2 Samuel 20:11

One of Joab’s young men stood near Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab!”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — One of Joab’s young men stands over Amasa’s corpse and addresses the halted troops. He issues a public summons for allegiance at the precise moment the army pauses to witness the assassination.

The words — The text foregrounds מִי (mi, “who”) and אֲשֶׁר (asher, “who/that”), structuring a direct inquiry of loyalty. These terms frame the conditional demand that only those aligned with Joab and David should proceed.

The thread — The command directly follows Joab’s ambush of Amasa in 2 Samuel 20:10 and triggers the army’s resumed pursuit in 2 Samuel 20:13. It operationalizes the military mobilization initially ordered in 2 Samuel 20:6.

Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to note how political allegiance is enforced through immediate, public mobilization after a violent power seizure. It asks the reader to recognize that the call to “follow Joab” functions as a tactical reset for the troops, not a narrative endorsement of the act.

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

וְאִישׁ֙ve./'Ishand/ a man עָמַ֣ד'a.Madhe stood עָלָ֔יו'a.La/vover/ him מִֽנַּעֲרֵ֖יmi./na.'a.Reione of/ [the] young men of יוֹאָ֑בyo.'AvJoab וַיֹּ֗אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said מִי֩miwho?אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sher[is [the] one] who חָפֵ֧ץcha.Fetzhe delights בְּיוֹאָ֛בbe./yo.'Avin/ Joab וּמִ֥יu./Miand/ who?אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-[is [the] one] who לְדָוִ֖דle./da.Vid[belongs] to/ David אַחֲרֵ֥י'a.cha.Reiafter יוֹאָֽב׃yo.'AvJoab

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 20:13 As soon as Amasa’s body was removed from the road, all the men went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bichri.
2 Samuel 20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
2 Samuel 20:6 And David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”
2 Samuel 20:21 That is not the case. But a man named Sheba son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him alone, and I will depart from the city.” “Look,” the woman replied, “his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
2 Kings 9:32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.

People named

DavidJoab