2 Samuel 23:18

And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Abishai	וַאֲבִישַׁ֞י va.'a.vi.Shai	H52	Abishai · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
brother	אֲחִ֣י 'a.Chi	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct
Joab	יוֹאָ֣ב yo.'Av	H3097	Joab · proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Zeruiah	צְרוּיָ֗ה tze.ru.Yah	H6870	Tserujah · proper noun, a woman's name
chief	רֹ֣אשׁ rosh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct
three	שְׁלִישִׁי shᵉlîyshîy	H7992	third
up	עוֹרֵ֣ר o.Rer	H5782	to wake (literally or figuratively) · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
spear	חֲנִית֔וֹ cha.ni.To	H2595	a lance (for thrusting · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
three	הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֔ה ha.she.lo.shi	H7969	three · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
hundred	מֵא֖וֹת me.'ot	H3967	a hundred · noun, common feminine plural absolute
slew	חָלָ֑ל cha.Lal	H2491	pierced (especially to death) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
name	שֵׁ֖ם shem	H8034	an appellation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
three	שְׁלֹ֥שׁ she.Losh	H7969	three · noun, common both genders singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Samuel 10:10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.
2 Samuel 10:14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab return…
2 Samuel 18:2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’…
1 Chronicles 11:20-21 And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name amo…
1 Samuel 26:6-8 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me…
2 Samuel 2:18 And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.
2 Samuel 3:30 So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
2 Samuel 20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the grou…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 23:16

Poured it out unto the Lord - To make libations, both of water and wine, was a frequent custom among the heathens. We have an almost similar account in Arrian's Life of Alexander: "When his army was greatly oppressed with heat and thirst, a soldier brought him a cup of water; he ordered it to be carried back, saying, I cannot bear to drink alone while so many are in want, and this cup is too small to be divided among the whole." Tunc poculo pleno sicut oblatum est reddito: Non solus, inquit, bibere sustineo, nec tam exiguum dividere omnibus possum. - Arrian, lib. vi. The example was noble in both cases, but David added piety to bravery; he poured it out unto the Lord.

John Gill on 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 (e) 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. (e) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect. 4.

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 23:8–end

The following list of David's heroes we also find in 1 Chron 11:10-47, and expanded at the end by sixteen names (Ch1 11:41-47), and attached in Ch1 11:10 to the account of the conquest of the fortress of Zion by the introduction of a special heading. According to this heading, the heroes named assisted David greatly in his kingdom, along with all Israel, to make him king, from which it is evident that the chronicler intended by this heading to justify his appending the list to the account of the election of David as king over all the tribes of Israel (Ch1 11:1), and of the conquest of Zion, which followed immediately afterwards. In every other respect the two lists agree with one another, ex…

Read the whole note in the console

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Dictionary and topics

Abishai — Father of (i.e., “desirous of”) a gift, the eldest son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He was the brother of Joab and Asahel (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr. 2:16). Abishai was the only one who accompanied David…
Abishai, Or Abishai — (father of a gift), The eldest of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and brother to Joab and Asahel. (1 Chronicles 2:16) Like his two brothers he was the devoted follower of David. He was his…
Arms, Armor — The subject naturally divides itself into— I. Offensive weapons: Arms. II. Defensive weapons: Armor. I. Offensive weapons.—
Giants — (1.) Heb. nephilim, meaning “violent” or “causing to fall” (Gen. 6:4). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying…
Abishai · One of David’s chief men — One of David’s chief men
Spear · An offensive weapon — An offensive weapon

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 23:16

John Gill on 2 Samuel 23:18

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 23:8–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 23:16

John Gill on 2 Samuel 23:18

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 23:8–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on 2 Samuel 23:17