Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 2:31
And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
31. and bury him ] The LXX. adds these words to the king’s previous order in 1Ki 2:29. Joab was Solomon’s cousin, and so though it was a political necessity to put him to death, the king would not care to add further dishonour to the dead body.
the innocent blood ] i.e. The causeless bloodshed of innocent people of which Joab had been guilty, and which, until it was avenged, would lie at the door of David and his descendants.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
It was only a murderer to whom the tabernacle was to be no protection (margin reference). Hence, the reference to the innocent blood.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Do as he hath said; either,
1. Kill him in that place; and for so doing Solomon might seem to have warrant from God, Exo 21:14, and might further design by this just severity to deter future offenders, by showing that no place nor person should protect them from the stroke of justice. Or rather,
2. Let him die as he is resolved; kill him, though he be there; take him by violence from that place, and then kill him; for Exo 21:14 doth not command the ruler to kill the murderer there, but to remove him thence, to
take him from the altar, that he may die. And seeing this might be done, why should Solomon unnecessarily stain the altar with his blood?
The innocent blood, i. e. both the guilt of it, which would rest upon my father and my family if it went unpunished; and the scandal and reproach of it, that neither this nor following ages may imagine that it was done by Davids secret instigation, or with his consent.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the king said unto him, do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him,…. Let him die where he is, slay him upon the spot, and then bury him; not by the altar, but in his own sepulchre, as later related, that in, give orders to bury him there; for Benaiah being a priest, could not be concerned in the burial of him, and besides it was below the dignity of his office:
([See comments on 1Ch 27:2] where Gill advances resaons for Benaiah not being a priest. Editor.)
that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father; which had been too long connived at, and had called for vengeance; and now here was a proper opportunity upon fresh sins committed to avenge it, and so remove the guilt, which lay upon him and his father’s house, for not inflicting deserved punishment on him for it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1Ki 2:31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
Ver. 31. Do as he hath said. ] Slay him, though it be at the altar. Becket, the traitor, was so served by some that belonged to our Henry II, and thought to gratify him thereby. And although the king constantly protested, se nec mandasse, nec voluisse, nec suo artificio quaesivisse necem Thomae, that he was neither witting nor willing to the taking away of his life in that sort; yet, for a penance, he was, by the command of the Pope’s legate, lashed on the bare [back] with rods, each of the priests and friars there present – and they were not a few – giving him three or four stripes, till the blood followed: besides that he was forced to go three miles on his bare feet, which yielded bloody tokens of his devotion, on the way to Becket’s sepulchre, which he went to visit. a
a Rev., De Vit. Pontif., 149. Dan., Hist., fol. 101.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Do: Exo 21:14
that thou: Gen 9:5, Gen 9:6, Num 35:33, Deu 19:12, Deu 19:13, Deu 21:8, Deu 21:9, 2Ki 9:26, Pro 28:17, Act 28:4
which: 1Ki 2:5
and from: 2Sa 3:28
Reciprocal: Num 35:20 – if he thrust Deu 19:10 – General 2Sa 3:29 – rest 2Sa 11:16 – he assigned 2Sa 20:10 – he smote 1Ki 2:25 – he fell 1Ki 2:29 – Go 1Ki 2:34 – Benaiah 1Ki 2:37 – thy blood 2Ch 21:13 – hast slain Pro 17:11 – General Mat 5:21 – and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 2:31. Do as he hath said Kill him, though he be there; take him from that place, and then kill him: for Exo 21:14, doth not command the ruler to kill the murderer there, but to remove him thence; to take him from the altar, that he may die. That thou mayest take away the innocent blood from me Kings or judges owe that justice to God, whose vicegerents they are, as to inflict those punishments on offenders which the divine laws require them to inflict: or otherwise, the punishment due to the offenders may with justice fall upon their own heads, as, by not executing the punishment, they, in some measure, give their approbation to the crime.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:31 And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and {p} fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father.
(p) For it was lawful to take the wilful murderer from the altar, Exo 21:14.