2 Samuel 23:18

18 Joab's brother Abishai, Zeruiah's son, was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men. He was as famous as the three

2 Samuel 23:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 23:18

And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was
chief among the three
Another triumvirate, of which he was the head:

and he lifted up his spear against three hundred, [and] slew [them];
Josephus ^F5 says six hundred; this seems to confirm the reading of ( 2 Samuel 23:8 ) , that the number eight hundred is right, for if it was only three hundred, Abishai would have been equal to one, even the first, of the former three; which yet is denied him in ( 2 Samuel 23:19 ) :

and had the name among three;
of which he was one; and he had the chief name among them, or was the most famous of them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect. 4.

2 Samuel 23:18 In-Context

16 So the three fighting men burst into the Philistine camp and drew water from the well. They brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out [as an offering] to the LORD and said,

17 "It's unthinkable that I would do this, LORD. This is the blood of men who risked their lives!" So he refused to drink it. These are the things which the three fighting men did.

18 Joab's brother Abishai, Zeruiah's son, was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men. He was as famous as the three

19 and was honored more than they were. So he became their captain, but he didn't become a member of the three.

20 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was from Kabzeel and was a brave man who did many things. He killed two distinguished soldiers from Moab. He also went into a pit and killed a lion on the day it snowed.