1 Kings 2:26-35

D. THE PLIGHT OF OTHER CONSPIRATORS 2:26-35

It would appear that Abiathar and Joab were again involved in the conspiracy to give the throne to Adonijah. At least this is the interpretation which Solomon put on their conduct. Thus it was in conjunction with the execution of Adonijah that Solomon (1) expelled Abiathar from the priesthood (1 Kings 2:26-27); and (2) executed Joab (1 Kings 2:28-35).

1. THE EXPULSION OF ABIATHAR (1 Kings 2:26-27)

TRANSLATION

(26) Then to Abiathar the priest the king said, Go to Anathoth to your fields, for you are a man of death; but I will not execute you, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because you suffered all those things which my father suffered. (27) So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being a priest of the LORD to fulfill the word of the LORD which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

COMMENTS

That the priest Abiathar was again involved in plotting the overthrow of the king is implied in the action taken by Solomon against him. This priest, who on the occasion of the first conspiracy escaped even censure, was summoned to the palace. The king curtly ordered him to retire from the priestly office and to return to his home at Anathoth. The town of Anathoth[123] has been identified with the modern village of Anata, a village just north and east of Jerusalem. As far as Solomon was concerned, Abiathar was worthy of death (lit., a man of death) for his past treasonous conduct. But on account of his associations with David, Solomon was inclined to be lenient with the old priest. Abiathar was responsible for carrying the precious ark of the Lord both when that sacred chest was transported to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:11)a moment of great joy for Davidand later when the ark accompanied David on his flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24-29). Abiathar had also endured all the afflictions of David during the period of Saul's persecution as well as the period of Absalom's rebellion. For these reasons Abiathar was sentenced to banishment rather than death. There is an ominous limitation placed upon the king's graciousness in the words this day. Solomon is obviously suggesting that Abiathar would forfeit his life if he engaged in any new crimes (1 Kings 2:26).

[123] The later great high priest Hilkiah and Jeremiah the prophet hailed from Anathoth.

With the deposition of Abiathar, the last descendant of the Ithamar branch of the priestly family, the high priesthood reverted to the descendants of Eleazar who was represented in Solomon's day by Zadok. Solomon's action fulfilled a prophecy made over a century earlier concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh (1 Kings 2:27). The reference is to 1 Samuel 2:31-36 where Eli was cursed by an unnamed prophet with cessation of the priesthood from his family. Abiathar was of the fifth generation of Eli's house.

2. THE EXECUTION OF JOAB (1 Kings 2:28-35)

TRANSLATION

(28) Now the report came unto Joab, for Joab had turned after Adonijah, although after Absalom he had not turned. And Joab fled unto the tent of the LORD, and seized the horns of the altar. (29) When King Solomon was told that Joab had fled unto the tent of the LORD, and that he was there beside the altar, Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go fall on him! (30) And Benaiah went unto the tent of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus the king has said: Come out! And he said, No! But I shall die here. And Benaiah returned the king word, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. (31) And the king said to him, Do as he has spoken! Fall on him, and bury him, that the innocent blood which Joab shed may be removed from upon me and from upon the house of my father. (32) And the LORD will return his blood upon his head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword (and my father David did not know): Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa that son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. (33) Now their blood shall be returned upon the head of Joab and on the head of his seed forever; but for David, his seed, his house and his throne, may there be peace forever from the Lord. (34) and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and fell on him, and slew him; and he was buried in his house in the wilderness. (35) And the king appointed Benaiah the son of Jehoiada to his place over the host, and Zadok the priest to take the place of Abiathar.

COMMENTS

When Joab heard of the execution of Adonijah and the deposition of Abiathar, he knew that he would be next on Solomon's extermination list. Though Joab had not supported Absalom in his rebellion against David, he had lent his support, influence and prestige to the ill-fated conspiracy of Adonijah. Realizing that his treason was a capital crime, Joab fled to the tent of the Lord on Mt. Zion and clasped the horns of the altar (1 Kings 2:28) where he thought he would find sanctuary as Adonijah had found before him (1 Kings 1:50). Since the altar provided no sanctuary to murderers, it cannot be because of his two assassinations that Joab fled there. These crimes had so long remained unpunished that Joab had no doubt pushed them to the back of his mind. It was because of his political intrigue that Joab expected to incur the wrath of the king. But if Joab had rendered loyal, albeit somewhat grudging, support to Solomon since the coronation of the king, why did he now flee? Perhaps his flight was an indication that Joab had been involved in the second conspiracy. It is an ancient belief that Joab suggested to Adonijah the plan of marriage with Abishag.[124]

[124] Hammond, PC., p. 41.

Solomon, regarding Joab's flight to the altar as proof of his continuing treasonous intentions, ordered Benaiah to go and slay the old general (1 Kings 2:29). Finding Adonijah still clutching the horns of the altar, Benaiah in the name of the king ordered Joab to come away from the altar. Probably Solomon had given orders to Benaiah to avoid if possible profaning that sacred spot with bloodshed. But Joab refused to leave the altar. Did Joab imagine that Solomon would finally relent and that he would escape with his life? Or was he resigned to death and determined because of superstition to die at that spot? Or could his motive have been one of defiance, thinking that if he forced Solomon to profane that holy spot the king would lose popular support? Joab then would accomplish in his death what he had failed to accomplish in his life. While it is impossible to say with certainty, it would seem that Joab was clutching at straws and hoping against hope that his life might be spared. To cling to that altar, he thought, was his only chance. Because of this unexpected development Benaiah sought further instructions from his king (1 Kings 2:30).

Good reasons existed for denying sanctuary to Joab at the altar, and Solomon spelled out those reasons in 1 Kings 2:31-33.

Since the altar provided no sanctuary for murderers (Exodus 21:14), and since Joab was to be executed as a murderer, Solomon ordered Benaiah to comply with Joab's wishes and slay him at the altar. To attempt to drag Joab away from the altar would have created an ugly stir and might have led to a bloody encounter with some of Joab's numerous friends. After the execution, Benaiah was immediately to bury Joab's corpse thus removing it from the sanctuary it defiled and hiding it away from public view.

Only by the shedding of Joab's guilty blood could the innocent blood of Abner and Amasa be washed away from me and from the house of my father (1 Kings 2:31). Solomon must have had in mind such passages as Numbers 35:33[125]

[125] See also Deuteronomy 19:10; Deuteronomy 19:13; Deuteronomy 21:9.

So you shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood defiles the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed in it except by the blood of him that shed it.

As supreme magistrate of the land, Solomon felt an obligation to avenge the death of murder victims. Should the blood of Abner and Amasa go unavenged, Solomon felt that he and his sons might have to answer for it. In so ordering the death of Joab, Solomon considered that he was acting as an agent of God. He was fulfilling a religious duty. The blood that Joab had shed would be returned upon his head, i.e., avenged. As if the execution of Joab needed any further justification, Solomon added that the victims of Joab's sword were better men than their assassin. Though many people, no doubt, suspected David of criminal complicity in these murders, the deeds were actually done without his knowledge, much less his approval (1 Kings 2:32).

Not only would Joab die for his crime, his descendants would suffer for it as well. David had placed Joab under a curse on the day he slew Abner, and Joab's children were included in that curse (2 Samuel 3:29). A man's children often suffer for the sins he commits. If nothing worse befell the children of Joab, they would never be able to forget that their father had died the death of a murderer. But by avenging the death of the innocent, the stain of blood (obligation to punish) would be removed from the house of David. This being the case, the descendants of David would prosper (1 Kings 2:33). The amazing thing in 1 Kings 2:31-33 is that Solomon never mentions any personal motives for ordering Joab's execution. His motives are so free of malice and revenge that he confidently expects God's blessing upon his decision!

Having received royal authorization to slay Joab in the Tabernacle, Benaiah hastened back up to Gibeon to perform the deed. It is ironical that it was in this very town that Joab had committed the second of his two murders (2 Samuel 20:8). All those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword (Matthew 26:52).

Joab's burial was somewhat unusual in that he was buried in the courtyard of his own house which was located near Bethlehem in the wilderness (open country) of Judah (1 Kings 2:34). It was considered an honor in ancient Israel to make one's house a mausoleum. This honor, which was accorded to Samuel (1 Samuel 25:1), was also accorded to Joab in recognition of his service to his country.

With Joab and Abiathar removed from the scene, Solomon consolidated his power by placing his friends Benaiah and Zadok in the positions of commander of the host and high priest respectively (1 Kings 2:35). The Zadokites remained in control of the high priesthood until 171 B.C. when Menelaus who was not even a descendant of Aaron bought appointment to the office.[126]

[126] 2Ma. 4:24.