Amasa Dana

Amasa Dana (October 19, 1792 – December 24, 1867) was a U.S. Representative from New York.

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Dana attended private schools and Dana Academy in Wilkes-Barre. He studied law in Owego, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1817 and practiced. He moved to Ithaca, New York, in 1821 and continued the practice of law. He served as district attorney of Tompkins County 1823–1837. He served as member of the New York State Assembly in 1828 and 1829. He served as president and trustee of the village of Ithaca in 1835, 1836, and 1839.

Dana was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Tompkins County in 1837. He was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-sixth Congress (March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1840, and resumed the practice of law.

Dana was elected to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845). He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy (Twenty-eighth Congress). He resumed the practice of his profession and also engaged in banking. He died in Ithaca, New York, on December 24, 1867. He was interred in Ithaca City Cemetery.

Amasa

Amasa is a person in the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Abigail (2 Sam 17:25), who was sister to King David (1 Chr 2:16,17) and Zeruiah, the mother of Joab. Hence, Amasa was a nephew to David, a cousin to Joab, as well as a cousin to Absalom.

Absalom, David's mutinous son, revolted and won over the tribes of Israel (2 Sam 15). He appointed Amasa over the army, in effect replacing Joab, who had been general for Absalom's father David.

After the revolt was crushed, David held out an olive branch to Amasa (in a likely effort to appease and reunite Judah with the other 10 tribes of Israel) by offering to appoint Amasa as his new army commander (2 Sam 19:13). While being fiercely loyal to David, Joab was also suspicious of any potential rivals for Joab's power or threats to David's kingdom, and had no qualms about taking the lives of any who might stand in his way (E.G., Abner: 2 Sam 3:27, and Absalom: 2 Sam 18:14). So it was not difficult for Joab to also decide to murder Amasa (2 Sam 20:10, 1 Kin 2:5,32). Joab's own justification for killing Amasa may have been because he believed Amasa to be conspiring with Sheba son of Bichri the Benjamite, due to Amasa's slowness to mobilize the army against Sheba's rebels (2 Sam 20:4,5).