Sheba's rebellion. Before CHRIST 1023. fore then be ye angry for this matter? | he had left to keep the house, and have we eaten at all of the king's put them in †ward, and fed them, cost? or hath he given us any gift? but went not in unto them. So they 43 And the men of Israel answer- were shut up unto the day of their ed the men of Judah, and said, We death, + living in widowhood. have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than + Heb. set us ye: why then did yet despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. at light. about 1022. a Chap. 16. 22. CHAP. XX. 1 By occasion of the quarrel, Sheba maketh a ND there happened to be there 2 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. 3¶ And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom we have a peculiar interest in him. "Wherefore then be ye angry for this matter," especially as we have put the king to no expense for our attendance, and received nothing from him, in return for our zeal to serve him? Dr. Chandler. 43.- were fiercer] More vehement; or, more weighty in argument. As David did not think fit to interpose, the men of Israel thought that he favoured Judah; and hence arose a new rebellion. Bp. Patrick. From this contest, which arose between the men of Israel and the men of Judah, on the subject of the king's restoration, we see the unhappy effects of pride and jealousy, when they mix with the duties of publick or private life: whereas the affair of peace and charity should ever be transacted with the spirit of peace and a charitable temper. Wogan. Chap. XX. ver. 1. We have no part in David,] As much as to say, Let the men of Judah have him for themselves; he cares not for us, and we care not for him. Bp. Patrick. 2. So every man of Israel—followed Sheba] This rebellion of Sheba was a new chastisement of God upon David: and here we are most seriously to consider, to how many calamities this prince was exposed, and how the judgments of God pursued him, after he had defiled Before CHRIST about 1022. + Heb. a house of ward. widowhood 4 Then said the king to Amasa, Heb. in † Assemble me the men of Judah of life. within three days, and be thou here ↑ Heb. Call, present. 5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. 6 And David said to Abishai, Now thou thy lord's servants, and pursue † Heb. self from our b Chap. 8. 18. 7 And there went out after him deliver himJoab's men, and the Cherethites, eyes. and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 8 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. 9 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. We himself by adultery, and the murder of Uriah. By the 3.- and the king took &c.] David's reason for clearing the place of the concubines which had been defiled by Absalom, and shutting them up in close and perpetual retirement, seems to have been, that they might no more be seen abroad, to revive the memory of his son's wickedness and impurity. Pyle. 9. — took Amasa by the beard] This is still the custom among the Eastern people, who take one another by the chin or beard, when they would give a hearty salute. Bp. Patrick. The kissing the beard itself too is customary. D'Arvieux, describing the assembling together of several petty Arab princes, mentions, among other civilities and caresses, the kissings of the beard and of the hand, which every one gave and received according to his rank and dignity. Harmer. 11 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. 12 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. 13 When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. 14 And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were gathered together, and went also after him. 15 And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, || Or, it stood and || it stood in the trench and all the people that were with Joab † battered the wall, to throw it down. against the outmost wall. + Heb. marred to throw down. 10. 16¶ Then cried a wise woman so he smote him therewith] This, as Josephus observes, was a most impious and execrable action, thus to murder a relation who had never injured him, out of envy for his being created general, and having an equal share in the king's favour with himself. Dr. Chandler. Had the heart of Amasa been privy to any cause of grudge, he would have suspected the kiss of Joab: but his innocent eyes looked to the lips, not to the hand, of his secret enemy. These lips were smooth, while the hand was bloody. This hand knew well this way unto death, having now let out, with the same kind of wound, the souls of two great men, Abner and Amasa, both of whom were smitten by Joab, under the mask of friendship. There is no enmity so dangerous, as that which comes masked with love. Open hostility calls us to our guard; but there is no fence against a trusted treachery. We need not be warned to avoid an enemy, but who would run away from a friend? Bp. Hall. 12.all the people stood still,] As many as saw it, would move no further, till the body was removed out of the way. Bp. Patrick. unto Abel, and to Beth-maachah,] Rather, unto Abel Beth-maachah, or Abel of Beth-maachah; for they were one and the same place, as appears from the next Bp. Patrick. verse. Sheba is beheaded. out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. 17 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. Before CHRIST about 1022. plainly spake 18 Then she spake, saying, || They Or, They were wont to speak in old time, say in the be ing, They shall surely ask counsel ginning, at Abel: and so they ended the mat- Surely they ter. 19 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? 20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. saying, will ask of Abel, and so make an end. his name. 21 The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri† by name, hath lifted Heb. by 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. 22 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 scattered. + Heb. were Berites:] The inhabitants of Beeroth, a city in the tribe of Benjamin. Bp. Patrick. and they were gathered together,] Most interpreters refer these words to the Berites and others who followed Sheba: but I apprehend they are a description of Joab's men warmly pursuing that rebel. Dr. Chandler. 15. and it stood in the trench :] That is, Joab's army had advanced so far in their works, as to have filled up the trench, and stand at the very foot of the wall. Bp. Patrick. 16. Then cried a wise woman out of the city,] It seems not improbable that this woman was governess in the city; for there want not instances, as in the case of Deborah, Judges iv. 4, and queen Athaliah, 2 Kings xi. 3, of women who have been employed in the administration of civil affairs. If she was invested with civil authority, she was the properest person to desire a parley with the general, knowing that the people were desirous of peace, and restrained only by Sheba's authority. Stackhouse. 18.-They were wont to speak in old time, &c.] The meaning is by no means clear: the best sense seems to be, The inhabitants of the city spake in the beginning of the siege, saying, Surely they (Joab and his army) will ask us whether we will make peace before proceeding to David's officers. Before CHRIST CHAP. XX, XXI. from the city, every man to his tent. about 1022. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king. c Chap. 8. 16. | Or, remembrancer. | Or, a prince. 1021. the face, &c. 23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites: 24 And Adoram was over the tribute and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: 25 And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 26 And Ira also the Jairite was chief ruler about David. CHAP. XXI. a 1 The three years' famine for the Gibeonites ceaseth, by hanging seven of Saul's sons. 10 Rizpah's kindness unto the dead. 12 David burieth the bones of Saul and Jonathan in his father's sepulchre. 15 Four battles against the Philistines, wherein four valiants of David slay four giants. THE HEN there was a famine in the days of David three years, year + Heb. sought after year; and David † enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. hostilities; and so will quickly end the matter on our coming to an agreement with them. Dr. Wells. 23. Now Joab was over all the host &c.] It has been made matter of reproach against David, that he suffered Joab to continue in the command, after the atrocious murder of Amasa, as if he acquiesced in that murder. But that David greatly resented that murder, is evident from his last advice to Solomon, in which he nobly recommends, and gives it in charge to him, to do justice on the assassin Joab. The fact seems to have been, that Joab was at this time too powerful a subject to be brought to any account; and he seems to have usurped the command of the forces, in defiance of his master's inclinations, and without his order or appointment. Dr. Chandler. Chap. XXI. ver. 1. - and David enquired of the Lord.] Who can but wonder, both at David's slackness in consulting with God, and God's speed in answering so slow a demand! He that so well knew the way to God's oracle, suffered Israel to be three years pinched with famine before he asked why they suffered. Even the best hearts may be overtaken with dulness in holy things; but marvellous is the mercy of God, which takes not advantage of our weaknesses. Bp. Hall. - because he slew the Gibeonites.] This he did, at the time when he destroyed the whole city of Nob, where the Gibeonites lived, and served as hewers of wood and drawers of water to the priests, whom Saul then cut off, 1 Sam. xxii. 18, 19; they being a part of the Amorite race, as stated in the next verse, whom Joshua and the whole nation (Josh. ix. 19, &c.) had solemnly promised to protect. Bp. Patrick, Pyle. Why this transgression was punished so long after, is hidden among the mysteries of Providence. Perhaps the punishment was sent at this juncture, to visit the nation for The three years' famine. Before CHRIST 1021. 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but a of the remnant of the a Josh. 9. 3, Amorites; and the children of Israel 16, 17. had sworn unto them and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) 3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? 6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, || whom the LORD did choose. || Or, chosen And the king said, I will give them. of the LORD. their recent rebellions against God and the king, in which the house of Saul took an active part. Dr. Hales. We know not how many, or who, were confederate with Saul in murdering the Gibeonites, or guilty in not hindering it; how many made the crime their own, by approving it afterwards; what share of guilt might be derived upon the whole nation for suffering so much innocent blood to be shed, or for not expressing their detestation of it by some publick act. We know not, further, what other sins the people may have committed, so as to deserve the famine; or how far such an act of discipline at that time might be necessary, to prevent the like murders in time to come. In fact, we know not the depths of the Divine counsels, nor the smallest part of the reasons which an allwise God might have it behoves us therefore in all such cases to be modest and reserved in our censures, remembering that God is in heaven, and that we dwell in dust; that He knows all things, and we nothing in comparison. But if it could be supposed that the people of that generation were ever so innocent, yet God had an absolute right over the lives of all, and could demand them when He pleased: and, if the thing was just, considered merely as an act of dominion, it could not but be consistent both with justice and benevolence, by being made at the same time an act of discipline, for the punishment of sin, and the promotion of godliness. Dr. Waterland. 4. neither for us shalt thou kill any man] Except those mentioned in the next verse. 6. in Gibeah of Saul,] To make the punishment more remarkable and shameful; this being the city where Saul lived, both before and after he was king, 1 Sam. x. 26; xi. 4. Bp. Patrick. the king said, I will give them.] This seems to be contrary to the Divine law at Deut. xxiv. 16, which forbids that the son should die for the father's fault: Seven of Saul's sons hanged. Before CHRIST 1021. b 1 Sam. 18. 13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. Before CHRIST 1021. 10. 7 But the king spared Mephibo- | Jonathan his son from the men of sheth, the son of Jonathan the son Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath from the street of Beth-shan, where 3. & 20. 8, 42. that was between them, between the 4 Philistines had hanged them, d1 Sam. 31. David and Jonathan the son of Saul. when the Philistines had slain Saul 8 But the king took the two sons in Gilboa : of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel + Heb. bare the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: 9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. | Or, Michal's sister. to Adriel. c Clap. 3. 7. c 10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. 11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of but that law relates to proceedings in human courts, not to Divine judgments; for God visits the sins of fathers upon the children, in many temporal calamities, Exod. xx. 5. Bp. Patrick. 7.- because of the Lord's oath] It would appear from this expression, that reasons of state, and the security of his throne, would have moved David to put Mephibosheth to death, but that he spared him from respect to his oath, which he sware to Jonathan a long time before. This strongly shews what respect he bore to an oath, as adding confirmation to his word. Abp. Tillotson. 9. 14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land. 15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. 1018. 16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of || the giant, the weight of || Or, Rapha. whose + spear weighed three hundred + Heb. the shekels of brass in weight, he being head. girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, staff, or, the ally on them by God, but an appointment of God in virtue of his sovereign right over the lives of all men ; to teach princes moderation and equity, and to prevent the commission of those enormous crimes, which are inconsistent with the welfare of all civil government. Accordingly, God dealt with these persons, exactly as if, in the course of his providential dispensations, He had cut them off by a natural death. That children do very frequently suffer and die for the sins of their parents, in which they have had no share, is evident from history and the constant experience of all ages and nations. Dr. 10. Chandler. - and they hanged them &c.] It was perhaps ordained by God that they should suffer by this publick kind of death, to the end that his displeasure against truce-breakers and tyrants might be more remarkable, and that all might see and fear, and do no more wickedly. We should observe in this event a special retribution of Divine justice, in retaliating on Saul's posterity the measure he dealt to others. Wogan. in the hill before the Lord:] Probably on a hill near to Gibeah, and before an altar which was built upon it; or, by the expression, "they hanged them before the Lord," it may be meant, that they put them to death, as victims of expiation, to appease the Divine wrath. Calmet. - took sackcloth, and spread it-until water dropped] It is probable she made a tent of sackcloth, and spread it on the ground to lie upon; and this she continued to do till it appeared God was appeased, by sending plentiful showers of rain upon the earth. Rizpah is a remarkable instance of maternal affection: her love to her children continued undiminished even after death. Their bodies, which were now no more than the miserable remains of a shameful death, are yet guarded with the same tender and watchful care which she bestowed on them when alive. Wogan. 12. And David went and took the bones] David was pleased with this praiseworthy conduct of Rizpah, and was induced by it to do honour to the bodies of her sons, and to the whole house of Saul; thereby demonstrating that he had no personal enmity to his family. Bp. Patrick. and they fell all seven together, &c.] The evident intention of God, in ordering the death of this part of Saul's family, was, to give a publick attestation of his abhorrence of Saul's perfidy and cruelty, to strike a terrour into the princes his successors, and caution them against committing the like offences. The death of 15. David waxed faint.] these seven persons, therefore, supposing them all inno-clining years, and much worn cent, was, in this view, no punishment inflicted person- and afflictions. Bp. Patrick. Four giants slain. Before CHRIST 1018. + Heb. candle, or lamp. e 1 Chron. 20. 4. CHAP. XXI, XXII. David's psalm of thanksgiving. Thou shalt go no more out with us | 18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was || Or, Rapha. of the sons of || the giant. 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a fSee 1 Chron. Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20.5. 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he Or, Rapha. also was born to || the giant. | Or, reproached. g1 Sam. 16. 9. a Ps. 18. 2, &c. Or, pangs. + Heb. Belial. 17. 21 And when he || defied Israel, Jonathan the son of 8 Shimeah the brother of David slew him. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his that thou quench not the light of Israel.] This expression is very beautiful and significant; for good kings are in Scripture justly called the "light" of the people, 1 Kings xi. 36; Ps. cxxxii. 17; because the beauty and glory, the conduct and direction, the comfort, safety, and welfare of a people depend upon them, and are derived from them. Poole. 18.-at Gob:] It is said at 1 Chron. xx. 4, that these battles were fought at Gezer; whence it is inferred, either that Gob and Gezer were the same place, or VOL. I. 7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. 8 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. 1018. Or, cords. 9 There went up a smoke + out ↑ Heb. by. of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. 11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. 12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, † dark waters, and + Heb. thick clouds of the skies. 13 Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. 14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. 15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. 16 And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. binding of waters. Chap. XXII. ver. 1.- in the day that the Lord had delivered &c.] It is probable that David composed the following hymn in his younger days, under the troubles and difficulties to which he was exposed by the persecution of Saul; and that, having composed it, he was wont to sing or speak it by way of a thanksgiving to God. Dr. Wells. As this hymn forms the eighteenth 2 Y |