References (14)
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Avishai, and Asahel. And Asahel was as light (agile, swift) on his feet as a gazelle in the field.
And Asahel pursued Avner, and he did not turn to the right or to the left, but followed Avner.
Then Avner turned around and asked, "Is that you, Asahel?" And he replied, "It is I."
And Avner said to him, "Turn to the right or to the left and stay behind one of the young men and take his armor." But Asahel did not stop (turn away from) following him.
And once again Avner said to Asahel, "Turn away from following me, why should I strike you to the ground? How then shall I show my face to your brother Joab?"
But he refused to turn aside, and Avner struck him in the belly (at the fifth rib) with the tip of his spear, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell there and died on the spot. And it came to pass that those who came to the place where Asahel fell and died stood still.
When Joab returned from pursuing Abner and gathered all the people, 19 men of David's servants were missing, besides Asahel.
They took up Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men walked all night, and dawn met them in Hebron.
And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate to speak with him in secret, and there he struck him in the groin so that he died, for the blood of Asahel, his brother.
And Joab and Avishai, his brother, struck Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
[This list enumerates at least 30 people, depending on how the individuals in verses 32-33 are to be presented. The enumeration begins and ends with individuals who died on the battlefield. The inclusion of these fallen heroes indicates that the number of "the 30" varied during different periods of David's reign.]
Asahel, Joab's brother,
was one of the 30.
Elchanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem,
Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. [David also has a wife by the same name, see ] Zeruiah's sons were Avishai, Joab, and Asahel—three in all.
The brave heroes were:
Asahel, Joab's brother,
Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem,
The fourth, who served during the fourth month [Tamuz – June/July], was Asahel, the brother of Joab, and after him his son Zebadiah. In his division there were 24,000.
