֲלָהnachalahsay na-kha-LAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "possession, property, inheritance". Strong's: "something inherited". The word stands at both ends of Sheba's revolt. Sheba cries, "neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse" (20:1), and the wise woman of Abel asks Joab, "Why will you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?" (20:19). 2 Samuel uses it four times: the woman of Tekoa spoke of "the inheritance of God" (14:16), and David will ask the Gibeonites what he should do "that you may bless the LORD’s inheritance" (21:3). David had used the woman's words, in Hebrew too, when Saul pursued him: "they have driven me out today that I shouldn’t cling to the LORD’s inheritance" (1 Samuel 26:19).
For your group
2 Samuel 20 Bible study questions
- 1Sheba's cry, "We have no portion in David" (20:1), came right after a quarrel over who had more claim to the king (19:43). When has a quarrel made you want to walk away from people you belonged with?
- 2Joab's greeting was "Is it well with you, my brother?" (20:9). What helps you make your words and your actions toward someone say the same thing?
- 3One woman asked Joab to listen, and an army left her city (20:16-22). Where could a calm word from you help a conflict this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads 2 Samuel 20 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home