Asahel

Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel.

²⁶ Now these were the mighty men: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁷ Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,

The fourth, for the fourth month, was Joab’s brother Asahel, and his son Zebadiah was commander after him. There were 24,000 men in his division.

¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

¹⁹ and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit.

²⁰ And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied.

²¹ So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

²² Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?”

²³ But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.

³⁰ When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing,

³¹ but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner.

³² Later, they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.

(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

²⁴ Now these were members of the Thirty: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

²⁵ Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,