Глава 20

2 Samuel 20:3. And David came to his house in Jerusalem, and the king took ten concubine wives, whom he left to guard the house, and placed them in a special house under supervision, and supported them, but did not go to them. And they were kept there until the day of their death, living like widows. See (2 Samuel 16:20–22). David considered it shameful and “lawless” to have fellowship with them after their vile fellowship with his son; did not combine them with anyone else, so that this would not serve as a pretext for the theft of supreme power” (Blessed Theodoret, commentary on 2 Kings, issue 38), since according to the Eastern views of that time, possessing a wife or concubine of the king already meant some actual accession to the rights of the king himself. 2 Samuel 20:4. And David said to Amasa: Call the Jews to me within three days and come here yourself. 2 Samuel 20:5. And Amasa went to call the Jews, but he delayed longer than the time appointed for him. 2 Samuel 20:6. Then David said to Abishai: Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us harm more than Absalom; take your master's servants and pursue him, so that he does not find fortified cities for himself and hide from our eyes. 2 Samuel 20:7. And the men of Joab, and the Helethites, and the Pelethites, went out after him, and all the brave men went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri. “David gave instructions to Amasa to call together a militia in three days to suppress the rebellion, and with this he actually made Amasa commander-in-chief instead of Joab (2 Sam. 19:13). But Amasa turned out to be inferior to the position in which he was placed. Whether due to lack of management and energy, or due to the cold reception given to him by the people, as a person of less authority than Joab, he could not complete the assignments at the appointed time. Meanwhile, it was impossible to hesitate. And David involuntarily had to turn to Joab’s brother Abishai to send him with available military forces after Sheba.” Joab also voluntarily joined those pursuing Sheba. However, Joab did not think so much about destroying the rebellion of Sheba as about eliminating his new rival under David, Amasa, from the list of the living (Ya. Bogorodsky, “The Jewish Kings,” p. 244). 2 Samuel 20:14. And he passed through all the tribes of Israel as far as Abel Beth-maach, and through all Berim; and [all the inhabitants of the cities] gathered and followed him. “Abel-Beth-Maacah” is a city in the northern reaches of Palestine, near Mount Hermon. 2 Samuel 20:19. I am from the peaceful, faithful cities of Israel; and you want to destroy the city, and, moreover, the mother [of cities] in Israel; Why do you destroy the inheritance of the Lord? "Mother of [cities] in Israel". See (2 Samuel 20:18). 2 Samuel 20:23. And Joab was made over all the army of Israel, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the Chelethites and over the Pelethites; “And Joab was made over all the army of Israel.” “David did not repeat the attempt to deprive him of the post of commander-in-chief, because he was both irreplaceable and defended this post with such demonic tenacity that it was better to give in in order to avoid new shedding of blood” (Ya. Bogorodsky, “Jewish Kings”, p. 246). About chelethei and felethei, see note. to (2 Samuel 8:18). 2 Samuel 20:24. Adoram - over the collection of taxes; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was a writer; “Jehoshaphat... – a writer.” See (2 Samuel 8:16). 2 Samuel 20:25. Susa - scribe; Zadok and Abiathar as priests; 2 Samuel 20:26. also Ira the Jarite was David's priest. Some understand the expression Jaritan in the sense of “from the villages of Jairus,” the son of Manasseh, located in eastern Transjordan (see “Experience of the Biblical Dictionary of Proper Names” by Archpriest Solyarskogo). “He was a priest with David,” that is, the person through whom the elderly king performed many of his religious duties at the tabernacle and outside the tabernacle (Blessed Theodoret, Calmet, etc.). You might be interested in: