Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 105

Joab (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of

Zeruiah Zeruiah ( sometimes transliterated Tzruya or Zeruya) was a sister of King David. According to both and the Babylonian Talmud, Zeruiah was a daughter of Jesse and sister of Abigail, to whom reference is made in 1 Chronicles () and Samuel 2 (). Ze ...

, was the nephew of

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and the commander of his army, according to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' theophoric - derived from YHVH (), the name of the God of Israel, and the Hebrew word 'av' (), meaning 'father'. It therefore means 'YHVH sfather'.

Life

Joab was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of king David (1 Chronicles 2:15-16). According to Josephus (

Antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

VII, 1, 3) his father was called Suri.Flavius Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews''
Book VII, Chapter 1, 3
Joab had two brothers, Abishai and

Asahel Asahel ( he, עשהאל, grc, ‘Ασαέλ, Latin ''Asael'') was a military leader under King David and the youngest son of David's sister Zeruiah. Asahel thus was the nephew of David and the younger brother of David's general, Joab, Asahel is ...

. Asahel was killed by

Abner In the Hebrew Bible, Abner ( he, אַבְנֵר ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner". Biblical narrative ...

in combat, for which Joab took revenge by murdering Abner against David's wishes and shortly after David and Abner had secured peace between the House of David and the House of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

(2 Samuel 2:13-3:21; 3:27). While 2 Samuel 3:27 explicitly states that Joab killed Abner "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel",

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

(

VII, 1, 3) paints a different picture: Joab had forgiven Abner for the death of Joab's brother Asahel, since Abner had slain Asahel honorably in combat, but killed Abner as a potential threat to his rank after Abner had switched to the side of David and granted David control over the tribe of Benjamin. After Joab lead the assault on the fortress of

Mount Zion Mount Zion ( he, הַר צִיּוֹן, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; ar, جبل صهيون, ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the Ci ...

, David made him captain of his army (2

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

8:16; 20:23; 1

Chronicles Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * '' The Idh ...

11:4-6; 18:15; 27:34). He led the army against Aram,

Ammon Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in ...

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territ ...

and

Edom Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...

. He also colluded with David in the murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14-25). Joab played a pivotal role as the commander of David's forces during

Absalom Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelle ...

's rebellion. Absalom, one of David's sons, rallied much of Israel in rebellion against David, who was forced to flee with only his most trusted men. However, David could not bring himself to harm his son, and ordered that none of his men should kill Absalom during the ensuing battle. However, when a man reported that Absalom had been found alive and caught in a tree, Joab and his men killed him (2 Samuel 18:1-33). Hearing of David's grief over the reported death of Absalom, Joab confronted and admonished David. The king followed Joab's advice to make a public appearance to encourage his troops (2 Samuel 19:1-8). David later replaced him as commander of the army with David's nephew,

Amasa Amasa (עמשא) or Amessai is a person mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. His mother was Abigail (), a sister of King David (). Hence, Amasa was a nephew of David, and cousin of Joab, David's military commander, as well as a cousin of Absalom, Dav ...

(2 Samuel 19:13). Joab later killed Amasa (2 Samuel 20:8-13; 1

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

2:5). Joab and other commanders began questioning David's judgment (2 Samuel 24:2-4). As David neared the end of his reign, Joab offered his allegiance to David's eldest living son,

Adonijah According to 2 Samuel, Adonijah ( he, , ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my lord is Yah") was the fourth son of King David. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the ...

, rather than to the eventual king,

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

(1 Kings 1:1-27). On the brink of death, David told Solomon to have Joab killed, citing Joab's past betrayals and the blood that he was guilty of. Solomon ordered Joab's death by the hand of

Benaiah Benaiah ( he, בניה, "Yahweh builds up") is a common name in the Hebrew Bible. Etymology In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The se ...

(1 Kings 2:29-34). Hearing this, Joab fled to the Tent of the Tabernacle (where Adonijah had previously sought successful refuge according to 1 Kings 1:50-53) and told Benaiah that he would die there. Benaiah killed Joab there and thereby replaced him as commander of the army. Joab was buried in 'the wilderness' (1 Kings 2:34).

Commentary

The ATS Bible Dictionary describes Joab as "a valiant warrior, and an able general; and his great influence on public affairs was often exerted for good, as in the rebellion of Absalom, and the numbering of Israel .. t as a man he was imperious, revengeful, and unscrupulous".Rand, W. W
ATS Bible Dictionary: Joab
1859, Public Domain, out of copyright, accessed 7 July 2017

References

{{Authority control Biblical murderers Biblical murder victims Books of Kings people Books of Samuel people People associated with David 10th-century BCE Hebrew people Male murder victims Solomon

Life

Commentary

See also

References