Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ASAHEL

(Heb. ʿăśâʾēl)

1. One of the sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He and his brothers, Joab and Abishai, were among David’s retainers from his period of exile from the court of Saul. Although Joab and Abishai served long tenures as commanders in David’s army, Asahel was killed during the extended war between the house of David and the house of Saul (2 Sam. 2:18-32).

Despite his early death, Asahel is included in the list of David’s šālîšîm (2 Sam. 23:24 = 1 Chr. 11:26), an elite corps of warriors who may have fought in squads of three. Asahel’s inclusion here suggests that the list of these warriors goes back to the inception of David’s monarchy. His presence here further implies that the list is cumulative over time, a fact that strengthens the likelihood that the reference here is to the šālîšîm, not to the šĕlôšîm (the “Thirty”). The presence of Asahel’s name in the list of David’s commanders of monthly levies of 24 thousand men each (1 Chr. 27:7) provides evidence that this list is a later, idealized construct.

2. One of a group of six Levites sent by King Jehoshaphat into the villages of Judah to teach the Book of the Law (2 Chr. 17:7-8).

3. A Levite who assisted in collecting tithes and devoted offerings in the temple during Hezekiah’s centralization of the cultus (2 Chr. 31:11-13).

4. The father of Jonathan, one of the exiles at the time of Ezra. This Jonathan, along with Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah, stood against Ezra’s efforts to have the exiles put away their foreign wives and children (Ezra 10:15).

5. A son of Ezora, who dismissed his foreign wife following Ezra’s action (1 Esdr. 9:34).

Donald G. Schley

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ASAHEL

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)