2 Samuel 14:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman and said to her, "Pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning garments. Do not anoint yourself with oil, but behave like a woman who has been mourning many days for the dead.

NIV: So Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead.

NASB: So Joab sent a messenger to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, 'Please follow mourning rites, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil but be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days.

CSB: So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, "Pretend to be in mourning: dress in mourning clothes and don’t put on any oil. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

NLT: So he sent for a woman from Tekoa who had a reputation for great wisdom. He said to her, 'Pretend you are in mourning; wear mourning clothes and don’t put on lotions. Act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time.

KJV: And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

NKJV: And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, “Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead.

Joab has crafted a plan to convince David to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem from his self-imposed exile in Geshur. Joab apparently believes David will not listen to the case directly from him. Perhaps they have spoken about it before. On one hand, David seems to want Absalom to come back home (2 Samuel 14:1). On the other, Absalom murdered David's firstborn son Amnon and has not been held accountable for this (2 Samuel 13:23–39).

Joab plots to make his case for bringing Absalom home through a clever woman. She will pretend to be a widow caught in a difficult personal and legal dispute. Joab finds his actor in Tekoa, a small town about ten miles south of Jerusalem. He tells her to pretend her husband is dead, and one of her sons has murdered the other. If her remaining son faces justice, her husband will have no heir (2 Samuel 14:4–7).

This won't be the first time David has changed his mind only after hearing about himself in a parable. After he took Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, God sent Nathan the prophet to confront him. Nathan told the story of a rich man who stole and ate a poor man's beloved lamb. David, a former shepherd, was furious. When Nathan revealed David was the "rich man," he was horrified and deeply repented (2 Samuel 12:1–6; Psalm 51).

The Hebrew word describing this woman is the same translated as "skillful" for the women who made fabric for the tabernacle (Exodus 35:25) and the "shrewd" cousin who helped Amnon take Tamar. The woman isn't a prophet; she's a clever actor who's quick on her feet and knows how to speak as a distraught widow one minute and a courtier the next.

Ancient mourners presented themselves in a specific way. If the grief was acute, they might tear the clothing they're wearing (2 Samuel 1:11). If the mourning was prolonged, they might dress in rough sackcloth and go without shoes (2 Samuel 3:31; 15:30). Instead of bathing and wearing cosmetics like oil or perfume, they'd put dirt on their heads (Ezra 27:30). Presenting herself before the king in such a state would emphasize her desperation.

Second Samuel 14:1–11 describes Joab's effort to convinces David to bring Absalom home. David is distracted by thoughts of Absalom, his son, currently in exile for killing his own brother. Joab believes this continued absence is bad for Israel. He arranges for a woman to tell David a story of family violence and murder. This ends with a lesson about the goodness of forgiveness. David agrees to her premise, and she challenges him to apply it to his own situation (2 Samuel 14:12–17).

Second Samuel 14 sets the scene for Absalom's rebellion against David. Joab wants David to forgive Absalom for murdering his brother and end his exile. Joab has a woman pretend to be a widow, who tells a story about a murderous son to convince David to pardon his own son. David brings Absalom home to Jerusalem, but not to the court or family. Joab eventually convinces David to see Absalom and the two are officially reconciled. With freedom, status, and ambition, Absalom starts a campaign to draw the people's hearts away from David and toward himself (2 Samuel 15:1–6).

Second Samuel 14 continues God's promise that tragedy will plague David's family. This is a curse for David's sin against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:9–11). David's son Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar. Tamar's full brother Absalom avenged her by killing Amnon, then fled to his maternal grandfather (2 Samuel 13). David thinks about Absalom, and Joab convinces David to bring him home and reconcile with him. Absalom wins the hearts of the people and takes the throne while David flees. Eventually, Absalom will be dead, and David will be a chastened man and wiser king. (2 Samuel 15–20).