Abel-Beth-Maachah
A fortified city in the far north of Israel, in the territory of Naphtali, also called Abel-maim. Three episodes anchor it in the UPDV: the siege that ended Sheba's revolt against David, the Aramean raid Ben-hadad of Damascus carried out at Asa's request, and the Assyrian deportation under Tiglath-pileser that emptied the surrounding land of Naphtali. The city carried a reputation as a place to "ask [counsel]" and settle a matter, and its loss in two later invasions marks stages in the unraveling of the northern kingdom.
Sheba's Last Refuge
After Sheba the son of Bichri broke from David's army, Joab pursued him north until "he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maacah" (2Sa 20:14). The siege closed in: "they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down" (2Sa 20:15).
A wise woman of the city called Joab to the wall and invoked the city's standing reputation: "They used to speak in old time, saying, They will surely ask [counsel] at Abel: and so they ended [the matter]. I am of those who are peaceful and faithful in Israel: you seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why will you swallow up the inheritance of Yahweh?" (2Sa 20:18-19). Joab disclaimed the intent — "Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy" — and named his single demand: "a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, has lifted up his hand against the king, even against David; deliver him only, and I will depart from the city" (2Sa 20:20-21).
The woman answered, "Look, his head will be thrown to you over the wall," and the city carried it through: "Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the trumpet, and they were dispersed from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king" (2Sa 20:22). The siege ends with the city intact and the revolt closed by the wise woman's negotiation rather than by the wall coming down.
The Aramean Raid Under Ben-hadad
Generations later, in the conflict between Asa of Judah and Baasha of Israel, Asa bought Aramean intervention against the northern cities. The Kings account names Abel-beth-maacah in the catalogue of cities that fell: "And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali" (1Ki 15:20).
The Chronicles parallel uses the city's alternate name Abel-maim and substitutes "store-cities" for "Chinneroth": "And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali" (2Ch 16:4). The two reports together place Abel-beth-maacah / Abel-maim among the named northern fortifications struck in the same campaign.
The Assyrian Deportation Under Tiglath-pileser
The third and last UPDV mention places the city in the path of Assyrian conquest. Under Pekah of Israel, the Assyrian king came down through the same northern corridor: "In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maacah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria" (2Ki 15:29). The same northern axis named in the Ben-hadad raid — Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah at its head — falls again, this time with the population deported. After this verse the UPDV does not name the city again.