2 Samuel 14:2
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.
What does 2 Samuel 14:2 mean?
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.
