Asahel

Biblical Record

Asahel was one of the three sons of Zeruiah, the sister of David, and a brother of Joab and Abishai (1 Chronicles 2:16). His Hebrew name is understood to mean "God has made."

After the death of Saul, David reigned over Judah at Hebron, while Abner, the commander of Saul's army, made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king. The two forces clashed by the pool of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2). Asahel is described as "light of foot as a wild roe" (2 Samuel 2:18). When Abner fled in defeat, Asahel singled him out and pursued him. Abner twice warned him to turn aside after someone else, saying that if he killed Asahel he could not face Joab, Asahel's brother. When Asahel still refused to turn back, Abner struck him in the belly with the butt end of his spear; the spear came out through his back, and Asahel died on the spot (2 Samuel 2:19–23). He was buried in his father's tomb in Bethlehem (2 Samuel 2:32).

Later, when Abner came to make peace with David, Joab killed him at the gate of Hebron. Scripture states that he did so "for the blood of Asahel his brother" (2 Samuel 3:27; 3:30). David declared himself innocent of the deed and mourned for Abner (2 Samuel 3:28–39).

Asahel is also named in the list of David's "thirty" mighty men (2 Samuel 23:24; 1 Chronicles 11:26). In 1 Chronicles 27:7 he appears as the commander of the army division for the fourth month, and the text records that his son Zebadiah succeeded him.

The Old Testament also mentions other men of the same name: a Levite who taught the law in the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17:8), a man who oversaw the temple offerings in the reign of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:13), and the father of Jonathan in the time of Ezra (Ezra 10:15).

Significance Within Scripture

Asahel's death is one episode in the civil war between the house of Saul and the house of David. It gave Joab his motive for murdering Abner and thus marks the beginning of a cycle of blood vengeance in the early years of David's kingdom. David's deathbed charge to Solomon concerning Joab (1 Kings 2:5) is connected to this sequence of events. Asahel is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Issues

• Whether Joab's vengeance was justified: Abner killed Asahel in the course of battle, and only after repeated warnings. Many commentators therefore regard Joab's killing of Abner not as legitimate blood vengeance but as the product of a personal grudge or of rivalry over military command. Some interpreters further stress the injustice of the killing by noting that Hebron was one of the cities of refuge (Joshua 20:7).
• The chronological problem in 1 Chronicles 27: Asahel died before David became king over all Israel, yet 1 Chronicles 27:7 lists him among the commanders who took charge of the army in monthly rotation. Several explanations have been proposed: that the division bore his name, that the list reflects positions from an earlier period, or that the actual command was exercised by his son Zebadiah.
• The text gives no specific description of Asahel's character or age. The common reference to his "youthful zeal" is an interpretation inferred from the circumstances of the narrative.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, Asahel's refusal to turn back despite repeated warnings is sometimes used to draw lessons such as the following:

• A caution against zeal without wisdom, or against overconfidence in one's own abilities
• A lesson on grudges and forgiveness, drawn from the chain of vengeance that began with his death

He is rarely treated as a subject in his own right in Sunday school lessons or in hymns and worship songs.