Bible Strands
2 Samuel 14:20
Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The anonymous woman of Tekoa speaks to King David at the palace gate, directly answering his inquiry about Joab’s involvement in her petition. She confirms Joab’s orchestration of her words while addressing David’s royal authority.
The words — The verb סַבֵּב (sa.Bev) literally means “to change” or “turn about,” describing the reversal of circumstances Joab engineered. It modifies פְּנֵי הַדָּבָר (pe.Nei ha.davar), literally “the face of the matter,” denoting the specific situation or affair in question.
The thread — The woman’s comparison of David’s discernment to divine knowledge mirrors 2 Samuel 14:17 and 2 Samuel 19:27, where the king’s judgment is likened to God’s. This motif contrasts with Genesis 3:5, which claims humans will become like God knowing good and evil.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that human political maneuvering operates within a framework of sovereign oversight. It demands a clear-eyed assessment of earthly counsel without conflating royal wisdom with divine omniscience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 14:17 And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
- 2 Samuel 19:27 and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
- Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- 2 Samuel 5:23 So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
- Job 32:21 I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.
- Job 38:16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
- Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- 1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.