Abel of Beth Maacah
벧마아가 아벨
Named at 2 Samuel 20:15, where WEB says, “They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down”, and the Korean Revised Version names Sheba as the one besieged. 20:14 says, “He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites.” At 20:16–19 a wise woman who cries out of the city says to Joab, “They used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter”, and “You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel.” At 20:22 they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and throw it out to Joab; he blows the trumpet, and they are dispersed from the city. In both editions 20:14 names Abel and Beth Maacah one after the other, and 20:15 names the one city Abel of Beth Maacah.
Direct relationships 1
Open in the full graphCollected relationship evidence
Source-backed narrative relations; not independent historical verification. Legacy dates and coordinates are outside this review.
Collection & rightsSource evidence (3)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp
16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hand of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
19“Let there be a treaty between me and you, like that between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”
20Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
22Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and King Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
- 2KI 15:29, engwebp
29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
- 2SA 20:14–22, engwebp
14He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites. They were gathered together, and went also after him.
15They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
16Then a wise woman cried out of the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come near here, that I may speak with you.’”
17He came near to her; and the woman said, “Are you Joab?” He answered, “I am.” Then she said to him, “Hear the words of your servant.” He answered, “I’m listening.”
18Then she spoke, saying, “They used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter.
19I am among those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why will you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
20Joab answered, “Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
21The matter is not so. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David. Just deliver him, and I will depart from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “Behold, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.”
22Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. They cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Unresolved interpretation: Abel Maim and Abel Beth Maacah struck by Ben Hadad
- 1 Kings 15:20 says Ben Hadad’s captains struck Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp
16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hand of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
19“Let there be a treaty between me and you, like that between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”
20Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
22Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and King Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
- 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp
- 2 Chronicles 16:4 says Ben Hadad’s captains struck Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and Naphtali’s storage cities.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 2CH 16:1–6, engwebp
1In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
2Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the LORD’s house and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben Hadad king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
3“Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”
4Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they struck Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.
5When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and let his work cease.
6Then Asa the king took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, with which Baasha had built; and he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
- 2CH 16:1–6, engwebp
The two accounts of the king’s attack name the third city differently. The passages alone do not establish whether the places are identical.
Geographic sources & candidates
Matched to OpenBible.info’s “Abel-beth-maacah” by name and 5 shared verses. The coordinate of its leading identification, Tel Abel Beth Maacah (confidence 756 of 1000), is adopted as a sourced approximation: not verified here, and not the place of any particular event.
AI-assisted source review; human approval pending, 2026-09-29
- Tel Abel Beth Maacah
OpenBible.info confidence 756 of 1000 (current scholarship)
33.25805, 35.58101
OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, “Abel-beth-maacah” (CC BY 4.0)
Original editorial notes; linked source texts retain their own rights. Candidate lists are not exhaustive.
All 1 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Narrated location (1) — The wise woman of Abel of Beth Maacah, and the head of Sheba the son of Bichri thrown out to Joab
A relationship with an event rests on the passages the event cites: each event’s page has them.
Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites. They were gathered together, and went also after him.
They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down.
Then she spoke, saying, “They used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter.
Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Abel of Beth Maacah (place-abel-beth-maacah) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/place/abel-beth-maacah Current wording: Named at 2 Samuel 20:15, where WEB says, “They came and besieged him in Abel of Beth Maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down”, and the Korean Revised Version names Sheba as the one besieged. 20:14 says, “He went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, to Beth Maacah, and all the Berites.” At 20:16–19 a wise woman who cries out of the city says to Joab, “They used to say in old times, ‘They shall surely ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter”, and “You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel.” At 20:22 they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and throw it out to Joab; he blows the trumpet, and they are dispersed from the city. In both editions 20:14 names Abel and Beth Maacah one after the other, and 20:15 names the one city Abel of Beth Maacah. Cited evidence: 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp / 2KI 15:29, engwebp / 2SA 20:14–22, engwebp Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.