The (Second) Book of Samuel: chapter 20

Welcome to 2 Samuel, Shmuel part Bet, chapter twenty one

Episode 48: Polydactyly

Previously on the book of Shmuel part Bet: We saw the secret life of Amasa who we proposed was in fact the inside man propelling the rebellion of Sheva ben Bichri. We noted That Yoav seemed to be hunting Amasa and explained the poor handling of Amasa’s corpse as part of the fallout of the ongoing war. I know we mentioned the gemara about the halachic question as to whether or not Sheva should have been handed over to Yoav, but we didn’t quite touch on the fact that even if they were allowed to hand Sheva over, who says they could kill him? Meaning even if he was a mored b’malchut, doesn’t he get his day in court in front of David? The only answer I can come up with is that this is a proof that anyone can kill a mored b’malchut at the kings behest.

In this chapter we begin the coda of sefer shmuel by pivoting back in time. David is dealing with a famine that is one again tied to Gibe’on, a place and a people which has outsized impact on our book as a whole. Perhaps now we can see why Shimi ben Gera was so livid at David, David had essentially wiped out nearly the entire remaining family of Shaul, even after he had made an oath to preserve them!

Thanks for joining us.

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