Asahel ( he, עשהאל, grc, ‘Ασαέλ, Latin ''Asael'') was a military leader under

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and the youngest son of David's sister

Zeruiah Zeruiah ( sometimes transliterated Tzruya or Zeruya) was a sister of King David. According to both and the Babylonian Talmud, Zeruiah was a daughter of Jesse and sister of Abigail, to whom reference is made in 1 Chronicles () and Samuel 2 (). Zer ...

. Asahel thus was the nephew of David and the younger brother of David's general,

Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - deri ...

, Asahel is mentioned in

2 Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...

chapters 2 and 3.

Name

The name The name means 'made by God. It is made up of two parts: the verb , Hebrew "to do, make" 3rd m.sg. perfect, and the theophorous element (deity name), , the Hebrew God El, or

Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other tim ...

. This would make it a name of "thanksgiving", thanking God for what he has "made" or "done".

History

Asahel was the youngest son of David's sister Zeruiah (; ). According to Josephus ( Antiquaties, VII, 1, 3) his father was called Suri. Asahel's older brothers were Joab and Abishai. He was known for his swiftness of foot: "Asahel was swift of foot, like a gazelle in the open field, or like a wild deer." (cf. ) and was told that if he were running through wheat field, the stalks wouldn't bend. He was put to death by

Abner In the Hebrew Bible, Abner ( he, אַבְנֵר ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner". Biblical narrative Ab ...

, whom he pursued from the battlefield when fighting against Abner at Gibeon, in the army of his brother Joab, (cf. ). He is considered among David's thirty valiant men (cf. ;

1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

). After a battle at Gibeon between

, commanding the army of

Ish-bosheth Ish-bosheth ( he, , translit=ʼĪš-bōšeṯ, "man of shame"), also called Eshbaal (, ; alternatively spelled Ishbaal, "fire of Baal") was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the second monarch of the Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, Sau ...

son of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

and Joab, commanding the army of David, Asahel pursued Abner while he attempted to escape. Young Asahel soon caught up with Abner. Abner begged Asahel to stop pursuing him, but when Asahel refused to desist, Abner thrust the blunt end of a spear through Asahel's stomach, and Asahel died on the spot (cf. ). Although Joab won the battle, Abner escaped with his life; Asahel was buried in his father's tomb at

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

. In retaliation, Joab murdered Abner with help from his brother Abishai, against the wishes of David.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the ...

'', According to , Asahel had a son named Zebadiah, who succeeded him in command of his military division after his death.

References

{{Authority control David's Mighty Warriors Books of Chronicles people