thumb|right|Death of Absalom, 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Joab is depicted directly to the left of Absalom.]]
Joab (; ), the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army according to the Hebrew Bible.
Name
The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric—derived from Yahweh (), the name of the God of Israel, and the Hebrew word "father" (). It therefore means "Yahweh [is] the Father".
Life
thumb|right|420px|Illustration from the [[Morgan Bible of a story in 2 Samuel 20 of Joab pursuing Sheba as far as Abel-beth-maachah and Sheba's head being thrown down to him]]
thumb|right|420px|Leaf from the [[Morgan Bible|Morgan Picture Bible, "Scenes from the Life of Absalom", c. 1250]]
Joab was the son of Zeruiah, a sister of king David (1 Chronicles 2:15–16). According to Josephus (Antiquities VII, 1, 3) his father was called Suri.
Joab had two brothers, Abishai and Asahel. Asahel was killed by Abner in combat, for which Joab took revenge by murdering Abner against David's wishes and shortly after David and Abner had secured peace between the House of David and the House of Saul (2 Samuel 2:13–3:21; 3:27).
While 2 Samuel 3:27 explicitly states that Joab killed Abner "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel", Josephus (Antiquities VII, 1, 3) paints a different picture: Joab had forgiven Abner for the death of Joab's brother Asahel, since Abner had slain Asahel honorably in combat, but killed Abner as a potential threat to his rank after Abner had switched to the side of David and granted David control over the tribe of Benjamin.
See also
- Joab in rabbinic literature