Joab: "What! Abner aimed directly at Asahel's fifth rib, and thou
wouldst say he could not have managed to wound him lightly?"
Solomon: "Very well, then, we shall drop Abner's case. But why didst
thou slay Amasa?"
Joab: "He acted rebelliously toward King David. He omitted to execute
his order to gather an army within three days; for that offense he
deserved to suffer the death penalty."
Solomon: "Amasa failed to obey the king's order, because he had been
taught by our sages that even a king's injunctions may be set at
defiance if they involve neglect of the study of the Torah, which was
the case with the order given to Amasa. And, indeed," continued
Solomon, "it was not Amasa but thou thyself who didst rebel against the
king, for thou wert about to join Absalom, and if thou didst refrain,
it was from fear of David's strong-fisted troops." (9)
When Joab saw that death was inevitable, he said to Benaiah, who was
charged with the execution of the king's order: "Tell Solomon he cannot
inflict two punishments upon me. If he expects to take my life, he must
remove the curse pronounced by David against me and my descendants on
account of the slaying of Abner. If not, he cannot put me to death."
Solomon realized the justness of the plea. By executing Joab, he
transferred David's curse to his own posterity: Rehoboam, his son, was
afflicted with an issue; Uzziah suffered with leprosy; Asa had to lean
on a staff when he walked; the pious Josiah fell by the sword of
Pharaoh, and Jeconiah lived off charity. So the imprecations of David
were accomplished on his own family instead of Joab's. (10)