DOZ Leadership Lessons
Eturuvie Erebor
A Mother in Israel
Now, David had
given his men
instructions to
chase after a
certain man called
Sheba, the son of
Bichri. This man,
like Absalom,
sought to rebel
against King David
and take the throne
from him. As
Joab and David’s
army chased after
Sheba, he ran into a city in Abel presuming
that he would be safe there. Joab and his
men besieged the city and battered the wall;
DOZ Magazine | May 2020
they were ready
to throw the city
down. But this
random woman
took the lead and
approached them
for a dialogue.
She soon realised
that David’s army
had no issues
with the city or
its inhabitants,
they only wanted
Sheba. She assured
Joab that Sheba’s
head would be
thrown over the
wall to them
and this is what
happened. She
spoke to her people
and convinced
them that hiding
Sheba would
be detrimental
to them as they
obviously had no
way of overcoming
David’s mighty
men. Shortly after,
Sheba’s head was
cut off and thrown over the wall, and Joab and
his men departed from the city.
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W
e do not
know the
name of
this great woman
because the Bible
does not tell us
her name. But her
story comes up in
the second book
of Samuel. I have
chosen to refer to
her as a mother
in Israel because
this is how she
addressed herself
in a conversation
with Joab.