{"id":60599,"date":"2019-08-04T11:29:45","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T08:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60599"},"modified":"2023-02-26T18:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T16:17:51","slug":"powerful-powerless-joab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/powerful-powerless-joab\/","title":{"rendered":"Powerful, Powerless Joab"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[914,900],"acf":{"old_id":"60599","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34891,"related_cahpter":"277","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"He cannot trust Absalom, but he must yield to stabilize a volatile situation that might threaten the king","content":"

For a few chapters, Joab has been sidelined as interfamilial crimes threaten the continuity of David\u2019s kingship. If David\u2019s passivity in the face of these events telegraphs a sense of helplessness, Joab\u2019s own absence underscores once again how<\/span><\/p>\n

Joab\u2019s power depends on his obedience<\/span><\/a>. If the king does not want to act, Joab can neither make him act, nor act himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, Joab\u2019s <\/span>intimate connection to the king<\/span><\/a> does yield its own sort of power. When Absalom reaches out, Joab tries to flex that power. Much as Nathan did, Joab has a fictional legal case presented before the king, and then uses David\u2019s reaction to the third-party scenario to make a point about David\u2019s own situation. Unlike Nathan, however, Joab sends his message by way of a third party, the wise woman of Tekoa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joab\u2019s use of the front-woman highlights not only his limits, but how shrewdly he operates within them. Joab presents his case through a nonthreatening widow whom he has expertly prepared for every turn of the conversation. The accuracy with which the woman\u2019s handler predicted David\u2019s reactions leaves David with no doubt that it was Joab, who knows the king better than anyone, who sent her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joab may leave this episode feeling good about his unique power in the king\u2019s court, but any security is soon shattered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Joab ignores Absalom\u2019s missives, Absalom has Joab\u2019s field burned. Joab responds to this blackmail by giving in and doing what Absalom wants.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Joab prioritizing his own interests over the king\u2019s<\/span> again<\/span><\/a>? A close look at Absalom\u2019s words suggests otherwise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Joab asks Absalom \u201cWhy did your servants set fire to my field?\u201d we might expect Absalom to respond \u201cbecause you did not come when I asked you to.\u201d But Absalom\u2019s response is subtly different: \u201cI sent for you to come here; I wanted to send you to the king to say [on my behalf]: \u2018Why did I leave Geshur? I would be better off if I were still there. Now let me appear before the king; and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death!\u2019\u201d Joab\u2019s action or inaction is never mentioned; what Absalom wants is the only relevant topic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Absalom\u2019s actions were not personal revenge against Joab, but just another means to achieve his desired ends. If so, Joab could surmise two things: (a) that not only Joab, but anyone who stood in Absalom\u2019s way – perhaps even David, eventually – would be at equal risk, and (b) that appeasing Absalom would not prevent Absalom from engaging in future destructive acts if he deemed them useful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joab is trapped. He senses that he must yield not just to protect himself, but to stabilize a volatile situation that might come to threaten even the king. At the same time, he knows Absalom cannot be trusted in the future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we have correctly read between the lines as to Joab\u2019s premonitions, they prove sadly accurate in the chapters that follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

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