2 SAMUEL 2:23 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 2
“Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.”
However, Asahel would not turn aside — The repetition ('would not turn aside,' וַיְמָאֵן לָסוּר, vaymāʾēn lāsûr) emphasizes Asahel's fatal stubbornness. The consequence is inevitable: 'Abner struck him in the belly with the butt of his spear' (וַיַּכְהוּ אַבְנֵר בְשׁוֹקֵת הַחֲנִית בַּחֹחַ, vayyakhûhu 'abnēr bəšôqêṯ haḥănîṯ baḥōḥaḥ), the spear piercing clean through. Asahel 'died on the spot' (וַיִּפֹּל־שָׁם, vayyippōl-šām)—the swift young commander falls on the field. This death marks the personal wound Joab will carry: his youngest brother killed by Abner. The covenant logic is complete: Abner warned, Asahel refused, death followed.
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