{"id":61511,"date":"2019-08-20T13:07:58","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T10:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=61511"},"modified":"2023-03-14T12:08:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T10:08:53","slug":"one-cannot-delegate-the-commission-of-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/one-cannot-delegate-the-commission-of-a-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cOne Cannot Delegate the Commission of a Crime\u201d"},"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":[900,762,838,499],"acf":{"old_id":"61511","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"289","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The murder charge doesn\u2019t stick, but Solomon got Joab for treason","content":"

We have already alluded to the events in this chapter on previous occasions. In 2 Samuel 3, we noted that we would revisit, here, the question of whether Joab\u2019s killing of Abner was justifiable\u2014as an act of blood vengeance\u2014or coldblooded murder. In 2 Samuel 11-12, we indicated that at that same revisiting we would address the question of David\u2019s killing of Uriah. These ingredients come together in the following talmudic aggadah (legend).<\/span><\/p>\n

[King Solomon] brought Joab to trial and said to him: Why did you kill Abner? He replied: I was avenging [my brother] Asael. Was Asael not in pursuit of Abner? \u2026 Since Abner was able to strike him at the fifth rib… he could have just wounded him.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Solomon] said: Why did you kill Amasa? [Joab] replied: Because Amasa committed treason against the king. \u201cThe king [David] ordered Amasa to summon all the men of Judah in three days\u2019 time… Amasa went to summon them and tarried\u201d (2 Samuel 20:4 ff.)\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

[So why was Joab executed?] He was a traitor, as it states: \u201cThe news reached Joab who had sided with Adonijah, although not with Absalom\u201d (1 Kings 2:28) (<\/span>Sanhedrin<\/span><\/i> 49a).<\/span><\/p>\n

The conclusion appears to be that while Joab was morally guilty regarding Abner and Amasa, he was not legally culpable. The passage continues:<\/span><\/p>\n

God brought [Joab\u2019s] guilt down upon his own head for having struck down two more righteous and better men than he. Better, in that they [Abner and Amasa] construed the \u201cbuts and onlys\u201d [see our comments on Joshua 1], while he did not. More righteous, in that they refused a command [from Saul, to slay the priests of Nob] that came [only] orally; while he obeyed a command [to place Uriah in jeopardy] that came in writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

That last reference addresses the question of David\u2019s guilt or responsibility for the death of Uriah. Since his order to Joab (\u201cin writing\u201d) was plainly illegal, Joab should have refused to obey it. Indeed, by following it, he exposed himself to its consequences, pursuant to the Talmudic stipulation:<\/span><\/p>\n

If one commissions an agent to commit murder and he complies, the agent is guilty and the principal is exempt. Shammai the Elder said in the name of the prophet Haggai, the principal [too?] is guilty, as it states [of David]: \u201cYou slew Uriah\u2026 by the sword\u2026 and killed him by the Ammonite sword\u201d (2 Samuel 12:9) (<\/span>Kiddushin,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>43a).<\/span><\/p>\n

David\u2019s guilt, notwithstanding the above exclusion, is explained by Radak (2 Samuel 12:9):<\/span><\/p>\n

Generally, a person should refrain from following the king’s orders in such a case. We have explained, apropos of “Anyone who defies your word shall die” (Joshua 1:18), that this does not include the commission of a crime, as the verse states: “<\/span>Only<\/span><\/i>” [be firm and resolute, excluding instructions that violate Torah law].<\/span><\/p>\n

Not everyone, however, is capable of construing “buts” and “onlys.” The onus [punishment], therefore, is on the king.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":61512,"id":61512,"title":"1kings2-treason","filename":"1kings2-treason.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/1kings2-treason.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/one-cannot-delegate-the-commission-of-a-crime\/1kings2-treason\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings2-treason","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":61511,"date":"2019-08-20 10:07:44","modified":"2019-08-20 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