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Joab Had Himself Slung Into Amalek and Sent Blood as His Signal

The army wanted to go home. Joab told them to sling him over the wall and watch the gates for forty days. Blood would mean he still lived.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Six Months and No Crack
  2. A Man Thrown Like a Stone
  3. Forty Days of Silence
  4. Shema at the Sight of Blood
  5. The Crown Carried Out
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Six Months and No Crack

Twelve thousand of Israel's best sat outside the Amalekite capital under Joab and could not break it. Six months. Homes far behind. Children growing without fathers. The soldiers came to him and asked to go home.

Joab refused. Retreat would earn contempt. Worse, it would teach every surrounding nation that Israel quits a wall. They would pile on a people that packed for home. He offered a plan that sounded like madness dressed as command. Hurl him into the city by sling. Wait forty days. If blood flows from the gates, he is still alive. If not, mourn and leave.

The general made his own body the reconnaissance, the breach, and the signal.

A Man Thrown Like a Stone

They slung him. He flew. The wall that had laughed at twelve thousand took one man over its teeth. Inside, Joab was a lone blade in a city of enemies. No trumpet. No messenger. The bargain was simple and ugly. Forty days. Blood at the gate as proof of life. An army watching wood and stone for a red answer.

He killed. He did not map every alley. He kept the days, and the men outside who had thrown their commander like a stone and then had to live with the silence of the wall. On some days they told themselves he was already meat. On others they told themselves the plan was still working.

Forty Days of Silence

Early mourning rose too soon. Grief dressed itself as realism. The men outside began to treat him as dead because the gates had given them nothing, and nothing is easy to read as an ending. They had wives to return to. They had a story ready: we waited, the sling failed, we were right to want home.

Then the signal came. Blood issued from the city. The gates bled. The watchers' throats changed in a single breath.

Shema at the Sight of Blood

They cried with one accord, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." Blood from an enemy capital became a cue for the Shema (שמע), Hear. Not a victory chant of empire. A confession of the Name. Joab mounted a high tower and shouted back in a voice that carried, "The Lord will not forsake his people." Courage jumped the wall the other way. The army demanded permission to storm.

As Joab turned to descend, six verses of a psalm were inscribed on his foot. The first ran, "The Lord answers thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob is thy defense." Later David would add three verses and complete the psalm. A general's flesh carried draft scripture out of a killing floor.

The Crown Carried Out

Israel took the Amalekite capital. They tore down the temples of Amalek's gods. They slew the inhabitants except the king, whom they brought before David with his crown of pure gold still on his head. The siege that six months could not finish ended because one man accepted being ammunition.

Joab's file holds colder orders and a death that would one day seek the altar. The sling remains. Six months of failure. One throw. Blood as telegram. Shema as answer. A verse on a foot that David would finish in safer air. Twelve thousand waiting. One man inside. A crown carried to a king who had stayed outside until the work was done.

The nations that had been ready to learn Israel retreats learned something else. A commander spent himself as the price of not teaching them that lesson. The gates had bled on purpose. The camp had named the Name over that red. Then they went in.

JoabDavidAmalekShemaSiegeWar
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From the tradition

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The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Legends of the Jews 4:42Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

He was laying siege to the Amalekite capital. For half a year, twelve thousand of Israel's finest soldiers had been camped outside the city walls, and… nothing.

The soldiers, weary and homesick, approached Joab. "We should go home," they pleaded, "to our wives and children."

Joab was no fool. He understood their longing, but he also saw the bigger picture. Giving up now, he argued, wouldn't just be embarrassing. It would be dangerous. As he pointed out, retreating would invite contempt and derision from their enemies. Worse, it would embolden the surrounding heathen nations to unite against the Israelites. A tactical retreat could turn into a full-blown disaster.

So, what was Joab's plan? It's wild, I promise.

He proposed a truly audacious, some might say insane, solution. "Hurl me into the city with a sling," he declared.

Yes, you read that right. He wanted to be launched over the walls like a human cannonball!

Then, he told them to wait forty days. If, at the end of those forty days, they saw blood flowing from the city gates, it would be a sign that he was still alive.

Now, take a moment to consider that. And imagine the reaction of the soldiers!

This story, found in Legends of the Jews, paints Joab as more than just a general. He's a leader willing to put himself in unimaginable danger for the sake of his people. His plan is so audacious that it seems almost impossible. It's evidence of his unwavering commitment.

What does this tell us? Perhaps that true leadership sometimes requires a willingness to take risks that others wouldn't even dream of. And maybe, just maybe, that sometimes the most outlandish plans are the ones that have the greatest chance of success. After all, who expects a general to ask to be slung into the enemy's capital?

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Legends of the Jews 4:46Legends of the Jews

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909) · Public Domain

Joab was presumed dead, the city was under siege, and then blood began flowing from inside the walls.

The scene: Joab's army is locked in a brutal battle, thousands have fallen. The Israelites, hearts heavy with loss, are starting to believe their general is dead. Then, a miracle. Blood begins to flow out of the city, a sign that their enemies are being vanquished from within.

Hope surges through the ranks. In that moment, unified, they cry out the Shema, the central declaration of Jewish faith: "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad – Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." (As an aside, "Shema" means to listen, to hear and to obey). This unified declaration, evidence of their unwavering belief, becomes a turning point.

In Legends of the Jews, compiled by Louis Ginzberg, Joab, witnessing this incredible moment, climbs a high tower. With a voice that booms across the battlefield, he shouts: "The Lord will not forsake his people!" This proclamation, filled with conviction, electrifies the Israelite soldiers. They demand permission to storm the city, fueled by renewed courage and faith.

And here's where the story gets even more fascinating. As Joab turns to descend from the tower, he notices something peculiar: six verses of a Psalm are inscribed on his foot! The first verse reads: "The Lord answers thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob is thy defense." (This echoes (Psalm 20:2), for those of you who want to look it up). Think about the symbolism here – a message of divine support literally imprinted on the general's very being.

Later, David, recognizing the power of this moment, adds three more verses, completing the Psalm. What was originally just six verses turns into a song of hope and resilience for generations to come.

The result? The Israelites, emboldened by faith and divine signs, capture the Amalekite capital. They destroy the pagan temples, symbols of the enemy's false gods, and vanquish its inhabitants. The only one spared is the king, who is brought before David, still wearing his crown of pure gold. It's a scene of absolute triumph.

What does this story tell us? It's a reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected signs can appear when we need them most, offering guidance and strength. And perhaps most importantly, it highlights the power of collective belief and the enduring promise that, as Joab proclaimed, the Lord will not forsake his people.

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