A wise woman: Joab had previously used a “wise woman” (14.2) to speak to David during the time when Absalom was in exile. In this case such a woman speaks to Joab. The presence of such “wise women” in stories like this reminds one of the personification of wisdom as a woman in Proverbs.

Hear! Hear! These words are intended to attract the attention of Joab’s soldiers, who would in turn get Joab to come near enough to the wall so that the woman could speak directly to him. Since this message had to bridge a considerable distance and compete with other noises, it had to be something that was “called out” (Anderson) or “shouted” (New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and New Century Version as well as Good News Translation).

The quotation of what the woman wanted someone to tell Joab is direct in Hebrew (and also in Revised Standard Version) but will probably be better translated indirectly in other languages, since it is a part of a larger quotation. If it is made indirect, the pronouns will have to be changed. A possible model is “Tell Joab to approach [the wall] so that I can talk to him.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .