And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
And if the king becomes angry and asks you, 'Why did you get so close to the city when you were fighting? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?'
This verse shows Joab preparing his messenger for King David's expected anger about military tactics that led to unnecessary deaths.
📚 Historical Context
This is part of Joab's instructions to a messenger who must report Uriah's death to King David. Joab had deliberately placed Uriah in a dangerous position near the city wall where he would likely be killed, following David's secret orders to eliminate Uriah so David could marry his wife Bathsheba. Joab anticipated that David might initially react with anger about the poor military strategy before learning that his real objective (Uriah's death) had been accomplished.
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