Most Christians consider Joab to be a bad character. But it's a little more complicated.
For those who need a refresher: Joab was the son of David's sister (1 Chron. 2:15-16); David made him the army captain (e.g., 2 Sam. 8:16). He had two brothers: Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was killed by Abner; Joab then killed Abner (2 Sam. 2:13-3:27). Joab and his men killed David's rebel son Absalom during an attempted coup, against David's wishes (2 Sam. 18:1-33); the king grieves and Joab rebukes him. David replaced Joab with Amasa as commander, but Joab kills Amasa (2 Sam. 19:13; 20:8-13; 1 Kings 2:5). Finally, Joab offers his allegiance not to Solomon but to Adonijah, David's eldest living son (1 Kings 1:1-27). David had Solomon kill Joab; he ran into the Tabernacle, but was killed anyways.
Okay, not a favorable picture. But it needs to be balanced. Rabbinic literature is uniformly positive in its outlook. In the Mishnah, he is the ideal general, without whom David could not have succeeded. Rabbi Johanan informs us that Joab was not guilty of Abner's murder; rather, he brought him before the court, which in the gate of the city (Deut. 16:18) condemned Abner for murder of Asahel and then sent Joab to kill him. 2 Samuel 3:27 does say the killing was "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel," but this could include a ruling by the Sanhedrin and not just personal revenge.
1 Kings 2:34 speaks of Joab's "house in the wilderness", taken by rabbis to mean that his house was generously open to everyone. Also, though Joab did rebuke David for mourning, David accepts the rebuke positively and follows Joab's advice, possibly indicating that David was wrong and Joab right. Though "the hearts of the men of Israel have gone out after Absalom" (2 Sam. 15:13), Joab remains on David's side.
Most importantly perhaps, in 2 Sam. 24, Joab struggled hard but vainly to get David to not conduct a wicked census: "May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?" In 1 Chron. 21, we are told that "the king's command was abhorrent to Joab."
In rabbinic writings, we are told that Joab defended himself of Amasa's death because Amasa failed to execute David's order (see 2 Sam. 20:4-5). We are then told that Joab stated just before his death, "Let not Solomon condemn me to a double punishment; let him either kill me and take on himself the curses which his father uttered against me [ see 2 Sam. 3:29] or let me live and suffer from the curses only." Solomon took on himself the curses, which were fulfilled in his descendants.
The trouble is that the Torah does not judge him clearly either way, and no rabbinic statement here is necessarily inconsistent with the Torah. He was clearly a very successful commander, indicating either his wisdom or God's blessing of him, or both (either one being very positive). In light of all this, what do you all think about Joab?
For those who need a refresher: Joab was the son of David's sister (1 Chron. 2:15-16); David made him the army captain (e.g., 2 Sam. 8:16). He had two brothers: Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was killed by Abner; Joab then killed Abner (2 Sam. 2:13-3:27). Joab and his men killed David's rebel son Absalom during an attempted coup, against David's wishes (2 Sam. 18:1-33); the king grieves and Joab rebukes him. David replaced Joab with Amasa as commander, but Joab kills Amasa (2 Sam. 19:13; 20:8-13; 1 Kings 2:5). Finally, Joab offers his allegiance not to Solomon but to Adonijah, David's eldest living son (1 Kings 1:1-27). David had Solomon kill Joab; he ran into the Tabernacle, but was killed anyways.
Okay, not a favorable picture. But it needs to be balanced. Rabbinic literature is uniformly positive in its outlook. In the Mishnah, he is the ideal general, without whom David could not have succeeded. Rabbi Johanan informs us that Joab was not guilty of Abner's murder; rather, he brought him before the court, which in the gate of the city (Deut. 16:18) condemned Abner for murder of Asahel and then sent Joab to kill him. 2 Samuel 3:27 does say the killing was "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel," but this could include a ruling by the Sanhedrin and not just personal revenge.
1 Kings 2:34 speaks of Joab's "house in the wilderness", taken by rabbis to mean that his house was generously open to everyone. Also, though Joab did rebuke David for mourning, David accepts the rebuke positively and follows Joab's advice, possibly indicating that David was wrong and Joab right. Though "the hearts of the men of Israel have gone out after Absalom" (2 Sam. 15:13), Joab remains on David's side.
Most importantly perhaps, in 2 Sam. 24, Joab struggled hard but vainly to get David to not conduct a wicked census: "May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?" In 1 Chron. 21, we are told that "the king's command was abhorrent to Joab."
In rabbinic writings, we are told that Joab defended himself of Amasa's death because Amasa failed to execute David's order (see 2 Sam. 20:4-5). We are then told that Joab stated just before his death, "Let not Solomon condemn me to a double punishment; let him either kill me and take on himself the curses which his father uttered against me [ see 2 Sam. 3:29] or let me live and suffer from the curses only." Solomon took on himself the curses, which were fulfilled in his descendants.
The trouble is that the Torah does not judge him clearly either way, and no rabbinic statement here is necessarily inconsistent with the Torah. He was clearly a very successful commander, indicating either his wisdom or God's blessing of him, or both (either one being very positive). In light of all this, what do you all think about Joab?
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