Bible Strands
2 Samuel 20:15
And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joab’s troops arrive at Abel-beth-maacah to besiege the rebel Sheba, who has gathered followers there, and begin battering the city wall to breach it.
The words — וַ/יָּצֻ֣רוּ (va/i.ya.Tzu.ru) translates literally as "and they laid siege," while וַ/יִּשְׁפְּכ֤וּ (va/i.yish.pe.Khu) means "and they poured out," describing the construction of the earthwork mound against the city rampart.
The thread — The narrative of siege ramps and battering walls appears in Jeremiah 32:24 and 2 Kings 19:32, while 1 Kings 15:20 records commanders conquering Israelite cities under similar military pressure.
Why it lands — The text reports military action without commentary, leaving the reader to observe how physical force is applied to a fortified city before the narrative shifts to negotiation.
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
And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth–maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 19:32 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
- Jeremiah 32:24 See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!
- 1 Kings 15:20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.
- 2 Kings 15:29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
- Isaiah 37:33 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
- Jeremiah 6:6 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.
- Jeremiah 33:4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kings of Judah that have been torn down for defense against the siege ramps and the sword:
- Ezekiel 4:2 Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.
- Luke 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.