Sidebar: Resident Wise Women
In 2 Samuel 20:21-22, the Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah advises her town to behead Sheba ben Bichri, who had rebelled against King David, and throw his head over the wall. Her counsel saves her town from destruction. Here the “wise women” of Tel Abel Beth Maacah, who participated in the 2018 season, humorously dramatize part of this biblical episode—with excavation Co-director Robert Mullins standing in for the rebel Sheba ben Bichri.