Person Old Testament
Asahel
Asahel, son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, was a fast runner killed by Abner during a battle (2Sam 2; 3:27, 30; 23:24; 1Ch.2.16; 11:26; 27:7). Mentioned in 14 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Samuel 2:18.
Why it matters. Son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, killed by Abner
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Asahel
Asahel was the youngest son of Zeruiah, David's sister, and the brother of Joab and Abishai. He was known for his speed and agility, being described as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. During the battle between the forces of David and Ish-Bosheth at Gibeon, Asahel pursued Abner, the commander of Ish-Bosheth's army. Despite Abner's warnings to turn aside, Asahel refused, and Abner killed him with the butt of his spear. Joab and Abishai later avenged their brother's death by murdering Abner when he came to support David. Asahel was one of David's mighty men and was placed in charge of a division in David's army.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 14 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.