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Joab
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{{Short description|Nephew of King David of Israel and commander of his army}} {{for|the given name|Joab (name)|Yoav}} [[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 105.png|thumb|right|''Death of Absalom'', 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]. Joab is depicted directly to the left of Absalom]] '''Joab''' ({{IPAc-en|ห|dส|oส|รฆ|b}}; {{langx|hbo|ืืึนืึธื|Yoสผฤแธ}}), the son of [[Zeruiah]], was the nephew of [[King David]] and the commander of his army according to the [[Hebrew Bible]]. == Name == The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, [[theophoric]]โderived from [[Yahweh]] ({{lang|hbo|ืืืื}}), the name of the God of Israel, and the Hebrew word "father" ({{lang|hbo|ืึธื}}). It therefore means "Yahweh [is] the Father". == Life == [[File:Morgan-bible-fl-46.jpg|thumb|right|420px|Illustration from the [[Morgan Bible]] of a story in 2 Samuel 20 of Joab pursuing [[Sheba (person)|Sheba]] as far as [[Abel-beth-maachah]] and Sheba's head being thrown down to him.]] [[File:Leaf from the Morgan Picture Bible - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|420px|Leaf from the [[Morgan Bible|Morgan Picture Bible]], "Scenes from the Life of Absalom", c. 1250]] Joab was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of king David (1 Chronicles 2:15โ16). According to Josephus ([[Antiquities of the Jews|''Antiquities'']] VII, 1, 3) his father was called Suri.<ref name=Ant7>Flavius Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', [https://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-7.htm Book VII, Chapter 1, 3].</ref> Joab had two brothers, [[Abishai (Bible)|Abishai]] and [[Asahel]]. Asahel was killed by [[Abner]] 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]] (2 Samuel 2:13โ3:21; 3:27). While 2 Samuel 3:27 explicitly states that Joab killed Abner "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel", [[Josephus]] ([[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]] 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.<ref name=Ant7 /> After Joab led the assault on the fortress of [[Mount Zion]], David made him captain of his army (2 [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] 8:16; 20:23; 1 [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]] 11:4โ6; 18:15; 27:34). He led the army against [[Aram (biblical region)|Aram]], [[Ammon (nation)|Ammon]], [[Moab]] and [[Edom]]. He also colluded with David in the murder of [[Uriah the Hittite|Uriah]] (2 Samuel 11:14โ25). Joab played a pivotal role as the commander of David's forces during [[Absalom]]'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 18:1โ33). 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 19:1โ8). David later replaced him as commander of the army with David's nephew, [[Amasa]] (2 Samuel 19:13). Joab later killed Amasa (2 Samuel 20:8โ13; 1 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 2:5). Joab and other commanders began questioning David's judgment (2 Samuel 24:2โ4). As David neared the end of his reign, Joab offered his allegiance to David's eldest living son, [[Adonijah]], rather than to the eventual king, [[Solomon]] (1 Kings 1:1โ27). 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]] (1 Kings 2:29โ34). Hearing this, Joab fled to the Tent of the Tabernacle (where Adonijah had previously sought successful refuge according to 1 Kings 1:50โ53) 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 [[American Tract Society|''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 ... [b]ut as a man he was imperious, revengeful, and unscrupulous".<ref>Rand, W. W. [http://classic.studylight.org/dic/ats/view.cgi?word=joab&action=Lookup&search.x=0&search.y=0 ''ATS Bible Dictionary'': "Joab"], 1859, Public Domain, out of copyright, accessed 7 July 2017</ref> ==See also== *[[Joab in rabbinic literature]] == References == {{Wikiquote}} {{Reflist}} * {{eastons}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Biblical murderers]] [[Category:Biblical murder victims]] [[Category:Books of Kings people]] [[Category:Family of David]] [[Category:10th-century BCE Hebrew people]] [[Category:Solomon]]
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