2:5 Joab the son of Zeruiah. Joab was the most successful, but also the most unscrupulous, of David’s generals (1:7 note). David calls on Solomon to see to it that the crimes Joab committed against his rivals “Abner the son of Ner” (2 Sam. 3:22–30) and “Amasa” (cf. 2 Sam. 20:4–10) do not go unpunished. The way Joab tricked Abner and Amasa and murdered them was unlawful (Deut. 19:1–13; 21:1–9).