ARCHIVES
DIVISION
Jerusalem District
| Name | JOAB |
| Aliases | SON OF ZERUIAH / COMMANDER OF DAVID'S ARMY / THE RUTHLESS CAPTAIN |
| Status | DECEASED / SLAIN AT THE ALTAR BY SOLOMON'S ORDER / HIS BLOOD REQUITED |
| Birth | UNRECORDED | Marks & Identifiers | THE GENERAL SWIFT IN WAR AND IN VENGEANCE |
| Place of Birth | BETHLEHEM (HOUSE OF JESSE'S KIN) | Hair | UNRECORDED |
| Tribe | JUDAH | Eyes | UNRECORDED |
| Parentage | SON OF ZERUIAH, DAVID'S SISTER | People | THE ARMIES OF ISRAEL |
| Occupation | COMMANDER OF THE HOST | Species | HUMAN |
| Affiliation | THE HOUSE OF DAVID (AS CAPTAIN) | Calling | THE KING'S GENERAL, LOYAL YET LAWLESS |
| Primary Mission | LEAD DAVID'S ARMIES TO VICTORY | Known Signs | THE KILLING OF ABNER AND AMASA / THE DEATH OF ABSALOM |
| Covenant Role | CAPTAIN WHOSE BLOODSHED CAME BACK ON HIS HEAD | Divine Access | INDIRECT / UNDER THE JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED BY DAVID |
| Divine Encounter Level | INDIRECT | Military Classification | THE KING'S COMMANDER |
| Covenant Status | LOYAL YET UNDER BLOODGUILT | Known Miracles | MANY BATTLES WON FOR DAVID |
| Divine Commission | COMPROMISED | Threat Assessment | HIS OWN VENGEANCE / SHEDDING BLOOD IN PEACE |
| Mission Status | JUDGED / SLAIN AT THE ALTAR | Archive Category | MONARCHY / BLOODGUILT |
How he killed Abner and Amasa: IN PEACE, AS THOUGH IN WAR
David's charge to Solomon concerning him: DO NOT LET HIS GRAY HEAD GO DOWN IN PEACE
The subject, son of David's sister Zeruiah, rose to command the armies of Israel. He was a brave and able general who won many of David's battles and was fiercely devoted to the king's cause.
Yet he shed blood in peacetime as in war. To avenge his brother Asahel he murdered Abner under a pretense of friendship, and later he struck down Amasa, his rival, with a deceiving embrace and a hidden sword.
Against David's express command to deal gently with Absalom, the subject thrust three javelins into the young man as he hung in the oak, and afterward rebuked the grieving king for weeping over his enemy's son.
When Adonijah sought the throne, the subject sided with him against Solomon. David on his deathbed charged Solomon to requite the blood the subject had shed and not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
Fleeing to the tent of the LORD, the subject grasped the horns of the altar and refused to leave. By Solomon's order Benaiah struck him down there, and so his violence returned upon his own head.
EYES ONLYRestricted // Sacred Record
- Loyalty to a cause never excuses shedding innocent blood.
- Vengeance taken into our own hands invites justice upon ourselves.
- The horns of the altar cannot shelter an unrepentant heart.
