Endnote 2 – The Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah

The date of 2 Samuel 20 has been extensively discussed by many scholars, and some place Sheba ben Bichri’s rebellion in the eighth century B.C.E. It should be mentioned that our excavations at Tel Abel Beth Maacah to date have not identified an occupation stratum that can be clearly dated to this time or any destruction layer that can be attributed to Tiglath-Pileser III (as in 2 Kings 15). However, some pottery from the eighth century B.C.E. has been recovered in survey and debris.