In the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, Sheba was a

Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thi ...

ite leader who revolted against

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, recounted in

2 Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Jos ...

In the Bible

Sheba was a son of Bichri, of the family of Becher, the son of

, and thus of the tribe of King

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

. When

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

returned to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

after the defeat of

Absalom Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelle ...

, strife arose between the ten tribes and the

Tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...

, because the latter took the lead in bringing back the king. Sheba took advantage of this state of things, and raised the standard of revolt, proclaiming, "We have no part in David." With his followers he proceeded northward. David seeing it necessary to check this revolt, ordered

Amasa Amasa (עמשא) or Amessai is a person mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. His mother was Abigail (), a sister of King David (). Hence, Amasa was a nephew of David, and cousin of Joab, David's military commander, as well as a cousin of Absalom, Dav ...

to summon the army. When Amasa delayed his task, David appointed Abishai and

Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - de ...

to take the '' gibborim'' ("mighty men") and the body-guard and such troops as he could gather, and pursue Sheba. Joab took the opportunity to kill Amasa. Then Joab and Abishai arrived at the city of

Abel-beth-maachah Tel Abel Beth Maacah ( he, תֵּל אָבֵל בֵּית מַעֲכָה; ar, تل آبل القامع, translit=Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, lit=) is a large archaeological tell with a small upper northern section and a large lower southern one, conn ...

, where they knew Sheba to be hiding. They besieged the city. An unnamed wise woman from the city convinced Joab not to destroy Abel Beth-Maacah, because the people did not want Sheba hiding there. She told the people of the city to kill Sheba, and his head was thrown over the wall to Joab.

In the Talmud

Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

Terumot 7:19, the rabbis debate whether it was proper under Jewish law to give up Sheba in order to save the city from Joab's army. Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai said giving up Sheba is forbidden. Rabbi

Judah bar Ilai Judah bar Ilai (), also known as Yehuda bar Ma'arava (, lit. "Judah of the West") and Rabbi Judah, was a rabbi of the 2nd century (fourth generation of tannaim). Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" a ...

said the wise woman acted properly because Joab had the city surrounded. Everyone in the city would be killed including Sheba so it was better to give up Sheba and save everyone else. This story served as the source for the subsequent

halachic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

discussion whether it is permissible for a group or community to save itself by sacrificing an individual. The

establishes the principle that we may not save a community by sacrificing an individual, unless the original demand was for a specified individual. R. Shimon b. Lakish adds the condition that the specified individual be deserving of death because of a crime he committed. This view has been codified by Maimonides in his code of Jewish Law. Sanhedrin 101b identified Sheba with two other men:

"A Tanna taught: Nebat, Micah, and Sheba the son of Bichri are one and the same." The three interpreted signs and portents to mean that they would reign. "Three beheld but did not see."

References

{{Reflist 10th-century BCE Hebrew people Deaths by decapitation Books of Samuel people