{"id":59746,"date":"2019-07-18T18:57:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T15:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59746"},"modified":"2023-02-12T17:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-02-12T15:46:13","slug":"when-the-personal-is-political-joab-kills-abner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-the-personal-is-political-joab-kills-abner\/","title":{"rendered":"When The Personal Is Political: Joab Kills Abner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We left Abner and Joab in an uneasy truce: Joab gave up pursuit of Abner to prevent heavy loss of life, but Abner has not backed off, and Israelites continue to die.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the battles heat up between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner\u2019s self-importance grows even as his military success wanes. But when he asserts sexual dominion over Saul\u2019s concubine, Ish-boshet protests. This leads Abner to switches sides, promising to bring his erstwhile followers into David\u2019s camp. David agrees on condition that Abner return his wife, Michal daughter of Saul, proving that not only Abner can use the women of Saul\u2019s house to demonstrate political power. This happens while Joab is away doing his job of raiding David\u2019s enemies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In verse 22, \u201cDavid\u2019s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid.\u201d The phrase \u201cDavid\u2019s soldiers\u201d appeared five times in the previous chapter and seems to underscore Joab and his troops’ loyalty. But in verse 23, \u201cJoab and the whole force with him arrived.\u201d Here lies a hint that Joab is coming into his own as a subject independent of his service to the king, just as his own interests and David\u2019s are about to diverge for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Abner’s arrival troubles Joab on three levels: personally, Abner killed Joab’s brother; professionally, Abner is a rival for the position of head general; and politically, who is to say that Abner can be trusted to do as he says, rather than to double-cross David as he crossed Ish-boshet?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Abner returns, Joab takes advantage of the pretense of collegiality that Abner always sought in their relationship to get close, then kills Abner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Joab was not motivated by David\u2019s best interests, as the text makes clear, that it was the personal motive that ruled the day: \u201cThus [Abner] died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab\u2019s brother\u201d (verses 27, 30). As we could have known from our first<\/span> introduction to him<\/span><\/a>, Joab\u2019s identity was too wrapped up with his brothers to let this one go.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joab\u2019s insubordination creates a public relations nightmare for David, for the people of Israel will assume that loyal Joab was once again working at David\u2019s direction, and that David had intended to double-cross Abner all along.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

David\u2019s solution to the P.R. predicament, and perhaps also to a sense of personal betrayal, is to curse Joab and his house in perpetuity. In a display of self-preservation mixed with enduring loyalty, right after absorbing the curse, Joab complies with David\u2019s orders to publicly mourn Abner.<\/span><\/p>\n

David and Joab, the king and the general he cursed, remain intertwined for the rest of the book of Samuel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, the fault lines that began to come out in this chapter – between Joab\u2019s interests and David\u2019s; and between Joab\u2019s control of the troops that keep David in power and David\u2019s own choices as to what to do with that power – will continue to simmer beneath the surface of Joab’s next appearance in Chapter 11.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: \u201cJoab and Abner Kissing before Joab Murders Him,\u201d<\/span> Constantin Karl Falkenstein, from his “The History Of The Art Of Printing, Its Origin And Development,” Germany, 1804.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":59747,"id":59747,"title":"2sam3-joab and abner","filename":"2sam3-joab-and-abner.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam3-joab-and-abner.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-the-personal-is-political-joab-kills-abner\/2sam3-joab-and-abner\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam3-joab-and-abner","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":59746,"date":"2019-07-18 15:57:01","modified":"2019-07-18 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