II Samuel - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 335
The History of the People of Israel
Who drove the king to us? And why are you furious over this business? Have we eaten anything with the king except what we brought ourselves P ’ And the men of Israel rejoined to
We have ten parts in the kingdom, and also more in David than you l Then why have you slighted, and not sent a message nrst to us about restoring our king P '
(BS- 1622-) $2wttB Kzhuli nf il]2 Gm Grilszs. But the words ofthe men of Judah
were more bitter than the words of
20 the men of Israel, so Sheba—ben· Bikri, a. man of Benjamin, cried out, and sounded a trumpet and ex· We have no part in David, and no share in the son of Jessai, Israel, everyone to your tents.” So all the Omcers of Israel went &om following David to follow after Sheba-ben·Bikri; but the O§cers of Judah continued with the king and went to Jerusalem. When David came to his palace in
Jerusalem, the king took the ten slave—wives whom he had appointed to take care of the palace, and placed them in a house apart, and provided for them, but he went not to them, and they were in connnement to the day of their death. They lived as widows. I The king then said to Amasa,
‘ Summon to me the omcers of Judah in three days' time; and you appear Arnasa accordingly went and con-
voked Judah, but was delayed beyond
6 the time appointed. Then David You know that
1 V. 6. The name should evidentbe
who was Commander, an not See vv. 7 and g. lt is clear that David was faced ba mutiny in his army led g by goab and Abis ai his brother.--the result 0 t e Klng'sgrief at the killing of Absalom. Sheba·ben-Bikri may injure us more than Absalom, therefore take the soldiers of your Prince and- follow after him, for fear he should find some fortined towns and escape from our control. (The men of J’oab, however, had followed him-.)-- So the Guards, and the Light
Infantry, and all the Heavy, also proceeded from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba·ben—Bikri, as far as the Great Stone that is near Gibaon, and Amasa marched before them,-—where he met J’oab with his belt over his armour, and a sword on the belt braced up to his waist,—and he b0W8d; Then J’oab asked, “Are you well,
and J’oab took the beard of Amasa in his right hand, as if to hss him, but Amasa did not notice the sword that J’oab had in his hand, so- he struck him with it in the belly, and his bowels fell out on the earth, for he could not resist him, but died. (J’oab and Abishai his brother, were pursuing Sheba-hem Bikri.) And a man of the Staff of J’oab stood. near him and ex· Whoever sides with J’oab, and whoever with David, let him But Amasa was wallowing in blood in the middle of the highway; so when the man saw that the forces halted, he rolled Amasa from the highway into the nelds, and threw a cloak over him, because he saw that all who came to him halted. When he was removed out of the road the men followed J’oab to pursue Sheba—ben·- Bikri, who had passed through all the tribes- of Israel to Ablah and Beth··Makah, and all _the Berim, who had collected and followed him. They, however, pursued , and
besieged him in Ablah of Beth· Makah, and built an embankment against the Citadel, and filled up- the moat. , But while the army. with J’oab. were battering to breach the wall,-a clever woman called out from Listen! listen! I wish to IO II I2 16
The history of that mutiny probably followed and has been accidentally omitted by a very artcienttranscriber, whose blunder has been continued to our day, until I corrected it, by restoring at least “ Amasa’s ’ name, although I am not able to reproduce gxeéiarrative of Joab and Abishai’s mutiny. 335
