2 Samuel 2:18
in 2 Samuel 2The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
KJV
And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd 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, 1Sa 26:6; 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.
This site's exposition
light of foot as a wild roe
on 2 Samuel 2:18-19
Three sons of Zeruiah are named among David's men, Joab, Abishai and Asahel, and Asahel alone is singled out as light of foot as a wild roe. He fixes on Abner in the rout and will not turn aside to the right hand or the left, pursuit becoming the whole of his attention. The same speed that lets him catch a fleeing general carries him past every warning the following verses will give him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
); this he got the name of by swift pursuing, not swift flying. Yet, we may suppose, he was not comparable to Abner as a skilful experienced soldier; we must therefore observe, I. How rash he was in aiming to make Abner his prisoner.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe - To be swift of foot was deemed a great accomplishment in the heroes of antiquity; ποδας ωκυς Αχιλλευς, the swift-footed Achilles, is an epithet which Homer gives to that hero no less than thirty times in the course of the Ilias. It has a qualification also among the Roman soldiers; they were taught both to run swiftly, and to swim well.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽהְיוּ־ | vaiyihyu- | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֗ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ | sheloshah | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צְרוּיָ֔ה | tzeruyah | Zeruiah | H6870 → | 26 times |
| יוֹאָ֥ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| וַאֲבִישַׁ֖י | vaavishai | and Abishai | H52 → | 25 times |
| וַעֲשָׂהאֵ֑ל | vaasahel | and Asahel | H6214 → | 24 times |
| וַעֲשָׂהאֵל֙ | vaasahel | and Asahel | H6214 → | 24 times |
| קַ֣ל | kal | [was] swift | H7031 → | |
| בְּרַגְלָ֔יו | beraglav | on feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| כְּאַחַ֥ד | keachad | like one of | H259 → | 971 times |
| הַצְּבָיִ֖ם | hatzevayim | the gazelles | H6643 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | basadeh | [are] in the open country | H7704 → | 334 times |
וַיִּֽהְיוּ־and they were
vaiyihyu-H1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֗םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
שְׁלֹשָׁה֙three
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
צְרוּיָ֔הZeruiah
tzeruyahH6870 →26 times
יוֹאָ֥בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
וַאֲבִישַׁ֖יand Abishai
vaavishaiH52 →25 times
וַעֲשָׂהאֵ֑לand Asahel
vaasahelH6214 →24 times
וַעֲשָׂהאֵל֙and Asahel
vaasahelH6214 →24 times
קַ֣ל[was] swift
kalH7031 →
בְּרַגְלָ֔יוon feet his
beraglavH7272 →247 times
כְּאַחַ֥דlike one of
keachadH259 →971 times
הַצְּבָיִ֖םthe gazelles
hatzevayimH6643 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃[are] in the open country
basadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Habakkuk 3:19GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 22:34
He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- Deuteronomy 32:13
He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 18:33
He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- 2 Samuel 22:34
Through
Psalms 18:33He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 3:19
GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
- Habakkuk 3:19
Through
Song of Solomon 2:17Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 4:6
Before the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense.
- Song of Solomon 4:6
Through
Song of Solomon 8:14Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 2:17
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
- Song of Solomon 2:17
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.