And the woman took a cover and spread it over the well’s mouth and scattered barley meal on it, so that nothing was known.
Parallel translations
- WEB The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out bruised grain on it; and nothing was known.
- KJV And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
- BSB Then the man’s wife took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well, scattering grain over it so nobody would know a thing.
- NKJV Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground grain on it; and the thing was not known.
- NLT The man’s wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The woman of the house covers the well and spreads grain over it to conceal the men. Her quick, clever action hides them from Absalom's searchers.
Overview
Like Rahab before her, this woman shields the LORD's servants by skillful deception of pursuers, and the messengers go undetected. Her courage and resourcefulness become a link in the chain that saves David. Scripture honors such risky faithfulness shown to God's people in their hour of danger.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Exod 1:19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
- Josh 2:4–24The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 17:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.