²⁴ David had reached Mahanaim by the time Absalom and all the Israelites who were with him crossed the Jordan River. ²⁵ Absalom had put Amasa in charge of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Ishmaelite^[a] who had married Abigail, who was Nahash’s daughter and the sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. ²⁶ Israel and Absalom camped in the territory of Gilead.