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THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM/ART RESOURCE, NY

OFF WITH HIS HEAD. After opposing King David, the rebel Sheba ben Bichri flees north to Abel Beth Maacah, according to 2 Samuel 20:14-22. Joab, the commander of David’s army, pursues him and attacks the town. He likely would have destroyed Abel Beth Maacah had it not been for the intervention of a Wise Woman. Her advice to behead the rebel and throw his head over the wall saves her town. This illustration of the beheading comes from the Morgan Bible, which dates to the 1240s C.E.