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David is a great warrior(no doubt), at a very young age, He killed Goliath, killed a bear and he he generally considered fearless. But, while going through the Bible, I discovered David feared Joab greatly (see 2 Sam 3:39, "these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me") and I wondered why he had so much fear for him. An example, Joab killed Abner and Amasa and David did nothing about it and He also gave instructions that Absalom's life should be speared but Joab went against the order by killing Absalom and it also took Joab alone to get David to address the people when Absalom died.

Did he feared him because of Joab is mightier and powerful than him or because Joab had more troop than him or why did he feared him so much that Joab became lawless at times

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  • Your question is not associated with any text / passage. please indicate the passage that contains the background to your question. questions not related to a specific text or generally speaking off topic. But it's a great question and possibly related to my question about why Peter et al feared James.
    – Ruminator
    Feb 18 '19 at 17:11
  • Do Peter and the rest of the apostles fear James? I don't think so. Although, I won't mind to have a link to that your question
    – jaquar pow
    Feb 22 '19 at 8:39
  • Do Peter and the rest of the apostles fear James? I don't think so. Although, I won't mind to have a link to that your question
    – jaquar pow
    Feb 22 '19 at 8:41
  • Sure; here you go: hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/32684/…
    – Ruminator
    Feb 22 '19 at 11:03
  • The Bible does not say that David fear Joab.
    – Bill
    Jul 14 '20 at 1:34
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2 Samuel 3:39 New International Version

And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!"

It was a moment of feeling weakness, David lamented his current situation of being weak. There is no mention of fear. In fact, just a bit earlier, David ordered Joab:

31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.”

Joab killed Abner and David ordered Joab to mourn for Abner.

Then David started his mourning/lamentation:

33 The king sang this lament for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as the lawless die? ...
38Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

Verse 39 should be read as part of the lamentation/catharsis process and not as David's showing fear before Joab.

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David commanded Joab to place Uriah at the front of the battle lines of Israel in order to have him die in the battle so as to hide David's sin with Uriah's wife, after he had tried to trick him into having relations with Bathsheba so others would think the child conceived from the illicit union was Uriah's, thus hiding his own sin. David feared Joab might reveal his adultery if David treated him to harshly.

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  • But David was afraid of Joab even before his relations with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 3:39)
    – b a
    Feb 19 '19 at 11:34
  • The fear is already there before the Bathsheba incident.
    – jaquar pow
    Feb 22 '19 at 8:37

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