Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that immediately after a bystander clears Amasa’s corpse from the thoroughfare, the Israelite army resumes its march under Joab to hunt down Sheba son of Bichri.
The words — הַמְסִלָּה (ha-mesillah) literally means “the highway” or “the cleared path,” identifying the specific route where the body had halted the troops. The verb הֹגָה (ho-gah) denotes the physical removal or dragging of the corpse from that public way.
The thread — The verse’s focus on a cleared highway parallels other biblical passages that use roads as markers of movement or obstruction, including Numbers 20:19, Judges 21:19, and 1 Samuel 6:12.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note that military action resumes only after a physical and symbolic barrier is removed, demanding an observation of how quickly collective loyalty shifts once a tactical impediment is cleared.
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
When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
Cross-references
- Numbers 20:19 “We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”
- Judges 21:19 “But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
- 1 Samuel 6:12 And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
- 2 Samuel 20:12 But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the road, and when the man saw that all the troops were stopping there, he dragged the body off the road into a field and threw a garment over it.
- 2 Kings 18:17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh, along with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They advanced up to Jerusalem and stationed themselves by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
- Proverbs 16:17 The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
- Isaiah 7:3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,
- Isaiah 36:2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.
- Isaiah 62:10 Go out, go out through the gates; prepare the way for the people! Build it up, build up the highway; clear away the stones; raise a banner for the nations!
- Jeremiah 31:21 “Set up the road markers, put up the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.