Joab

Joab was the principal military commander of King David. He wins campaigns for David and suppresses rebellions, but his independent use of violence—including the killings of Abner, Absalom and Amasa—makes him both indispensable and dangerous to the monarchy.

Joab was the commander of King David’s army and a central military figure in the narratives of David’s reign. He killed Abner and Amasa, suppressed Absalom’s rebellion and later supported Adonijah in the succession struggle; Solomon ordered his execution after taking the throne.

Geraldine Brooks’ The Secret Chord places Joab beside David as the king’s formidable military commander and relative, responsible for victories that build the kingdom but also for acts of calculated violence that expose the cost of David’s rule. Through Nathan’s retrospective account, Joab repeatedly becomes the man who turns royal wishes, family feuds and battlefield necessities into irreversible action.