Who was Amasa in the bible?
Amasa is the name of two Israelites, appearing in 1 Chronicles 2:17; 2 Samuel 17:25; 2 Samuel 19:13; 2 Samuel 20:4–12; 1 Kings 2:5,32; and 2 Chronicles 28:12.
Army Commander
“Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab” (2 Samuel 17:25). David later said, “if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab” (2 Samuel 19:13).
Learn More →Death and Aftermath
Joab killed him: “So he struck him with it in the body… and he died” (2 Samuel 20:10). Afterward, “Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway” (2 Samuel 20:12).
Learn More →Amasa (a name glossed in a lexicon as belonging to two Israelites) appears in Scripture as (1) a man connected to Abigail and to military command during the conflict involving Absalom, and (2) “Amasa the son of Hadlai,” one of the heads of the children of Ephraim who opposed those coming from war.
The name Amasa is associated (by lexicon derivation) with the sense of a “burden,” from a Hebrew root meaning to load or impose a burden.
Amasa in Scripture
“Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.” (1 Chronicles 2:17, WEB)
Chronicles identifies an Amasa in a family notice: Abigail bore him, and his father is named “Jether the Ishmaelite.”
“Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.” (2 Samuel 17:25, WEB)
Samuel presents Amasa as a military appointee during Absalom’s actions: “Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab.” It also provides a lineage notice for Amasa, identifying his father as “Ithra the Israelite,” and locating Amasa’s mother as “Abigail the daughter of Nahash,” with further description linking her to Zeruiah.
“Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab.’ ” (2 Samuel 19:13, WEB)
Later, Amasa is addressed with personal closeness (“my bone and my flesh”) and is spoken of in terms of ongoing command: “captain of the army… continually instead of Joab.”
The fullest narrative centered on Amasa is in 2 Samuel 20, where his commission, delay, meeting with Joab, and death are narrated within the larger pursuit of Sheba.
“There happened to be there a wicked fellow, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite; and he blew the trumpet, and said, ‘We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents, Israel!’ ” (2 Samuel 20:1, WEB)
The chapter opens with Sheba’s revolt-cry and the resulting division:
“So all the men of Israel went up from following David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri; but the men of Judah joined with their king, from the Jordan even to Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 20:2, WEB)
In this setting, Amasa receives a direct royal order:
“Then the king said to Amasa, ‘Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be here present.’ ” (2 Samuel 20:4, WEB)
Amasa goes to carry out the summons, but does not meet the specified time:
“So Amasa went to call the men of Judah together; but he stayed longer than the set time which he had appointed him.” (2 Samuel 20:5, WEB)
As events press forward, David redirects the pursuit to Abishai (with Joab’s forces going out):
“David said to Abishai, ‘Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants, and pursue after him…’ ” (2 Samuel 20:6, WEB)
“Joab’s men went out after him, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men; and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.” (2 Samuel 20:7, WEB)
Amasa then appears at a key meeting point with Joab and the pursuing force:
“When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was clothed in his apparel of war that he had put on, and on it was a sash with a sword fastened on his waist in its sheath; and as he went along it fell out.” (2 Samuel 20:8, WEB)
Joab greets Amasa with apparent warmth and an intimate gesture:
“Joab said to Amasa, ‘Is it well with you, my brother?’ Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him.” (2 Samuel 20:9, WEB)
But the encounter turns deadly, and Amasa is killed with the sword Joab holds:
“But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand. So he struck him with it in the body, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and didn’t strike him again; and he died. Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.” (2 Samuel 20:10, WEB)
Immediately after Amasa’s death, Joab’s side asserts leadership and calls for allegiance:
“One of Joab’s young men stood by him, and said, ‘He who favors Joab, and he who is for David, let him follow Joab!’ ” (2 Samuel 20:11, WEB)
Amasa’s body becomes an obstacle that halts movement on the road until it is removed:
“Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the highway. When the man saw that all the people stood still, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a garment over him, when he saw that everyone who came by him stood still.” (2 Samuel 20:12, WEB)
Once Amasa is removed from the highway, the pursuit continues under Joab’s direction:
“When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue Sheba the son of Bichri.” (2 Samuel 20:13, WEB)
The chapter continues with Joab’s forces besieging Abel of Beth Maacah, a negotiation with “a wise woman,” and the end of Sheba. Within the chapter’s concluding list of officials, Joab is again stated to hold army command:
“Now Joab was over all the army of Israel…” (2 Samuel 20:23, WEB)
Elsewhere, Amasa’s death is referenced in a retrospective statement naming him as “the son of Jether” and identifying Joab as his killer:
“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed…” (1 Kings 2:5, WEB)
“Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether…” (1 Kings 2:32, WEB)
These Kings passages recall Amasa as one of “the two captains of the armies of Israel” and explicitly say Joab “killed them with the sword,” including “Amasa the son of Jether.”
Multiple bearers
The lexicon gloss identifies Amasa as “the name of two Israelites,” and Scripture itself places the name in two distinct settings.
Amasa connected to Abigail and the army. He is described with parental and military identifiers across multiple texts: “Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite” (1 Chronicles 2:17), and “Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail…” (2 Samuel 17:25). He is appointed to leadership roles (“Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab,” 2 Samuel 17:25; “captain of the army… instead of Joab,” 2 Samuel 19:13), and his death at Joab’s hand is narrated (2 Samuel 20:8–13) and later recalled (1 Kings 2:5, 32).
“Then some of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who came from the war,” (2 Chronicles 28:12, WEB)
Amasa son of Hadlai. In Chronicles, “Amasa the son of Hadlai” is listed among “some of the heads of the children of Ephraim” who “stood up against those who came from the war.” No further detail is given about his actions beyond this stance in the verse provided.
Name and Meaning
The Hebrew script of the name is עֲמָשָׂא, transliterated Amasa and pronounced am-aw-saw’. A lexicon derivation connects the name to the idea of a “burden,” from a Hebrew root (amac, עָמַס) meaning to load or impose a burden.
Brief observation
In the central narrative (2 Samuel 20), Amasa is commissioned by the king to gather Judah (2 Samuel 20:4), but after he “stayed longer than the set time” (2 Samuel 20:5), he is killed when “Joab said to Amasa, ‘Is it well with you, my brother?’ ” and then “struck him… and he died” (2 Samuel 20:9–10), a death later recalled as Joab’s killing of “Amasa the son of Jether” (1 Kings 2:5).
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the name Amasa mean?
Amasa means “burden.”
How many times does Amasa appear in the Bible?
Amasa appears 12 times.
Who was Amasa?
Amasa is the name of two Israelites. In one genealogy, Abigail bore Amasa, and his father was Jether the Ishmaelite (1 Chronicles 2:17).
How did Amasa die?
Joab took Amasa by the beard as if to kiss him, then struck him with a sword and killed him (2 Samuel 20:9-10).
Explore Further
If you found this page about Amasa interesting and would like to discover more about other biblical characters, explore our comprehensive Encyclopedia of Biblical Characters. For those looking to delve deeper into the Greek origins of these names and terms, our Greek Lexicon is an invaluable resource.
Sources: Name and occurrence data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and STEPBible reference data (CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
