Zeruiah ( sometimes transliterated Tzruya or Zeruya) was a sister of 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 ...
. According to both and the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
, Zeruiah was a daughter of
Jesse and sister of
Abigail
Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later ma ...
, to whom reference is made in
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 ...
() and
Samuel 2 (). Zeruiah had three sons,
Abishai,
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 - de ...
, and
Asahel
Asahel ( he, עשהאל, grc, ‘Ασαέλ, Latin ''Asael'') was a military leader under King David and the youngest son of David's sister Zeruiah. Asahel thus was the nephew of David and the younger brother of David's general, Joab, Asahel is ...
, David's nephews, all of whom were soldiers in David's army.
[Shalev, Z. (2006). Literary protagonists read the bible. Hebrew Studies, 389-393.]
Very little is told of her. Nothing is told about her having a relationship with her brother
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 ...
. However, her sons are invariably mentioned with the matronymic "son of Zeruiah", in marked contrast to most other Biblical characters (and people in many other cultures) who are known by a patronymic. This suggests that she was an exceptionally important person, though the specific circumstances are not given.
Her name is used, though not very frequently, as a female
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...
in
modern Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
(see
Tzruya Lahav
Tzruya (or Tsruya) "Suki" Lahav ( he, צרויה להב, born 1951) is an Israeli violinist, vocalist, actress, lyricist, screenwriter, and novelist. Lahav was a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band from September 1974 to March 1975, th ...
,
Zeruya Shalev
Zeruya Shalev ( he, צרויה שלו, born 13 May 1959) is a bestselling Israeli author.
Biography
Zeruya Shalev was born on Kibbutz Kinneret. She has an MA in Bible studies and works as a literary editor at Keshet publishing house. On 29 Ja ...
).
References
Books of Samuel people
Books of Chronicles people
People associated with David
Judaism and women
Women in the Hebrew Bible
Tribe of Judah
{{Hebrew-Bible-stub