2 Samuel 23:18

18 Avishai the brother of Yo'av, the son of Tz'ruyah, was chief of these three. He raised his spear against 300 men and killed them; thus he had a reputation even among 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 The three warrior-heroes broke through the army of the P'lishtim, drew water from the well by the gate of Beit-Lechem, took it and brought it to David. But he wouldn't drink it. Instead, he poured it out to ADONAI

17 and said, "ADONAI! Heaven forbid that I should do such a thing! Am I to drink the blood of men who went and put their lives in jeopardy?"- and he would not consent to drink it. These are the things the three warrior-heroes did.

18 Avishai the brother of Yo'av, the son of Tz'ruyah, was chief of these three. He raised his spear against 300 men and killed them; thus he had a reputation even among the three.

19 He had the most honor of these three and was therefore made their leader; however, he did not achieve the status of the first three

20 B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada, the son of a valiant man of Kavtze'el, was a man of many exploits. He struck down two lion-hearted men of Mo'av. One day when it was snowing, he went down into a pit and killed a lion.