א וַיֵּדַע יוֹאָב בֶּן צְרֻיָה כִּי לֵב הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל אַבְשָׁלוֹם

Yoav son of Tzeruya sensed that the king’s heart was toward Avshalom; that he yearned for his son. The relationship between Yoav and David was complex (see 3:24–39; 16:10; 19:23), however, it was close, and Yoav was concerned for David’s well-being. Whether David mentioned it explicitly or not, Yoav perceived that he missed his son. Yoav did not dare act on his own to bring back Avshalom, but employed a strategy to indirectly cause him to return.

ב וַיִּשְׁלַח יוֹאָב תְּקוֹעָה וַיִּקַּח מִשָּׁם אִשָּׁה חֲכָמָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ הִתְאַבְּלִי נָא וְלִבְשִׁי נָא בִגְדֵי אֵבֶל וְאַל תָּסוּכִי שֶׁמֶן וְהָיִית כְּאִשָּׁה זֶה יָמִים רַבִּים מִתְאַבֶּלֶת עַל מֵת

Yoav sent to the town of Tekoa, and he took from there a wise woman who would know how to play her unusual role convincingly. And he said to her: Please mourn, and please wear mourning garments, and do not anoint with oil, and through your attire and your lack of cosmetics, you shall be as a woman mourning for a dead person for these many days.