Outline of Chapter 20:

Introduction

         vv.     1–22         Sheba’s Revolution

         vv.     1–7                    Preparation for the Revolution

         vv.     8–13                  Joab Kills Amasa

         vv.    14–15                  Joab’s Assault of the City of Abel

         vv.    16–22                  Joab’s Encounter with the Wise Woman of Abel

         vv.    23–26         David’s Cabinet

Addendum

Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines:

         Introduction         The Principals of 2Samuel 20

         Introduction         The Prequel of 2Samuel 20

         Introduction         The Expository Bible Summarizes the Events at the End of 2Samuel 19

         Introduction         The Abbreviated Davidic Timeline

         Introduction         A Synopsis of 2Samuel 20

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Alternative Outline to 2Samuel 20

         v.       1              The Grievances of the Declaration of Independence

         v.       1              The Massorah by Dr. E.W. Bullinger

         v.       2              A Summary of 2Samuel 20:1–2

         v.       3              David and his Mistresses

         v.       3              Why the Bible Covers the Topic of David’s 10 Mistresses

         v.       6              Abishai, Amasa or Joab?

         v.       7              God and Revolution

         v.      10              Joab killing Amasa (graphic)

         v.      10              Joab—the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

         v.      19              What do we know for certain about vv. 18–19?

         v.      19              Two Interpretations of 2Samuel 20:18–19

         v.      22              The Doctrine of Wisdom

         v.      22              Sheba’s head being thrown over the wall (graphic)

         v.      22              Hajime Murai on the Chiasmos of 2Samuel 20:1–22

         v.      22              Luther Seminary Chiasmos

         v.      24              The Jehoshaphat’s of Scripture

         v.      25              The Sheva’s of Scripture

         v.      25              Comparing David’s Cabinet Members

         Addendum          The Pulpit Commentary Looks Back at David’s Time as King

         Addendum          Why 2Samuel 20 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from 2Samuel 20

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes 2Samuel 20

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 2Samuel 20

         Addendum          The Pulpit Commentary on What Lies Ahead in 2Samuel

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of 2Samuel 20

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of 2Samuel 20

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An Introduction to 2Samuel 20

I ntroduction: 2Sam. 20 is easily divided into two separate sections: the revolution of Sheba ben Bichri and a list of those in David’s cabinet after the revolutions. Since the latter list is so small, it is added on to this chapter rather than presented as a separate chapter.

Quite frankly, 2Sam. 20 is probably not going to be your favorite chapter in Scripture; it is probably no one’s favorite chapter in Scripture. God’s name, Y^ehowah, is mentioned one time, and there is precious little about the spiritual life, spiritual growth or God’s involvement in the history of Israel. History has produced very little artwork related to this chapter; and you will not see any verse from this chapter superimposed over some wondrous photo of nature. This chapter reminds me very much of many chapters from the book of the Judges.

If you will recall, a whole series of events was based upon David’s sexual arrogance, where he took the wife of a great soldier of his and then had that soldier killed. He used his authority over Joab, his lead general, to kill this man. We have seen what happened to David over the years, the pressures which God put upon him; but this chapter spends more time on Joab and how David’s venture into the interlocking systems of arrogance affected those closest to him.

David, primarily with the help of Joab, put down the revolution of Absalom in the previous few chapters. However, there came to be a rift between the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, setting the stage for their eventual dissolution. This rift began on a misunderstanding in the previous chapter, and blossomed to a full-scale revolution.

One of the things which is important about a revolution is, it is never about the little people. A revolution is all about power, and in this case, it is about the power of Sheba ben Bichri. Generally speaking, life for the average person becomes quite horrible in a revolution (I write this in 2014, and we see this being played out all over the Middle East, sometimes foolishly called the Facebook revolution because many of the revolutionaries communicate via Facebook). Foolish people think that this is the prelude for democracies to break out all over the Middle East, but it is simply the prelude for a younger and more brutal administration to take over from those presently in power. Even the most controlled of the revolutions, the one taking place in Egypt, has involved a great deal of brutality and killing, and, at some point, the military, which has been holding it all together there, will have to step forward and end the revolting—and that may involve a great many more deaths.

The people of our country have been brainwashed into thinking that a righteous war is not; but that revolutions, in general, are good things. It is exactly the opposite; and this reveals just how much communist propaganda has infected our entire culture. Most of our righteous wars were against communism spreading; and most revolutions, until most recently, were all about overthrowing a non-communist government and replacing it with a communist government.

Sheba, in this chapter of 2Samuel, does not appear to have a real platform, which is typical of revolutionaries. They may spout a philosophy or align themselves with this or that political movement; but, when all is said and done, they want power. What they say, like most politicians, is merely a means to an end.

In this chapter, the hoi polloi strikes back. The common people decide to end the revolution themselves, and they do so by killing and beheading Sheba. Had they sided with and stayed with Sheba, it is likely that the entire city where he was staying would have been destroyed.

Revolution ends in three ways, essentially: (1) The establishment government soundly defeats the revolutionaries. (2) The new revolutionary leader places greater constraints upon the people under his control than did any previous leader. For most communist revolutions, there are far more people killed after the revolution than during the revolution. (3) The people themselves reject the revolutionary figure and all that he promises. The defeat of Absalom is an example of the first; the defeat of Sheba will be an example of the third.

There are a few difficulties in this and the previous chapter. Hopefully, the text here and the use of logic will lead us to the correct conclusions.

Although the end of 2Sam. 19 leads directly into this chapter, the first part of this chapter is in itself a literary unit. It will begin with a trumpet call and end with a trumpet call. It was probably observed by and recounted by the same person from beginning to end. For this reason, it is clear to see why it stands on its own.

Joab’s military position is difficult to ascertain for several reasons: (1) It does appear as if David demoted Joab in the previous chapter; and there is evidence of that in this chapter. (2) However, the soldiers continue to recognize Joab’s authority as their general. (3) Furthermore, God appears to continue to recognize Joab as David’s lead general.

As an aside, R. B. Thieme, Jr. concluded his series on David prior to this chapter.

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Sheba's Revolution

Preparation for the Revolution

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Seba, the son of Bochri, a man of Jemini: and he sounded the trumpet, and said: We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Isai: return to thy dwellings, O Israel.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And there is named a man without value and his name [is] Sheba ben Bichri, a man of Benjamin. And so he blows in the trumpet and so he says, “[There is] not to us a portion in David; and [there is] no inheritance to us in a son of Jesse. A man to his tents, Israel!”

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND there happened to be there a wicked man, whose name was Shamoa, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew a trumpet and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we an inheritance with the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!

Septuagint (Greek)                And there was a transgressor there, and his name was Sheba, a Benjamite, the son of Bichri: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel!

Significant differences:           No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Sheba's rebellion

Now a despicable man named Sheba, Bichri's son, from Benjamin, was also there. He sounded the trumpet and said:

"We don't care about David!

We have no stake in Jesse's son!

Go back to your homes, Israel!"

Contemporary English V.       A troublemaker from the tribe of Benjamin was there. His name was Sheba the son of Bichri, and he blew a trumpet to get everyone's attention. Then he said, "People of Israel, David the son of Jesse doesn't belong to us! Let's go home."

Easy English                          Sheba opposes David

Sheba, the son of Bicri, happened to be there. He came from the *tribe of Benjamin. He was a wicked man. He blew a *trumpet and he shouted,

`We will not join with David.

We do not want to associate with the son of Jesse!

People of *Israel, prepare to fight!'

Easy-to-Read Version            At that place, there was a man named Sheba son of Bicri. Sheba was a good-for-nothing troublemaker from the family group of Benjamin. Sheba blew a trumpet {to gather the people together}. Then he said,... My e-sword version just stops right there.

Good News Bible (TEV)         There happened to be in Gilgal a worthless character named Sheba son of Bikri, of the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and called out, "Down with David! We won't follow him! Men of Israel, let's go home!"

The Message                         Just then a good-for-nothing named Sheba son of Bicri the Benjaminite blew a blast on the ram's horn trumpet, calling out, We've got nothing to do with David, there's no future for us with the son of Jesse! Let's get out of here, Israel--head for your tents!

New Berkeley Version           About 979 b.c.

Now there happened to be there a worthless fellow named Sheba the son of Bichri, of Benjamin, who blew the trumpet, saying, “In David we’ll have no more part; in Jesse’s last son, nor a share! Depart, Israel’s men, to your tents [Meaning, each man independent in his own home.]!”

New Century Version             Sheba Leads Israel Away from David

It happened that a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri from the tribe of Benjamin was there. He blew the trumpet and said:

"We have no share in David!

We have no part in the son of Jesse!

People of Israel, let's go home!"

New Living Translation           The Revolt of Sheba

There happened to be a troublemaker there named Sheba son of Bicri, a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Sheba blew a ram's horn and began to chant:

"Down with the dynasty of David!

We have no interest in the son of Jesse.

Come on, you men of Israel,

back to your homes!"

The Voice                               A worthless troublemaker, Sheba the Benjaminite, the son of Bichri, blasted a trumpet and silenced everyone.

Sheba: We don't have any share in David, no interest in the son of Jesse! Israel, let's go back to our tents and show loyalty to only our own tribes!

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, there was a man who was referred to as the Son of a Lawbreaker. His name was SabeE, and he was the son of BoChori, a BenJaminite. He then blew his horn and shouted: 'David [doesn't have any respect] for us, nor does the son of Jesse have an inheritance for us. So men of IsraEl; let's return to our tents!'

Beck’s American Translation There happened to be a scoundrel by the name of Sheba, Bichri’s son, a Benjamite. He blew a horn and announced, “We have nothing to do with David. There’s nothing for us in Jesse’s son. Everybody in Israel, go home!”

Christian Community Bible     Sheba rebels against David

There happened to be there a base fellow named Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, who sounded the trumpet and said, “We have nothing to do with David. What can we expect from the son of Jesse? Go back, O Israelites, each man to his home!” 1K 12:16

God’s Word™                         A good-for-nothing man by the name of Sheba, Bichri's son, from the tribe of Benjamin happened to be at Gilgal. He blew a ram's horn to announce, "We have no share in David's kingdom. We won't receive an inheritance from Jesse's son. Everyone to his own tent, Israel!"

New Advent (Knox)Bible        It chanced that there was a turbulent fellow there, called Seba, son of Bochri, from Benjamin, who now sounded his trumpet and raised the cry: David, then, is none of ours; not for us the son of Jesse; go back, men of Israel, to your homes!

New American Bible (2011)    Sheba's Rebellion.

Now a scoundrel named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the horn and cried out,

"We have no share in David,

nor any heritage in the son of Jesse.

Everyone to your tents, O Israel!" 1 Kgs 12:16.

NIRV                                      Sheba Tells Israel Not to Follow David

An evil man who always stirred up trouble happened to be in Gilgal. His name was Sheba, the son of Bicri. Sheba was from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew his trumpet. Then he shouted,

"We don't have any share in David's kingdom!

Jesse's son is not our king!

Men of Israel, every one of you go back home!"

New Jerusalem Bible             Now there happened to be a scoundrel there called Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, who sounded the trumpet and shouted: We have no share in David, we have no heritage in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, O Israel!

New Simplified Bible              A worthless character named Sheba son of Bikri lived at Gilgal. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and called out: »Down with David! We will not follow him! Men of Israel, let us go home!«

Today’s NIV                          Sheba Rebels Against David

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, "We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son! Everyone to your tents, Israel!"

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      A worthless man named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Ben jamite visited there. He blew a shofar and said, "We have no portion in David, no inheritance in the son of Jesse. A man to his tents, Israel!"

Bible in Basic English             Now by chance there was present a good-for-nothing person named Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he, sounding the horn, said, We have no part in David, or any interest in the son of Jesse: let every man go to his tent, O Israel.

The Expanded Bible              Sheba Leads Israel Away from David

It happened that a ·troublemaker [scoundrel; worthless fellow] named Sheba son of Bicri from the tribe of Benjamin was there. He blew the ·trumpet [ram's horn] and said:

"We have no ·share [interest; portion] in David!

We have no ·part [inheritance; heritage] in the son of Jesse!

People of Israel, ·let's go home [^Leveryone to your tents]!"

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Second Revolt of the Ten Tribes (b.c. 1022)

But the words of the men of Judah were more bitter than the words of the men of Israel, so Sheba-ben-Bikri, a. man of Benjamin, cried out, and sounded a trumpet and exclaimed, “We have no part in David, and no share in the son of Jessai,— Israel, everyone to your tents." A portions of the previous verse is included for context.

HCSB                                     Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram's horn and shouted: We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse's son. Each man to his tent, Israel!

NET Bible®                             Sheba's Rebellion

Now a wicked man [Heb "a man of worthlessness."] named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite [The expression used here יְמִינִי (yemini) is a short form of the more common "Benjamin." It appears elsewhere in 1Sam. 9:4 and Est. 2:5. Cf. 1Sam. 9:1.], happened to be there. He blew the trumpet [Heb "the shofar" (the ram's horn trumpet). So also 2Sam. 20:22.] and said,

"We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home [The Masoretic Text (MT) reads לְאֹהָלָיו (le'ohalav, "to his tents"). For a similar idiom, see 2Sa_19:9. An ancient scribal tradition understands the reading to be לְאלֹהָיו (le'lohav, "to his gods"). The word is a tiqqun sopherim, and the scribes indicate that they changed the word from "gods" to "tents" so as to soften its theological implications. In a consonantal Hebrew text the change involved only the metathesis of two letters.], O Israel!" When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV, ©2011                             Sheba rebels against David

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,

“We have no share [S Ge 31:14] in David [S Ge 29:14; 1Ki 12:16],

no part in Jesse's son! [1Sa 22:7-8]

Every man to his tent, Israel!”

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           There happened to be there a scoundrel whose name was Sheva the son of Bikhri, a Binyamini. He sounded the shofar and said, "We have no share in David, no inheritance in the son of Yishai; so, Isra'el, every man to his tent!"

exeGeses companion Bible   SHEBA REBELS

And so be a man,

called of Beli Yaal, his name is Sheba

the son of Bichria a Ben Yaminiy:

and he blasts a shophar and says,

We have neither allotment in David

nor inheritance in the son of Yishay:

every man to his tents, O Yisra El.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And there happened to be there an ish Beliyaal [rebel], shmo Sheva Ben Bichri an ish from Binyamin; and he blew a shofar, and said, We have no chelek in Dovid, neither have we nachalah in Ben Yishai; every ish to his ohal, O Yisroel.

The Scriptures 1998              And there came to be a man of Beliyaʽal, whose name was Shea son of Biri, a Binyamite. And he blew a ramʼs horn, and said, “We have no part in Dawi, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Yishai – each one to his tents, O Yisraʼĕl!”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                There happened to be there a base and contemptible fellow named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet and said, We have no portion in David and no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Every man to his tents, O Israel!

Emphasized Bible                  Now, in that place, there happened to be an abandoned man, whose name, was Sheba son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin,—so he blew a horn, and said—We have no share in David, Nor inheritance have we in the son of Jesse, Every man to his home, O Israel!

English Standard Version      Now there happened to be there a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said, "We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!"

English Standard V. – UK       The Rebellion of Sheba

Now there happened to be there a worthless man [See Deut. 13:13], whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

"We have no portion in David [2Sam. 19:43],

and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;

every man to his tents [ver. 22; 1 Kgs. 12:16; 2 Chr. 10:16], O Israel!"

The Geneva Bible                  And there happened to be [Where the ten tribes contended against Judah.] 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 [As they of Judah say.], neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse [He thought by speaking contemptuously of the king, to stir the people farther to sedition, or else by causing Israel to depart, thought that they of Judah would have esteemed him less.]: every man to his tents, O Israel.

Green’s Literal Translation    And a man of worthlessness happened to be there, and his name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin. And he blew the ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each man to his tents, O Israel.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    The Murder of Amasa

And there happened to be there a man of Belial, a vain and worthless scoundrel, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite, evidently one of the rabid party of Saul; and he blew a trumpet, as a call to all those who thought as he did on account of the strained relations between Judah and Israel, and said, we have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse, the northern tribes had nothing in common with him, nothing to do with him; every man to his tents, O Israel! It was a call to rebellion.

NASB                                     Sheba's Revolt

Now a worthless fellow [2 Sam 16:7] happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri [Gen 46:21], a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said,

"We have no portion [2 Sam 19:43; 1 Kin 12:16] in David,

Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse [1 Sam 22:7-9];

Every man to his tents [1 Sam 13:2; 2 Sam 18:17; 2 Chr 10:16], O Israel!"

New King James Version       The Rebellion of Sheba

And there happened to be there a rebel,[a] whose name was Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. And he blew a trumpet, and said:

"We have no share in David,

Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;

Every man to his tents, O Israel!"

New RSV                               Now a scoundrel named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjaminite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and cried out,

`We have no portion in David,

no share in the son of Jesse!

Everyone to your tents, O Israel!'

Young’s Updated LT             And there has been called there a man of worthlessness, and his name is Sheba, son of Bichri, a Benjamite, and he blows with a trumpet, and says, “We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; each to his tents, O Israel.”

The gist of this verse:          Another rebellion quickly arises, led by Sheba the son of Bichri. He complains that they have no inheritance in David.

Translation: [At this time] there is known [lit., named] a worthless man... There are a variety of ways that this phrase is translated; and there are two verbs which are spelled the same, either of which may be used here. The idea is, this man breaks out onto the scene; this man becomes known. Just as Absalom had be talked about by many people in the past, so this man is talked about.

However, this is a good-for-nothing, anti-authoritarian, power-hungry jerk. In many ways, this describes perhaps half of the politicians in Washington and Austin.

It is fascinating that, in many cases, there are moral judgments made in the Bible, and sometimes they are withheld. God’s opinion of this man is quite clear: he is worthless, lacking in character, wicked, valueless. This often describes the revolutionary. However, later on in this chapter, Joab will kill Amasa; and there we would expect God to weigh in on the rightness or wrongness of that act, but He does not. It is just stated very matter-of-factly, without commentary.

J. Vernon McGee: Sheba is called "a man of Belial," which means he is a rabble-rouser.

Translation: ...whose name [is] Sheba ben Bichri, a man [from the tribe] of Benjamin. The name of this revolutionary is Sheba the son of Bichri, and he comes from the tribe of Benjamin.

Benjamin, for about 40 years, was the ruling tribe of Israel. David has only ruled for about 25 years over northern Israel. There are some who never quite got over that. King Saul may be dead and gone; and Absalom’s revolt over, but there are still some men who see David’s weakness and they hope to exploit it to their own advantage.

It is possible the ben Bichri could mean that he is a descendant of Becher, one of the sons of Benjamin. This opens up an interesting can of worms, as Becher is clearly one of Benjamin’s sons (Gen. 46:21); but this line is not spoken of later on (Num. 26:38 1Chron. 8:1). Did this line nearly die out? Did they distinguish themselves as particularly heinous?

Furthermore, as has been noted in the introduction, there was a serious rift between northern and southern Israel, those in the north feeling that they were slighted by the people of Judah. So the right revolutionary is able to lead some of these people away from their allegiance to King David.

The Bible states this man’s full name and lineage right up front. He has no plan to better protect Israel. His plan is all about himself. The fact that he is a Benjamite is something which he can used to his advantage, among a people who have become soured toward Judah—but bear in mind, the key to all of this is power lust.

From Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: Though nothing is known of this man, he must have been a person of considerable power and influence, before he could have raised so sudden and extensive a sedition. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, where the adherents of Saul`s dynasty were still numerous; and perceiving the strong disgust of the other tribes with the part assumed by Judah in the restoration, his ill-designing heart resolved to turn it to the overthrow of David`s authority in Israel.

Application: Today, politicians are much more astute than this. Today, they want you to think of them as just a man of the people, someone you might have a beer with. They want you to think they are on your side; that they are thinking about you and your needs; but what they really want is the power and the adulation. If you, Joe Blow, happen to fall by the wayside as he takes power, so be it. If their policies destroy your business, as they pursue their own legacy, so be it.

Translation: He blew the trumpet... This blowing of the trumpet suggests that Sheba has been cultivating a guerilla army, and he is calling them now to action.

Translation: ...and proclaimed, “[There is] no portion for us in David;... Every movement has to have a theme, and often this theme speaks of being disenfranchised by the powers that be. Sheba is saying, “We have no place in the kingdom of David. He does not consider us.”

Or, as Poole expressed it: the tribe of Judah have monopolized the king to themselves, and will not allow us any share in him; let them therefore enjoy him alone, and let us seek out a new king.

You may recall that there was a celebration in the previous chapter, sort of a re-ordination of King David; but only half of those from northern Israel were able to attend. Apparently, the festivities all began too quickly for them to all get down there and take part. It is this snub—although likely unintentional—which Sheba plays upon.

Application: This is common, and we saw this in the 2008 presidential election. Dozens of people were paraded before the American people by the Democratic party, people who were victims of system. The Democratic party was offering a new way, to lead away from such victimhood. There would be free or reduced-cost healthcare, provided by the government. There would be a more compassionate president. This is exactly what Sheba was selling. The people he spoke to were disenfranchised; they had no place in David’s America. Sheba was offering them a new way.

Translation: ...and [there is] no inheritance for us in [this] son of Jesse. “Does this king make you feel like you do not belong? We are a people without a country!” is what he is saying.

Sheba’s entire rationalization for revolution is stated here: “[There is] no portion for us in David; and [there is] no inheritance for us in [this] son of Jesse.” The key is, he wanted power for himself. All he needed to do was to gather people together who were also aggrieved. He did not need to have actual grievances and his approach to solving these problems.

My guess is, there is no actual set of problems directly caused by David which existed, which could be enumerated by Sheba (unlike, for instance, our Declaration of Independence, which listed the grievances of the colonists).

Application: It ought to be clear that, the colonists had a list of specific grievances; what Sheba ben Bichri has is a slogan. For our thought-challenged society today, both parties have a list of items which they support or offer to repeal; but both parties also come up with a slogan, which drives the election every bit as much as an enumeration of their tenets.

Application: I recall questioning a college-educated friend of mine why she had voted for Barack Obama back in 2008. When it came to specifics, she told me that he stood for hope and change. Really; she said that. College-educated. And she told me that she had studied the candidates. If you were to drill down on the voters in any election, my guess is about half of them would give a similar response, from either party. So we today have much more in common with Sheba ben Bichri than we do with our founding fathers. We are motivated by slogans today; just as Sheba motivated the revolutionaries in his day.

G. Campbell Morgan on the phrase "We have no share in David, nor do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse" as Sheba’s slogan: The story should teach us that popular and plausible catchwords ought to be received and acted upon with great caution. In other words, when you hear a politician offer hope and change, don’t be so easily taken in.

It should be added that, when you think that you are studying the internet or newspapers or newscasts for information, upon which you will make a decision, bear in mind that most of these arenas—particularly newscasts—are mere advocacy groups doctored to appear as if they are purveyors of news.

Translation: Every man to his tents [possibly, to his gods], O Israel!” Sheba has gotten the troops sufficiently worked up, so that they are ready to go to war against King David, at Sheba’s call. Why are they being sent to their tents? My guess would be to get their weapons; or that they would rest before they went on a march throughout Israel. We have a similar statement in 1Kings 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king thus: What share have we in David? -No heritage in the son of Jesse! Away to your tents, Israel! Now look after your own House, David! So Israel went home again. (NJB)

From Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: This proverbial expression may have had its foundation in the fact, that many of the Israelite peasantry adhered to the custom of the patriarchs who tilled land, and yet lived in tents, as Syrian peasants often do still. This was the usual watchword of national insurrection, and from the actual temper of the people, it was followed by effects beyond what he probably anticipated.

I think that what is happening here is, Sheba is right there, amongst the Israelites, while they are escorting David over from east of the Jordan. There is this argument which breaks out between the north and the south. Recall this from 2Sam. 19:41–44 The king went on to Gilgal and Chimham went with him. All the people of Judah accompanied the king, and also half the people of Israel. All the men of Israel then came to the king. 'Why', they asked the king, 'have our brothers, the men of Judah, carried you off and brought the king and his family across the Jordan, and all David's men with him?' All the men of Judah retorted to the men of Israel, 'Because the king is more closely related to us. Why do you take offence at this? Have we been eating at the king's expense? Have we taken any position for ourselves?' The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, 'We have ten shares in the king and, what is more, we are your elder brothers, so why have you slighted us? Were we not the first to suggest bringing back our king?' The men of Judah's words were even more intemperate than those of the men of Israel. (NJB) Sheba picks up on all of the negative vibes, so he stands up and says, “What share do we have in David? Every man to his own tent!” In other words, “This is a load of crap; I am upset about it like you are. Let’s just return to Israel.” Once they get out of the earshot of David and his men, the Sheba will begin to talk revolution.

On first and second glance, I was fine with the reading of sending everyone to their own tents. As a part of their rebellion, they rebel against the God of Israel as well. But they are simply being ordered to return home.

As you read in the Hebrew exegesis, he may be saying, “Every man to his own gods.” This is known as one of the eighteen emendations of the Sopherim.
The Massorah by Dr. E.W. Bullinger
Al the oldest and best manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible contain on every page, beside the Text (which is arranged in two or more columns), a varying number of lines of smaller writing, distributed between the upper and lower margins. This smaller writing is called the Massorah Magna or Great Massorah, while that in the side margins between the columns is called the Massorah Parva or Small Massorah. The illustration given on p. 32 is a reduced facsimile of a Hebrew MS. (16 1/4 inches x 12 3/8), written in a German hand, about the year A.D. 1120. The small writing in the margins in this particular MS. is seen to occupy seven lines in the lower margin, and four lines in the upper; while in the outer margins and between the three columns is the Massorah Parva. The word Massorah is from the root masar, to deliver something into the hand of another, so as to commit it to his trust. Hence the name is given to the small writing referred to, because it contains information necessary to those who trust the Sacred Text was committed, so that they might transcribe it, and hand it down correctly. The Text itself had been fixed before the Massorites were put in charge of it. This had been the work of the Sopherim (from saphar, to count, or number). Their work, under Ezra and Nehemiah, was to set the Text in order after the return from Babylon; and we read of it in Neh. 8:8 (*1) (cp. Ezra 7:6, 11). The men of "the Great Synagogue" completed the work. This work lasted about 110 years, from Nehemiah to Simon the first, 410 - 300 B.C.
The Sopherim were the authorized revisers of the Sacred Text; and, their work being completed, the Massorites were the authorized custodians of it. Their work was to preserve it. The Massorah is called "A Fence to the Scriptures," because it locked all words and letters in their places. It does not contain notes or comments as such, but facts and phenomena. It records the number of times the several letters occur in the various books of the Bible; the number of words, and the middle word; the number of verses, and the middle verse; the number of expressions and combinations of words, &c. All this, not from a perverted ingenuity, but for the set purpose of safeguarding the Sacred Text, and preventing the loss of misplacement of a single letter or word. This Massorah is not contained in the margins of any one MS. No MS. contains the whole, or even the same part. It is spread over many MSS., and Dr. C. D. Ginsburg has been the first and only scholar who has set himself to collect and collate the whole, copying it from every available MS. in the libraries of many countries. He has published it in three large folio volumes, and only a small number of copies has been printed. These are obtainable only by the original subscribers. When the Hebrew Text was printed, only the large type in the columns was regarded, and the small type of the Massorah was left, unheeded, in the MSS. from which the Text was taken. When translators came to the printed Hebrew Text, they were necessarily destitute of the information contained in the Massorah; so that the Revisers as well as the Translators of the Authorized Version carried out their work without any idea of the treasures contained in the Massorah; and therefore, without giving a hint of it to their readers. This is the first time that an edition of the A.V. has been given containing any of these treasures of the Massorah, that affect so seriously the understanding of the Text. A vast number of the Massoretic notes concern only the orthography, and matters that pertain to the Concordance. But many of those which affect the sense, or throw any additional light on the Sacred Text, are noted in the margin of The Companion Bible. Some of the important lists of words which are contained in the Massorah are also given, viz. those that have the "extraordinary points" (Ap. 31); the "eighteen emendations" of the Sopherim (see Ap. 33); the 134 passages where they substituted Adonai for Jehovah (see Ap. 32); and the Various Readings called Severin (see Ap. 34). These are given in separate Appendixes; but other words of any importance are preserved in our marginal notes. Readers of The Companion Bible are put in possession of information denied to former generations of translators, commentators, critics, and general Bible students. For further information on the Massorah see Dr. Ginsburg's Introduction the the Hebrew Bible, of which only a limited edition was printed; also a small pamphlet on The Massorah published by the King's Printers.

So, if this does read, every man to his own gods, this would represent a rejection of the God of David; so that every man is free to worship the God of his choice in the manner of his choosing. So, not only was David’s authority being rejected, but the authority of David’s God as well.

All of v. 1 reads: At this time, there a worthless man whose name was Sheba ben Bichri, who became well-known. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “My fellow Israelites, we have no portion in a land ruled by David; this son of Jesse does not provide for us our inheritance. Let us return to our homes [possibly, to our own gods] in Israel, and consider our options there!” Sheba cannot talk revolution right there, at Gilgal; not where David and Joab and Abishai are together with their troops. Sheba appears to be leading the men of Israel away in a huff; but he is going to exploit their discontent for his own benefit.

L. M. Grant: Satan is always ready to take advantage of such occasions among God's people, and he had a man there of worthless, ambitious character, Sheba, the son of Bichri was actually a Benjamite, not from any of the other ten tribes, but he saw an opportunity to exalt himself. Blowing a trumpet, he made the bold declaration, "We have no part in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, 0 Israel!" 

R. B. Thieme, Jr., in his 1972 David series, explained revolution in terms that I had never heard before, even after 12 years of public education and 7 or 8 years of college. There are the hard-core revolutionaries—these are the ones who want power. Now, you cannot have too many of these, because there is only so much power to be spread around. So, there needs to be the dupes, those who believe strongly in the cause, even though there is no cause. They must be unhappy with the present state of affairs and have faith in the new leadership and their new direction. These people make up the bulk of the revolution. They are the true believers. Absalom, for all of his faults and failures, spent a great deal of time cultivating true believers, those who trusted him and would support him.

One of the things I did learn in college was, there is an ideology which is used in order to sell this or that person. It might be communism, socialism, fascism—even Democrat or Republican—however, it is not unusual for the person in power or the person desiring power to have no true affiliation with that philosophy. That is, a socialist may run as one in favor of democratic rule, if he believed that is his best chance. A person may be at the top of the communist revolution, but it is not necessarily that they subscribe to the communist manifesto—they simply see it as the best route to power. Here is where this dovetails with what R. B. Thieme, Jr. taught—the criminals who want power adhere to whatever philosophy or political point of view that gets them that power. There have been several politicians who have changed parties: Charlie Crist or Arlen Specter (who has changed parties at least 2 times). However, they must be adept at selling the ideology, because that is what attracts the true believers. A revolution cannot happen without true believers.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          And all Israel departed from David, and followed Seba the son of Bochri: but the men of Juda stuck to their king from the Jordan unto Jerusalem.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so goes up every man of Israel from following David following Sheba ben Bichri; and a man of Judah clung in their king from the Jordan and as far as Jerusalem.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    So all the men of Israel ceased from following David, and followed Shamoa, the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah remained loyal to the king from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

Septuagint (Greek)                And all the men of Israel went up from following David after Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

Significant differences:           Nothing significant.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       So they stopped following David and went off with Sheba. But the people of Judah stayed close to David all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

Easy English                          So all the *Israelites left David. They followed Sheba, the son of Bicri. But the men of *Judah stayed with the king as he travelled from the river Jordan to Jerusalem.

Easy-to-Read Version            So all the Israelites [Here this means the family groups not united with Judah.] left David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the people of Judah stayed with their king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

The Message                         So all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stayed committed, sticking with their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

New Berkeley Version           As a result all the men of Israel withdrew from David to follow Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah kept following their king, from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem.

New Life Bible                        So all the men of Israel stopped following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah were not moved from following their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

The Voice                               So the people of Israel stopped following David and followed Sheba, son of Bichri; but the people of Judah faithfully accompanied David back from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And then all the men of IsraEl who were following David turned and started following the son of BoChori. However, the men of Judah stuck by their king [and followed him] from the JorDan to JeruSalem.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Thereupon all the Israelites parted from David's company, and marched away with Seba, son of Bochri; it was only the men of Juda that escorted David all the way from Jordan to Jerusalem.

New American Bible (2011)   So all the Israelites left David to follow Sheba, son of Bichri. But the Judahites, from the Jordan to Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.

New Jerusalem Bible             At this all the men of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stuck close to their king, from the Jordan all the way to Jerusalem.

Revised English Bible            All the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah stood by their king and followed him from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      All the men of Israel ascended from after David to after Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah joined their king from Jordan unto Jerusalem.

Bible in Basic English             So all the men of Israel, turning away from David, went after Sheba, the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah were true to their king, going with him from Jordan as far as Jerusalem.

The Expanded Bible              So all the Israelites ·left [deserted; withdrew from] David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the people of Judah ·stayed with [faithfully followed; clung to] their king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 So all the Officers of Israel went from following David to follow after Sheba-ben-Bikri; but the Officers of Judah continued with the king and went to Jerusalem.

NET Bible®                             So all the men of Israel deserted [Heb "went up from after."] David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River [The word "River" is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.] to Jerusalem.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           All the men of Isra'el left off following David and went after Sheva the son of Bikhri. But the men of Y'hudah stuck with their king, from the Yarden to Yerushalayim.

exeGeses companion Bible   And every man of Yisra El ascends from after David

and goes after Sheba the son of Bichri:

and the men of Yah Hudah adhere to their sovereign

- from Yarden even to Yeru Shalem.

Hebrew Names Version         So all the men of Yisra'el went up from following David, and followed Sheva the son of Bikhri; but the men of Yehudah joined with their king, from the Yarden even to Yerushalayim.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           So kol Ish Yisroel went up from after Dovid, and followed Sheva Ben Bichri; but the Ish Yehudah had deveykus unto their Melech, from Yarden even to Yerushalayim.

The Scriptures 1998              Then all the men of Yisraʼĕl deserted Dawi, to follow Shea the son of Biri. But the men of Yehuah, from the Yardĕn as far as Yerushalayim, clung to their sovereign.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri; but the men of Judah stayed faithfully with their king, from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

English Standard Version      So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

The Geneva Bible                  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 [From Gilgal which was near Jordan.] even to Jerusalem.

Green’s Literal Translation    And every man of Israel went up from following David, going after Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah clung to their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    So every man of Israel, of the ten northern tribes, went up from after David, renouncing his allegiance to the king, and followed Sheba, the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. They remained loyal, they did not permit their faithfulness to be shaken.

New King James Version       So every man of Israel deserted David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king.

A Voice in the Wilderness      So every man of Israel withdrew from David, and followed after Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, stayed close to their king.

Webster’s Bible Translation  So every man of Israel, withdrawing from David, followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

World English Bible                So 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.

Young’s Updated LT             And every man of Israel goes up from after David, after Sheba son of Bichri, and the men of Judah have cleaved to their king, from the Jordan even unto Jerusalem.

The gist of this verse:          The civil war this time split mostly on geographical lines. The north went with Sheba and the south with David.

Translation: Every man of Israel [who was previously] following David went up following Sheba ben Bichri;... If you will recall from 2Samuel 19 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD), David alienated some of his men in two ways. First, when they had defeated Absalom, David did not go out immediately to hobnob with the troops and to express his gratitude. He did do this eventually, and won most of their hearts back by doing this.

Whedon: So this second insurrection began before the king had returned to Jerusalem. The elders of the ten tribes, embittered by the fierce words of the Judahites, and emboldened by the sound of Sheba's trumpet, utterly forsook the king in the plains of Jericho, and left the men of Judah to escort him home alone.

L. M. Grant writes: Since the Israelites were already incensed against Judah, Sheba's loud voice and confident tone swayed all Israel to follow him without any consideration of the character of their leader. How easy it is to sway the hearts of men filled with mental attitude sins. How easy it is to play upon the mental attitude sins of discontent, lust, and sloth.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary reads: It is in a poor and paltry light that both sides appear in this inglorious dispute. There was no solid grievance whatever, nothing that might not have been easily settled if the soft answer that turns away wrath had been resorted to instead of fierce and exasperating words. Alas I that miserable tendency of our nature to take offence when we think we have been overlooked, - what mischief and misery has it bred in the world! The men of Israel were foolish to take offence; but the men of Judah were neither magnanimous nor forbearing in dealing with their unreasonable humour. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary continues: What was the result? Any one acquainted with human nature might have foretold it with tolerable certainty. Given on one side a proneness to take offence, a readiness to think that one has been overlooked, and on the other a want of forbearance, a readiness to retaliate, - it is easy to see that the result will be a serious breach. It is just what we witness so often in children. One is apt to be dissatisfied, and complains of ill-treatment; another has no forbearance, and retorts angrily: the result is a quarrel, with this difference, that while the quarrels of children pass quickly away, the quarrels of nations or of factions last miserably long. Much inflammable material being thus provided, a casual spark speedily set it on fire, Sheba, an artful Benjamite, raised the standard of revolt against David, and the excited ten tribes, smarting with the fierce words of the men of Judah, flocked to his standard. Most miserable proceeding! The quarrel had begun about a mere point of etiquette, and now they cast off God's anointed king, and that, too, after the most signal token of God's anger had fallen on Absalom and his rebellious crew. There are many wretched enough slaveries in this world, but the slavery of pride is perhaps the most mischievous and humiliating of all.

However, then there was a mistaken notion that the men of Judah stole David away from the men of Israel, so that when there was a celebration and re-coronation of David, all of Judah attended, but it was started and ended before half of (northern) Israel could get there.

In the previous chapter, I explained that this may have been caused innocently by Shimei. He met up with the people of Judah at Gilgal, and he has 1000 men with him, and he decides that he needs to speak with David right away and to apologize for his inexcusable behavior from before.

Shimei, may have said, “Listen, I need to go speak to the king immediately;” and all Judah, who had already gathered, just went with him. So everyone from Judah was there; only half of Israel had gathered there to greet King David because they were coming from an area that is further away. Benjamin is about the closest tribe, and that is the tribe that Shimei brings with him (he is a Benjamite); so that fits with my suggested scenario. This is just one possibility—a series of events which I have suggested. The Bible is not completely clear as to why all of Judah celebrated David’s return when only half of Israel could get there. This explanation suggests that this could have occurred innocently, without evil intent by either northern or southern Israel.

So, there were a great many soldiers and supporters of David who believed that they had been slighted—perhaps they were and perhaps they were not—and this man Sheba ben Bichri was able to steal away their affections. So they decided that they ought to follow him instead of David. But the psalmist tells us: It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust mortals. It is better to depend on the LORD than to trust influential people. All the nations surrounded me, but armed with the name of the LORD, I defeated them. (Psalm 118:8–10; God’s Word™)

Translation: ...but the men of Judah clung to David, from the Jordan to [down] as far as Jerusalem. Those in southern Israel (that is, Judah), remained loyal to David. This time, the rebellion is much more regional.

All of this rebellion goes back to, Absalom revolting against David, setting up an atmosphere of rebellion; and then this perceived slight which occurs when David’s return is celebrated without all of Israel being there.

Vv. 1–2: At this time, there a worthless man whose name was Sheba ben Bichri, who became well-known. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “My fellow Israelites, we have no portion in a land ruled by David; this son of Jesse does not provide for us our inheritance. Let us return to our homes in Israel, and consider our options there!” The men of Israel who previously followed David, went up with Sheba ben Bichri; but the men of Judah remained faithful to David, from the Jordan River down to Jerusalem. So half of Israel and all of Judah is celebrating David returning to Jerusalem. However, those of Israel feel slighted because the festivities were not held back in order for all northern Israel to attend. Sheba ben Bichri understands this, and makes use of it. He blows a trumpet, says, “We have no part of David; let’s go back home;” and those of northern Israel follow him back up north. However, those from Judah simply stayed with David.

This rebellion begun by Sheba would be ended; but the same split between the north and the south would occur again, 45 years from now, under Jeroboam.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          And when the king was come into his house at Jerusalem, he took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them inward, allowing them provisions: and he went not in unto them, but they were shut up unto the day of their death living in widowhood.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so comes David unto his house Jerusalem; and so takes the king ten women concubines whom he had let remain to keep the house. And so he gives them a house of guard [ing] and so he provides them and unto them he has not gone in. And so they are restricted as far as a day of their death—a widowhood life.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines whom he had left to keep his house and put them in custody and fed them, but did not go in unto them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, and were like widows.

Septuagint (Greek)                And David went into his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and he put them in a place of custody, and maintained them, and went not in to them; and they were kept living as widows, till the day of their death.

Significant differences:           None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king took the ten secondary wives he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he didn't have sex with them. They were confined until the day they died, and lived like widows.

Contemporary English V.       David had left ten of his wives in Jerusalem to take care of his palace. But when he came back, he had them taken to another house, and he placed soldiers there to guard them. He gave them whatever they needed, but he never slept with any of them again. They had to live there for the rest of their lives as if they were widows.

Easy English                          David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. He had left 10 *concubines there to look after his palace. He put them in a house and someone guarded them. He provided all that they needed. But David did not have sex with them. They lived there like widows until they died.

Good News Bible (TEV)         When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their needs, but did not have intercourse with them. They were kept confined for the rest of their lives, living like widows.

The Message                         When David arrived home in Jerusalem, the king took the ten concubines he had left to watch the palace and placed them in seclusion, under guard. He provided for their needs but didn't visit them. They were virtual prisoners until they died, widows as long as they lived.

New Berkeley Version           When David entered his Jerusalem palace, the king took the ten concubines whom he had left behind to keep the palace and placed them in a house of confinement. He maintained them but did not go in to them; they were kept separated until the day of their death as in life-long widowhood.

New Century Version             David came back to his palace in Jerusalem. He had left ten of his slave women there to take care of the palace. Now he put them in a locked house. He gave them food, but he did not have sexual relations with them. So they lived like widows until they died.

New Life Bible                        Then David came to his house at Jerusalem. The king took his ten women whom he had left to take care of the house, and had a prison soldier watch them. David gave them food, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as women whose husbands had died.

New Living Translation           When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and placed them in seclusion. Their needs were provided for, but he no longer slept with them. So each of them lived like a widow until she died.

The Voice                               David came back to his palace at Jerusalem, and he took the 10 members of his harem he had left behind to look after things—the concubines whom Absalom had used sexually—and put them away in a house, under guard. He took care of them, but he never slept with them again as long as they lived. They lived shut away as if they were widows.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then, when David arrived at his palace in JeruSalem, he took the ten concubines who he had left to guard the house, and had them put under guard. He took care of them, but he never went to bed with them again. So, they lived in custody as widows until the day they died.

Christian Community Bible     When David reached his house at Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines whom he had left to keep the palace and put them under guard. He provided for them but had no relations with them. So they were secluded until the day of their death and lived like widows.

God’s Word™                         When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to look after the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but no longer slept with them. So they lived like widows in confinement until they died.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       So the king came home. As for the ten concubines he had left in charge of the palace, he shut these away, giving them their allowance of food still, but never again having commerce with them; they remained shut away in their widowhood as long as they lived.

New American Bible (2002)   When King David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines whom he had left behind to take care of the palace and placed them in confinement. He provided for them, but had no further relations with them. And so they remained in confinement to the day of their death, lifelong widows.

New American Bible (2011)   David came to his house in Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines whom he had left behind to care for the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but never again saw them. And so they remained shut away to the day of their death, lifelong widows. 2 Sm 15:16; 16:20-22.

NIRV                                      David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. He had left ten concubines there to take care of the palace. He put them in a house and kept them under guard. He gave them what they needed. But he didn't make love to them. They were kept under guard until the day they died. They lived as if they were widows.

New Jerusalem Bible             David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines, whom he had left to look after the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their upkeep but never went near them again; they were shut away until the day they died, widows, as it were, of a living man.

New Simplified Bible              David left ten of his concubines in Jerusalem to take care of his palace. When he returned, he had them taken to another house. He placed soldiers there to guard them. He gave them what they needed. He never slept with any of them again. They had to live there for the rest of their lives as if they were widows.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      David came into his house in Jerusalem. The king took the ten women concubines that he left to keep the house, and gave them a house for safekeeping, and sustained them, but never came to them. They were persecuted to the day of their dying and lived as widows.

Bible in Basic English             And David came to his house at Jerusalem: and the king took the ten women to whom he had given the care of the house, and had them shut up, and gave them the necessaries of life, but did not go near them. So they were shut up till the day of their death, living as widows.

The Expanded Bible              David came back to his ·palace [^Lhouse] in Jerusalem. He had left ten of his ·slave women [^Lconcubines; ^Csecondary wives; 3:7] there to take care of the ·palace [^Lhouse; 16:21-22]. Now he put them in a ·locked [guarded] house. He ·gave them food [provided for them], but he did not ·have sexual relations with [^Lgo in to] them. So they [^Lwere shut up/confined and] lived like widows until they died.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Jerusalem, the king took the ten slave-wives whom he had appointed to take care of the palace, and placed them in a house apart, and provided for them, but he went not to them, and they were in confinement to the day of their death. They lived as widows.

HCSB                                     When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the 10 concubines he had left to take care of the palace and placed them under guard. He provided for them, but he was not intimate with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

NET Bible®                             Then David went to his palace [Heb "house."] in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement [Heb "and he placed them in a guarded house."]. Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them [Heb "he did not come to them"; NAB "has no further relations with them"; NIV "did not lie with them"; TEV "did not have intercourse with them"; NLT "would no longer sleep with them."]. They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

NIV – UK                                When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           When David arrived at his palace in Yerushalayim, the king took the ten women who were his concubines, whom he had left to care for the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their needs but never slept with them again. They were kept in confinement until the day of their death, living like widows with their husband still alive.

exeGeses companion Bible   And David comes to his house at Yeru Shalem;

and the sovereign takes the ten women concubines

whom he allowed to guard the house;

and gives them in a house of guard and sustains them;

but goes not in to them.

Thus they are bound to the day they die

- living in widowhood.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               David went to his palace in jer, and the king took the ten concubines he had left to mind the palace and put them in a guarded place; he provided for them, but he did not cohabit with them. They remained in seclusion until the day they died, in living widowhood.

Judaica Press Complete T.    And David came to his house in Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women who were his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and he put them in a guard-house where he sustained them, but he came not upon them. And they remained bound as widows with husband yet alive until the day of their death.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Dovid came to his Bais (palace) at Yerushalayim; and HaMelech took the ten nashim, his pilagshim, whom he had left to be shomer over the Bais, and put them in Bais Mishmeret (seclusion), and provided for them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto their yom mot, living in almenut (widowhood).

The Scriptures 1998              And Dawi came to his house at Yerushalayim. And the sovereign took the ten women, his concubines whom he had left to look after the house, and put them in a protected house and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And David comes in unto his house at Jerusalem, and the king takes the ten women-concubines--whom he had left to keep the house, and puts them in a house of ward, and sustains them, and unto them he has not gone in, and they are shut up unto the day of their death, in widowhood living.

A Conservative Version         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 provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up.

Context Group Version          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 custody, and provided them with sustenance, but didn't go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Darby Translation                  And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women, concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in a house of confinement and maintained them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Emphasized Bible                  And David entered into his own house, in Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and sustained them, but, unto them, went he not in,—so they were shut up until the day of their death, in lifelong widowhood.

English Standard Version      And David came to his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten concubines whom he had left to care for the house and put them in a house under guard and provided for them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as if in widowhood.

Green’s Literal Translation    And David came into his house at Jerusalem. And the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to guard the house, and fed them. But he did not go in to them, and they were shut up to the day of their death in widowhood.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And David came to his house at Jerusalem, after the outbreak of this rebellion; and the king took the ten women, his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, 2Sam. 15:16; 2Sam. 16:21-22, and put them in ward, in a house by themselves, and fed, maintained, them, but went not in unto them, for they were impure to him, having been approached by Absalom. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood, in perpetual widowhood.

NASB                                     Then David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women [2Sam 15:16; 16:21, 22], the concubines whom he had left to keep the house, and placed them under guard and provided them with sustenance, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as widows.

New King James Version       Now 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 seclusion and supported them, but did not go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

World English Bible                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 custody, and provided them with sustenance, but didn't go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Young’s Updated LT             And David comes in unto his house at Jerusalem, and the king takes the ten women-concubines—whom he had left to keep the house, and puts them in a house of ward, and sustains them, and unto them he has not gone in, and they are shut up unto the day of their death, in widowhood living.

The gist of this verse:          David, upon his return to Israel, set up a home for his concubines who had been violated by Absalom; and they remained separated from him until his death.

Translation: When David came to his house [in] Jerusalem,... All the while that this revolution is brewing in the north, David is just settling in back to his job as king. Here, in this verse, we have what we did not find much of in the previous chapter—a series of wâw consecutives followed by imperfect verbs. This is typical for a narrative where the action is presented in chronological and logical order, one thing occurring after another.

David appears to be unaware of the revolution which is brewing, and he attends to his mistresses first.

Translation: ...he [lit., the king] took his ten female mistresses whom he let remain to keep the house,... King David left 10 mistresses behind to watch over his house. It never occurred to him that they would be attacked or harmed. However, Absalom raped all ten mistresses, probably over a period of a few days, nearly in plain sight in front of all Jerusalem. He had set up a tent on the elevated wall and he raped them one right after the other. They could not be seen, but their screams and whatever noises he made could be heard. Obviously, this showed great disrespect towards King David, his father, and well as great callousness toward these women.

David needs to determine how to deal with these women. Now, in that culture, most of the time, when a woman had sex—even when it was rape—this ruined her forever. This was particularly true of women who were well-known. We already studied Tamar and how, after she was raped, her life as a woman in marriage would no longer come to pass.

In this culture, such a view seems ridiculous and archaic, because we have become so numbed to rape and the concept of lifetime fidelity. The serial criminal rapist is the exception to the rule. They do exist, but there are very few of them. Most cases of rape occur between people who know each other. In the culture of Israel, women were protected. Women did not go out on “dates” as we think of them today. If there was going to be alone time between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman, this needed to be well planned out and surreptitious. In this way, because unmarried women were so well protected, rapes were a rarity in that culture. They understood the hormones of young people far better than we do. We deal with it by giving kids sex education in school—often years before they are even thinking about it—and they dealt with it in that culture by protecting their young women from young men. In that culture, whatever hormone raging that occurred was channeled into marriage; but young men and women simply did not get out together alone until they were married.

Translation: ...and he gave them a guarded home. No doubt, these women were psychologically harmed, and possibly even easily frightened now. They had just experienced the unthinkable, where they were mortified before all Jerusalem. We have no idea exactly how all of this took place, but no doubt each woman was paraded out in full view of everyone, before she was taken into the tent and raped. And every single woman had experienced the exact same thing. Rape and public humiliation.

What happened to these women was quite rare—because of how the culture was, there were few if any rapes which occurred. But not only were these women violated sexually by Absalom, but this was done in public, so everyone knew what had happened.

David gave them a home where they would be guarded and protected. He put them in a place where they would feel safe. For months and possibly years, these women would be suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder.

Translation: He provided for them,... David also continued to provide for them, making certain that all of the needs were met. Had they just been cut loose, they would have faced a life of poverty and suffering.

Translation: ...but he did not go in [to them]. However, given what had happened, and given the norms and standards of that day, David would never again have sex with any of these mistresses.

What happened to these mistresses of David was an anomaly. They were all raped by his son, Absalom. So David had to figure out what to do with these women. Because of the rape, he would not longer have sex with them. We may not understand this, but this was a part of the culture.

When a man and a woman married in that era, they would be the only ones to have sex with one another. In a polygamous marriage, these women would have sex with no one other than their one husband.

Although this has been discussed previously, the Bible explicitly warns a king not to multiply wives to himself (Deut. 17:17). King David’s great problem was that he did this. He did multiply wives to himself, and this caused him to enter into sexual arrogance where he went so far as to take the wife of one of his soldiers. This may have ended with David’s complete and total downfall, if God had not intervened and placed prolonged suffering on David, so that he turned away from his evil.

So, having these mistresses—clearly wrong by God’s standards. Now David has to figure out what to do with them. He places them in a protected home and provides for them.

Deffinbaugh: The first thing David does after arriving in Jerusalem is deal with the ten wives (or concubines) he left behind to keep the house. Absalom has slept with these women in public; there is no way David can go back to the way things were. He will never sleep with any of these women again. He appoints a place for them to stay and provides generously (I am sure) for them, but he does not sleep with them again. They have been defiled by Absalom.

Translation: Therefore, they remained restricted to the day of their deaths—a life of widowhood. All of these widows remained at this house until the day that they died.

Clarke: He could not well divorce them; he could not punish them, as they were not in the transgression; he could no more be familiar with them, because they had been defiled by his son;...therefore he shut them up and fed them - made them quite comfortable, and they continued as widows to their death.

From the Luther Seminary: Serving as a hinge in the center of the passage is the obscure notice of David's concubines (v. 3). Actually, this little slice of life symbolizes much of importance. The ten concubines were the women David had left in Jerusalem when he fled before Absalom (2 Samuel 15:16). Absalom's rape of these women (2 Samuel 16:20-23) was a claim to be king, as well as a fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy (2 Samuel 12:12). David's provision for these women in a guarded house testifies to his compassion. His refusal to have sexual relations with them, however, was a political statement: the kingdom needed to be reestablished.

No doubt that many of them outlived David; and we do not know who recorded all of the book of Samuel. David is a common factor in most chapters, and my guess is, he would have kept an official record. Whether his was the last hand to write this material or not, we do not know. Even his authorship is disputed. The sense of this verse could be that this was where these women were expected to remain until the day that they died, living as widows.

Application: Some of us may view this as cruel; as though they are being penalized. This was the culture of the day. We have, in fact, a very similar custom here in the United States. Many women who are not married but have children are given money by the state to live. This continues as long as they remain unmarried. As a result, there are millions of women in the United States who will not get married, who like the security of receiving a bevy of welfare benefits to keep care of them. This practice parallels the practice of v. 3, but with a different set of social values attached (they may have lovers, affairs, or even common-law marriages, not revealed to the state).

It is unclear whether any of these women had born sons to David. An hypothesis just occurred to me—it is possible that one of the distinguishing factors between a wife and a mistress might be children. I am fully aware of Abraham and Hagar, but this is 1000 years later and it involves a king. Another result which is not followed up on is, what about any of them having a child by Absalom? We have no idea about this or whether he sired any children by any of them posthumously. .