 According to Josephus, Joab did not kill Abner out of revenge, because he had forgiven him for the death of his brother, Asahel, since Abner had slain Asahel honorably in combat after he had twice warned Asahel and had no other choice but to kill him out of self-defense.If this was the case, the reason Joab killed Abner may have been that he became a threat to his rank of general, since Abner had switched to the side of David and granted him control over the tribe of Benjamin.Yet the narrative explicitly states that Joab killed Abner "to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel" (2 Samuel 3