2 Samuel 2:18

18 And the three sons of Zeru'iah were there, Jo'ab, Abi'shai, and As'ahel. Now As'ahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle;

2 Samuel 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:18

And there were three sons of Zeruiah there
In the battle,

Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel;
Joab was the general of the array, Abishai was he who went into Saul's host at night, and took away his spear and cruse of water at his head, ( 1 Samuel 26:6 1 Samuel 26:7 ) ; and it is for the sake of the third, Asahel, that the account is given, the story of his death being about to be told.

And Asahel [was as] light of foot as a wild roe:
swiftness of foot, as well as courage, for which this man was famous, ( 1 Chronicles 11:26 ) ; was a very great qualification for a warrior ^F5. So Achilles, in Homer ^F6, is often said to be swift of foot, and others of his heroes are commended for their swiftness. Harold son of King Canutus, was from his swiftness

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 called Harefoot; as here this man for the same reason is compared to a wild roe, which is a very swift creature, or to one of the roes that were in the field as in the original text. See ( Song of Solomon 2:7 Song of Solomon 2:17 ) ( 8:14 ) ; one sort of which, called "kemas", is said to run as swift as a tempest {h}.

F5 Cornel. Nepos, Epaminond. l. 2.
F6 (podav wkuv) , Iliad. 1. lin. 15.
F7 Rapin's History of England, vol. 1. p. 128.
F8 Aelian. Hist. de Animal, l. 14. c. 14.

2 Samuel 2:18 In-Context

16 And each caught his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent's side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Hel'kath-hazzu'rim, which is at Gibeon.

17 And the battle was very fierce that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

18 And the three sons of Zeru'iah were there, Jo'ab, Abi'shai, and As'ahel. Now As'ahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle;

19 and As'ahel pursued Abner, and as he went he turned neither to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

20 Then Abner looked behind him and said, "Is it you, As'ahel?" And he answered, "It is I."