And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
And he gave instructions to the messenger, saying, 'When you have finished telling the king all the news about the war,'
The writer is showing how Joab carefully instructed his messenger about what to say when reporting the battle results to King David.
📚 Historical Context
This verse comes during the account of David's adultery with Bathsheba and his arranged murder of her husband Uriah. Joab, David's military commander, had just carried out David's order to place Uriah in deadly combat where he would be killed. Now Joab is preparing to send news of the battle (and Uriah's death) back to David, knowing the king would be concerned about the military losses.
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