And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him.

2 SAMUEL 20:9KJV
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2 Samuel 20:9 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 20:9 mean?

2 Samuel 20:9 describes Joab greeting Amasa with words of peace and calling him "my brother," while at the same time grabbing Amasa's beard with his right hand as if to kiss him. This gesture appears friendly, but it is actually a setup for violence in the next verse.

Joab is speaking to Amasa, who has just been appointed commander by King David. The setting is tense, as Joab has lost his position and sees Amasa as a rival. In the culture of the time, taking someone by the beard and kissing them was a sign of respect or affection, but Joab uses this custom deceptively, hiding his true intentions.

The Hebrew behind 2 Samuel 20:9

  • The word "health" is שָׁלוֹם (shalom), which means peace, well-being, or wholeness. Joab's greeting sounds warm and genuine, but the context shows it is misleading.
  • "Beard" is זָקָן (zaqan), a symbol of honor and dignity for men in ancient Israel. Grabbing someone's beard was intimate and could be seen as disrespectful or aggressive if not done in friendship.
  • "Kiss" is נָשַׁק (nashaq), a common greeting among close friends or family, but here it is used as part of Joab's deception.

Why 2 Samuel 20:9 matters

  • This verse highlights how outward signs of friendship or peace can be used to disguise harmful intentions, especially in tense political situations.
  • Understanding the cultural meaning of gestures like grabbing the beard and kissing helps explain why Amasa would not have expected an attack.
  • The verse sets up the dramatic betrayal that follows, showing Joab's cunning and the dangers of rivalry and mistrust among David's commanders.

Where else these words appear

“Amasa” Hebrew H6021 · used in 12 verses

  • 2 Samuel 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
  • 2 Samuel 20:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
  • 1 Kings 2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

“beard” Hebrew H2206 · used in 18 verses

  • Leviticus 13:29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
  • 1 Samuel 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
  • Psalms 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

“kiss” Hebrew H5401 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 27:26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
  • Exodus 4:27 And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.
  • 1 Chronicles 12:2 They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.

“took” Hebrew H270 · used in 63 verses

  • Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
  • 2 Samuel 2:21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.
  • Psalms 48:6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.