In | Joab’s Story

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The woman’s story recalls that of Cain and Abel, the Bible’s first murder. Notably, God does not condemn Cain to death. He spares Cain, and threatens “sevenfold vengeance” on any who would kill him in defiance of divine judgment.

After hearing this story, David’s judgment of the woman’s case, and subsequently of Absalom, follows God’s judgment of Cain, rather than the letter of the Law. Joab shrewdly connected Absalom’s case with divine precedent rather than divine law, and received the judgment he wanted.

Robert Bergen has mapped some of the parallels of Joab’s story and the Bible’s first murder in the table below.

	Cain and Abel	Joab’s Story
Two brothers	Genesis 4:1	2 Samuel 14:6
Alone together in a field	Genesis 4:8	2 Samuel 14:6
One killed the other	Genesis 4:8	2 Samuel 14:6
Concerns about murderer being killed	Genesis 4:14	2 Samuel 14:7
Authority intervenes to save murderer’s life	Genesis 4:15	2 Samuel 14:8
Threat of retaliation for anyone who defies this decision	Genesis 4:15	2 Samuel 14:10

Also of interest is the fact that while the murderer is spared in both cases, he is also sent away from the presence of the one who judged him (2 Sam 14:24; Gen 4:16). David appears to have followed the Genesis precedent even in this. In making his case for Absalom’s life, Joab gambled on David’s familiarity and commitment to the Pentateuch—and won.

Source: Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, 1996, p. 390.

1 and 2 Samuel: The Rise of Kingship

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In | Joab’s Story

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