The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle.
Parallel translations
- KJV And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
- BSB The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
- NKJV Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab and Abishai and Asahel. And Asahel was as fleet of foot as a wild gazelle.
- NASB Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was as swift-footed as one of the gazelles that is in the field.
- NLT Joab, Abishai, and Asahel—the three sons of Zeruiah—were among David’s forces that day. Asahel could run like a gazelle,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joab's swift-footed brother Asahel is introduced. His speed sets up the fatal pursuit of Abner.
Overview
Asahel, one of Zeruiah's three sons alongside Joab and Abishai, is noted for being as fast as a wild gazelle. This detail foreshadows his reckless chase after Abner. The introduction prepares the reader for the personal tragedy and the blood feud that will follow from his death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Chr 12:8Some Gadites joined David in the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains:
- Hab 3:19Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.
- Ps 18:33He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and sets me on my high places.
- Song 2:17Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.
- Song 8:14Come away, my beloved! Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!
- 1 Chr 2:15–16Ozem the sixth, David the seventh;
- Eccl 9:11I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
- Ps 147:10–11He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
- Amos 2:14Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won’t strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;
- 1 Chr 11:26The mighty men of the armies also include Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,
- 1 Sam 26:6Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
- 2 Sam 1:23Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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