New International Version
2 Samuel 2:18
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.
2 Samuel 2:18 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.
- New King James Version (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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Joab, Abishai, and Asahel—the three sons of Zeruiah—were among David’s forces that day. Asahel could run like a gazelle,
Context of 2 Samuel 2:18
16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim. 17The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men. The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. 19He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. 20Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” he answered.
Read all of 2 Samuel 22 Samuel 2:18 word by word
וַיִּֽהְיוּ־שָׁ֗ם שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ בְּנֵ֣י צְרוּיָ֔ה יוֹאָ֥ב וַאֲבִישַׁ֖י וַעֲשָׂהאֵ֑ל וַעֲשָׂהאֵל֙ קַ֣ל בְּרַגְלָ֔יו כְּאַחַ֥ד הַצְּבָיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And there were threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Zeruiahצְרוּיָהtserûyâh · ZeruiahH6870
- there, Joabיוֹאָבyô'âb · JoabH3097
- and Abishaiאֲבִישַׁי'ăbîyshay 'abshay · AbishaiH52
- and Asahelעֲשָׂהאֵל‛ăώâh'êl · AsahelH6214
- lightקַלqal · swiftH7031
- of footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- as aאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- wildשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: wildlifeH7704
- roeצְבִיtsebîy · gazelleH6643
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 2:18
- 1 Chronicles 2:15the sixth Ozem and the seventh David.
- 1 Chronicles 11:26The mighty warriors were: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,
- 2 Samuel 1:23Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
- 1 Chronicles 12:8Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.
- Psalms 147:10His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
- Ecclesiastes 9:11I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
- Amos 2:14The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life.
- Psalms 18:33He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights.
- Habakkuk 3:19The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
- 2 Samuel 15:22David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 2:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe - To be swift of foot was deemed a great accomplishment in the heroes of antiquity; , the swift-footed Achilles, is an epithet which Homer gives to that hero no less than thirty times in the course of the Ilias. It has a qualification also among the Roman soldiers; they were taught both to run swiftly, and to swim well.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-24Verses 18-24 Death often comes by ways we least suspect. We are often betrayed by the accomplishments we are proud of! Asahel's swiftness, which he presumed so much upon, did him no service, but hastened his end.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Zeruiah was David’s sister (1 Chronicles 2:15–16). So, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were his nephews.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 2:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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