Joab's military campaign against Edom and his slaughter of the male population represent a thoroughness of conquest intended to prevent the emergence of precisely the kind of resistance that Hadad would later represent. The killing of every male in Edom was calculated to eliminate future resistance by destroying the potential leadership class of the conquered kingdom. Joab's six-month occupation and systematic destruction of Edomite males indicate that David's conquest of Edom was thorough and intended to be permanent, creating a subjugated kingdom that would not easily recover independence. The fact that despite this thoroughness Hadad escaped and eventually returned suggests both the incompleteness of even the most systematic conquest and the possibility of exile and return for members of royal families. The narrative implies that Joab's ruthless campaign, while effective in the short term, failed in its ultimate objective of creating permanent stability through eliminating all potential rivals.

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