(16) Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. (17) And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. (18) Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. (19) I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD?
Solomon speaks of a poor man's saving a city by his wisdom. No doubt, JESUS may be there intended. But here is a wise woman. See Ecclesiastes 9:14-15. The expression of asking counsel of Abel, seems to have been somewhat proverbial; meaning, probably, that counsel of advice, in proposing terms of peace, were first made before an army proceeded to battle. Paul dwells upon this feature, of brethren going to war, as unsuitable to the very name of Christianity. 1 Corinthians 6:5-7.