The Battle of Gibeon
The two forces meet at the pool of Gibeon, and Abner proposes a contest between young men that collapses into a wider battle. What begins almost ceremonially ends in a hard defeat for Abner’s side.
O12ne day Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13So Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool. 14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” 15So they got up and were counted off — twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponent’s side, and they all fell together. So this place, which is in Gibeon, is called Helkath-hazzurim. 17The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
Asahel, swift and determined, fixes on Abner and refuses repeated warnings to turn aside. Abner finally kills him with the butt of his spear, and the pursuit stops in shock around his body.
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle, 19and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit. 20And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” 21So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” 22Once again, Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I show my face to your brother Joab?” 23But Asahel refused to turn away. So Abner thrust the butt of his spear into his stomach, and it came out his back, and he fell dead on the spot. And every man paused when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
Joab and Abishai pursue Abner until Abner gathers the Benjamites and calls for an end to fighting between brothers. Joab agrees, sounds the horn, and the chase gives way to withdrawal through the night.
24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. By sunset, they had gone as far as the hill of Ammah opposite Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25The Benjamites rallied to Abner, formed a single unit, and took their stand atop a hill. 26Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?” 27“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.” 28So Joab blew the ram’s horn, and all the troops stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or continued to fight. 29And all that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.
Joab gathers the troops, counts the losses, and the chapter records David’s much smaller losses against Abner’s heavy dead. Asahel is buried in Bethlehem, and Joab’s men return to Hebron by daybreak.
30When Joab returned from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. 31In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, but they had struck down 360 Benjamites who were with Abner. 32And they took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.