Joab sent someone to Tekoa and had a wise woman brought from there. He said to her, "Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don't use any cosmetic lotions. Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead."

Then the woman said, "Please let me speak a word to my lord the king."

"Go ahead," he replied.

The woman said, "I am a widow; my husband is dead. I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, 'Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir as well.' They would put out my only ember that is left and leave my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth."

— 2 Samuel 14:2-3, 12-14 (NIV)

Joab, David's commander, sent this wise woman to help reconcile King David with his son Absalom. The story parallels David's own situation with his sons, particularly after Absalom killed his brother Amnon.

reconciliation

Parable of the Wise Woman of Tekoa