Joab
יוֹאָב · yo.av · H3097G“paternity; voluntary” Hitchcock's 1869120 mentions in 5 books, most in 2 Samuel (84)
Who he was
Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was King David's nephew and the commander of his army. He first appears in 1 Samuel 26:6, accompanying David on a mission to Saul's camp. Joab played a significant role in David's rise to power and the establishment of his kingdom (2Sa.2-3; 8.16; 1Ch.11.6,8).
As a military commander, Joab led David's forces in various battles against the Ammonites, Syrians, and other enemies (2Sa.10; 12.26-27; 1Ch.19). He also helped quell Absalom's rebellion and was instrumental in defeating Sheba's revolt (2Sa.18; 20).
However, Joab's loyalty to David was sometimes overshadowed by his own ambition and ruthlessness. He killed Abner, Saul's former commander, in revenge for his brother Asahel's death (2Sa.3). He also disobeyed David's orders by killing Absalom (2Sa.18) and supported Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne (1Ki.1.7,19).
Despite his flaws, Joab remained a key figure in David's reign until the end. He was involved in the census that brought God's judgment upon Israel (2Sa.24; 1Ch.21) and was eventually killed by Benaiah on Solomon's orders for his support of Adonijah (1 Kings 2:28–35).
Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
Family
Family relations: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
Every mention
120 references, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)
2 Samuel84 mentions
2 Samuel 2:13Joab the son of Zeruiah and David’s servants went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool.2 Samuel 2:14Abner said to Joab, “Please let the young men arise and compete before us!” Joab said, “Let them arise!”2 Samuel 2:18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle.2 Samuel 2:22Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn away from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I look Joab your brother in the face?”2 Samuel 2:24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.2 Samuel 2:26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Don’t you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to…2 Samuel 2:27Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone away, and not each followed his brother.”2 Samuel 2:28So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still and pursued Israel no more, and they fought no more.2 Samuel 2:30Joab returned from following Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen men of David’s and Asahel were missing.2 Samuel 2:32They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.2 Samuel 3:22Behold, David’s servants and Joab came from a raid and brought in a great plunder with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron, for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace.2 Samuel 3:23When Joab and all the army who was with him had come, they told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.”2 Samuel 3:24Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, and he is already gone?2 Samuel 3:26When Joab had come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David didn’t know it.2 Samuel 3:27When Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there in the body, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his…2 Samuel 3:29Let it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls…2 Samuel 3:30So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.2 Samuel 3:31David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in front of Abner.” King David followed the bier.2 Samuel 8:16Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,2 Samuel 10:7When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.2 Samuel 10:9Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel and put them in array against the Syrians.2 Samuel 10:13So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.2 Samuel 10:14When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.2 Samuel 11:1At the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David…2 Samuel 11:6David sent to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” Joab sent Uriah to David.2 Samuel 11:7When Uriah had come to him, David asked him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.2 Samuel 11:11Uriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah, are staying in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house to eat…2 Samuel 11:14In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah.2 Samuel 11:16When Joab kept watch on the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew that valiant men were.2 Samuel 11:17The men of the city went out and fought with Joab. Some of the people fell, even of David’s servants; and Uriah the Hittite died also.2 Samuel 11:18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;2 Samuel 11:22So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.2 Samuel 11:25Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle stronger against the city, and overthrow…2 Samuel 12:26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.2 Samuel 12:27Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters.2 Samuel 14:1Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was toward Absalom.2 Samuel 14:2Joab sent to Tekoa and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please, and don’t anoint yourself with oil; but be as a…2 Samuel 14:3Go in to the king and speak like this to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.2 Samuel 14:19The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my…2 Samuel 14:20Your servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are on the earth.”2 Samuel 14:21The king said to Joab, “Behold now, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, and bring the young man Absalom back.”2 Samuel 14:22Joab fell to the ground on his face, showed respect, and blessed the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has…2 Samuel 14:23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.2 Samuel 14:29Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. Then he sent again a second time, but he would not come.2 Samuel 14:30Therefore he said to his servants, “Behold, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.2 Samuel 14:31Then Joab arose and came to Absalom to his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?”2 Samuel 14:32Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still. Now…2 Samuel 14:33So Joab came to the king and told him; and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Absalom.2 Samuel 17:25Absalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s…2 Samuel 18:2David sent the people out, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the…2 Samuel 18:5The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” All the people heard when the king commanded all the captains concerning Absalom.2 Samuel 18:10A certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”2 Samuel 18:11Joab said to the man who told him, “Behold, you saw it, and why didn’t you strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a sash.”2 Samuel 18:12The man said to Joab, “Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, I still wouldn’t stretch out my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded…2 Samuel 18:14Then Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the middle of the oak.2 Samuel 18:15Ten young men who bore Joab’s armor surrounded and struck Absalom, and killed him.2 Samuel 18:16Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held the people back.2 Samuel 18:20Joab said to him, “You must not be the bearer of news today, but you must carry news another day. But today you must carry no news, because the king’s son is dead.”2 Samuel 18:21Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen!” The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.2 Samuel 18:22Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why do you want to run, my son, since you will have no…
1 Kings13 mentions
1 Kings 1:7He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him.1 Kings 1:19He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and has called all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army; but he hasn’t called Solomon your…1 Kings 1:41Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar?”1 Kings 2:5“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom…1 Kings 2:22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest…1 Kings 2:28This news came to Joab; for Joab had followed Adonijah, although he didn’t follow Absalom. Joab fled to Yahweh’s Tent, and held onto the horns of the altar.1 Kings 2:29King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to Yahweh’s Tent; and behold, he is by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, fall on him.”1 Kings 2:30Benaiah came to Yahweh’s Tent, and said to him, “The king says, ‘Come out!’” He said, “No; but I will die here.” Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, “This is what Joab said, and…1 Kings 2:31The king said to him, “Do as he has said, and fall on him, and bury him, that you may take away the blood, which Joab shed without cause, from me and from my father’s house.1 Kings 2:33So their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his offspring forever. But for David, for his offspring, for his house, and for his throne, there will be peace forever…1 Kings 11:15For when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the army had gone up to bury the slain, and had struck every male in Edom1 Kings 11:16(for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom),1 Kings 11:21When Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”
1 Chronicles21 mentions
1 Chronicles 2:16and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. The sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, three.1 Chronicles 11:6David had said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.” Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief.1 Chronicles 11:8He built the city all around, from Millo even around; and Joab repaired the rest of the city.1 Chronicles 11:20Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the three; for he lifted up his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name among the three.1 Chronicles 11:26The mighty men of the armies also include Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,1 Chronicles 11:39Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite (the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah),1 Chronicles 18:15Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;1 Chronicles 19:8When David heard of it, he sent Joab with all the army of the mighty men.1 Chronicles 19:10Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose some of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.1 Chronicles 19:14So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him.1 Chronicles 19:15When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.1 Chronicles 20:1At the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, Joab led out the army and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed…1 Chronicles 21:2David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how many there are.”1 Chronicles 21:3Joab said, “May Yahweh make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a…1 Chronicles 21:4Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, then came to Jerusalem.1 Chronicles 21:5Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew a sword; and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men…1 Chronicles 21:6But he didn’t count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.1 Chronicles 26:28All that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, whoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth and of…1 Chronicles 27:7The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him. In his division were twenty-four thousand.1 Chronicles 27:24Joab the son of Zeruiah began to take a census, but didn’t finish; and wrath came on Israel for this. The number wasn’t put into the account in the chronicles of King David.1 Chronicles 27:34After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. Joab was the captain of the king’s army.
What the dictionary says
Jehovah is his father.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Read the article →Sources
- STEPBible TIPNR · Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References · CC BY 4.0 · github.com/STEPBible/STEPBible-Data
- Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869) · Public domain