1 Kings 2:34

SHIMEI PUT TO DEATH. (Kg1 2:34-46)

Benaiah . . . went up, and fell upon him--According to the terms of the statute (Exo 21:14), and the practice in similar cases (Kg2 11:15), the criminal was to be dragged from the altar and slain elsewhere. But the truth is, that the sanctity of the altar was violated as much by the violence used in forcing the criminal from the place as in shedding his blood there; the express command of God authorized the former and therefore by implication permitted the latter.

was buried in his own house--or family vault, at his property in the wilderness of Judah. His interment was included in the king's order, as enjoined in the divine law (Deu 21:23).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Ki 2:34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Ver. 34. And he was buried in his own house in the wilderness,] i.e., In a forest, fit for pasturage, and but thinly inhabited. The Hebrews say that Joab’s house here mentioned was a hospital that he built in the way for the harbouring of poor passengers: and that for this good deed his soul was saved. But of this none can judge, saith Pet. Martyr, because the Scripture saith nothing of it. But this it saith, that when Joab was dead and buried, Hadad the Edomite hearing thereof, returned out of Egypt into his own country, and became an adversary to Solomon, when once he forgot his God. {1Ki 11:14; 1Ki 11:22}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 34. So Benaiah - went up - and slew him] It appears he slew him at the very altar. Joab must have been both old and infirm at this time, and now he bleeds for Abner, he bleeds for Amasa, and he bleeds for Uriah. The two former he murdered; of the blood of the latter he was not innocent; yet he had done the state much service, and they knew it. But he was a murderer, and vengeance would not suffer such to live.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34. went up] i.e. To the Tent of the Lord, which probably stood on a higher part of Mt. Zion than did Solomon’s own house.

buried in his own house] i.e. In the ground around his home. He appears to have had a home far out in the open country.

in the wilderness] Probably that district known as the wilderness of Judah. Wilderness, or desert, gives however an insufficient idea of the kind of country that is meant. It was land under no regular cultivation, but yet to which cattle might be driven for pasturage. So in the narrative of the feeding of the Five Thousand where St Matthew (1Ki_14:15) speaks of ‘a desert place,’ St John (1Ki_6:10) says ‘now there was much grass in the place.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host,.... Advanced him from being captain of his bodyguards to be general of the army:

and Zadok the priest did he put in the room of Abiathar; from a common priest he promoted him to the high priesthood; whereby that office was restored to its ancient line, the family or Eleazar, having been in the line of Ithamar for many years; and the prediction of the destruction of Eli's house, made eighty years ago, began to be fulfilled, Sa1 2:31.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Retribution overtook Joab on the very scene (Gibeon) of the most treacherous of his murders. It was at the “great stone which is in Gibeon” that Joab killed Amasa 2Sa 20:8-10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Slew him, holding the altar; though some think that he was removed by force, like Athalia, 4 Kings xi. 15. Both actions were contrary to the reverence due to so holy a place, and perhaps inexcusable; (Calmet) unless the law had ordered it otherwise, Exodus xxi. 14. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Places which have but few houses and inhabitants are oft so called in Scripture, as Isa 42:11; Jer 25:24; Eze 34:25.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34. Buried in his own house in the wilderness — The old soldier was laid to rest among his native hills near Bethlehem: probably in his father’s sepulchre, where his brother Asahel had been buried. 2Sa_2:32. This was in the wilderness of Judah. See note on Jos_15:61. He had been a mighty and valiant warrior, and Solomon allowed him an honourable burial.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, went up not because the altar" stood higher up Mount Zion than Solomon"s house" (Keil), but because Gibeon, where the tabernacle and brazen altar then were, stood higher than Jerusalem. It is remarkable that retribution thus overtook Joab on the very scene of his last murder, for it was "at the great stone which is in Gibeon", (2Sa_20:8) that he slew Amasa. Cf., 2Ki_9:26: "I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord" and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house possibly in the courtyard: hardly in the garden. The same is recorded of Samuel. (1Sa_25:1) It was evidently an exceptional occurrence. Remembering the estimation in which the Jew held the corpse and the grave (Num_19:11, Num_19:16, Num_19:22; cf., Mat_23:27) it must have been a singular honour to make of the house a mausoleum. No doubt it was designed to be such in Joab"s case. Whatever his crimes, his services had deserved well of his country. Possibly his friends were led to pay him this special honour as a kind of counterpoise to the ignominy of his death in the wilderness i.e. , of Judah. Joab"s mother was of Bethlehem, which was on the border of the desert. The "wilderness of Tekoah", (2Ch_20:20) according to Jerome, was visible from Bethlehem, being but six Roman miles distant.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wilderness - Places which have but few houses and inhabitants, are often so called in scripture. He was buried privately, like a criminal, not pompously, like a general.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

Benaiah kills Joab and becomes the commander of King Solomon's army.

He was buried in his own house

This can be translated in active form. AT: "They buried Joab in his own house"

in his own house

The house is a metonym for the land on which the house stood. The Israelites buried people out of doors in graves or tombs. AT: "where his family lived" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

son

desert

Zadok

priest

Abiathar

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

In his own house in the wilderness. For his home was unrestricted as a wilderness, to [help] the needy.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.