Sa mu el 280 Gibeon and they must have really been tired ; while Joab’s troops traveled a shorter and easier distance from Hebron to Gibeon and were presumably less tired . The narrator describes that the war was very hard and Abner and the people of Israel are defeated by David’s servants ( v . 17 ) . Then the narrator moves to an explanatory remark that opens a very significant event : “And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel” ( v . 18 a ) . Now the narrator moves his focus to the latter describing him metaphorically “as light of foot as a gazelle in the open field” ( v . 18 b ) . At the first reading, the reader may think that the nar - rator praises Asahel, and wants to describe his heroic achievement . Indeed, after the exposition, the main dramatic scene begins with a depiction of Asahel’s perseverance in his pursuit of Abner, of which the reader continues to admire him in picking up the challengeable target—the rival chief commander Abner . To b...
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