2 Samuel 20:3

Contextual Overview

¹Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, "We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son! Every man to his tent, O Israel!" ¹ Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, "We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son! Every man to his tent, Israel!" ¹Now a vile fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said,"We have no portion in David,Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse;Every man to his tents, O Israel!" ¹ Now a worthless fellow happened to be there whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet and said, "We have no portion in David, Nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse; Every man to his tents, O Israel!" ¹ When there came thither a certaine man of Belial, named Seba, the sonne of Bichri, a man of Iemini, he blew a trumpet, and said: we haue no part in Dauid, neither haue we inheritaunce in the sonne of Isai: euery man to his tentes, O Israel. ¹ At that place there was a man named Sheba son of Bicri. Sheba was a worthless troublemaker from the tribe of Benjamin. He blew a trumpet to gather the people together and said, "We have no share in David. We have no part in the son of Jesse. Israel, let's all go home." ¹ And a man of worthlessness happened to be there, and his name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin. And he blew the ram's horn and said, We have no part in David, and we have noinheritance in the son of Jesse. Each man tohis tents, O Israel. ¹ Now there happened to be there a worthless fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite; and he blew the trumpet, and said, "We have no portion in David, and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse; every man to his tents, O Israel!" ¹ There happened to be there a base fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew the trumpet, and said, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, Israel. ¹ And there happened to bee there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba the sonne of Bichri, a Beniamite, & hee blew a trumpet, and said, Wee haue no part in Dauid, neither haue we inheritance in the sonne of Iesse: euery man to his tents, O Israel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ten women: 2 Samuel 15:16, 2 Samuel 16:21, 2 Samuel 16:22

and put: The confinement and retired maintenance of these women was the only measure which in justice and prudence could be adopted. In China, when an emperor dies, all his women are removed to an edifice called the palace of chastity, situated within the palace, in which they are shut up for the remainder of their lives.

ward: Heb. an house of ward, Genesis 40:3

shut: Heb. bound

living in widowhood: Heb. in widowhood of life

Reciprocal: Genesis 35:22 - lay with Genesis 38:26 - And he knew Judges 19:1 - a concubine Psalms 30:1 - at the 1 Corinthians 5:1 - that one

Cross-References

Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,

Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,

Genesis 20:1
And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1
And Abraham departed thence towarde the south countrey, & dwelled betweene Cades and Sur, and soiourned in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1
Abraham left that place and traveled to the Negev. He settled in the city of Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. While in Gerar,

Genesis 20:1
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1
Abraham yede forth fro thennus in to the lond of the south, and dwellide bitwixe Cades and Sur, and was a pilgrym in Geraris;

Genesis 20:1
And Abraham iourneyed from thence, toward the South-Countrey, and dwelled betweene Cadesh and Shur, and soiourned in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David came to his house at Jerusalem,.... His palace there, which was in that part of the city called the fort of Zion, and city of David:

and the king took the ten women [his] concubines, whom he had left to keep the house; when he fled from Jerusalem because of Absalom, 2 Samuel 15:16;

and put them in ward; partly as a punishment for easily yielding to the lust of Absalom, and partly that they might not be seen, which would bring to remembrance his sin:

and fed them; he did not put them to death, nor put them away, but kept them thus confined, and made a proper provision for them, not suffering them to marry any other, and be maintained by them:

but went not in unto them: into their apartments to lie with them, having been defiled by his son, 2 Samuel 16:22;

so they were shut up unto the day of their death; kept in the ward till they died:

living in widowhood; neither used by the king as his concubines, as they had been before, nor suffered to many any other; or "in the widowhood of life" o, which is so expressed, to distinguish it from widowhood made by death; this was such sort of widowhood as obtained while their husband was living; so the Targum,

"widows of their husband alive,''

or remaining.

o אלמנות חיות "in viduitate vitae", Pagninus, Montanus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 20:3. The ten women — He could not well divorce them; he could not punish them, as they were not in the transgression; he could no more be familiar with them, because they had been defiled by his son; and to have married them to other men might have been dangerous to the state: therefore he shut them up and fed them - made them quite comfortable, and they continued as widows to their death.