Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The unnamed woman of the besieged city speaks to Joab and his troops outside the walls, correcting his claim that she seeks to destroy the settlement and instead demanding the surrender of Sheba son of Bichri. When Joab agrees to withdraw if the rebel is handed over, she immediately confirms compliance and returns to mobilize the city’s inhabitants.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לֹא־ כֵן הַדָּבָר (lo’- khen ha-davar) literally renders “not so the matter,” serving as a direct rebuttal to Joab’s prior accusation. The text then identifies the fugitive as אִישׁ מֵהַר אֶפְרַיִם שֶׁבַע (ish me-har Ephrayim Sheva), meaning “a man from the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba.”
The thread — The geographic marker “hill country of Ephraim” appears in Joshua 24:33 for Eleazar’s burial, Judges 2:9 for a judge’s interment, and Judges 7:24 where Gideon summons northern forces. These citations trace a consistent territorial boundary that repeatedly serves as a staging ground for political or military action against Judah.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to recognize that local negotiation and precise compliance can halt military escalation without requiring further bloodshed. It presents the surrender of a single instigator as the explicit condition for restoring order and ending the siege.
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
The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted 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.
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which had been given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
- Judges 2:9 They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
- Judges 7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah.
- Judges 18:4 “Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”
- 1 Samuel 24:6 So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the LORD’s anointed.”
- 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- 2 Samuel 17:2 I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king
- 2 Samuel 20:1 Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
- 2 Samuel 23:18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah, was chief of the Three, and he wielded his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.
- 2 Kings 5:22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘Look, two young men from the sons of the prophets have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”