seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Chronicles 11:20 Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. He raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed, and so he became as famous as the Three. 21 He was doubly honored above the Three and became their commander, even though he was not included among them.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 23 And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits[d] tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 25 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 23 And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits[d] tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty warriors. 25 He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
d. 1 Chronicles 11:23 That is, about 7 feet 6 inches or about 2.3 meters
When I was reading this... "kilt him a bear" kept popping into the back of my mind. Heroes!
This is from the easy English site.
Abishai was as famous as the three famous soldiers were. But he was not one of the three. The translation of the numbers in these verses is not certain. Some Bibles have three rather than 30. If they are correct, then there was a second group of three soldiers. And Abishai was the leader of the second three. But 2 Samuel 23:18 says that Abishai was chief of the 30.
Benaiah came from Kabzeel, a town in the south of Judah. He was a very brave soldier but here there are just three of his deeds. He killed two of the strongest soldiers from the army of Moab. Then he killed a lion. And he killed the giant Egyptian. This man was 5 cubits tall (about 7 foot 6 inches or 233 centimetres) and he had a very large spear. But Benaiah overcame him.
Benaiah did not become one of the three special soldiers. But David chose him to lead his own guards. When Solomon became king, he made Benaiah the leader of his army (1 Kings 4:4).
Benaiah came from Kabzeel, a town in the south of Judah. He was a very brave soldier but here there are just three of his deeds. He killed two of the strongest soldiers from the army of Moab. Then he killed a lion. And he killed the giant Egyptian. This man was 5 cubits tall (about 7 foot 6 inches or 233 centimetres) and he had a very large spear. But Benaiah overcame him.
Benaiah did not become one of the three special soldiers. But David chose him to lead his own guards. When Solomon became king, he made Benaiah the leader of his army (1 Kings 4:4).
In the previous verses... the commentaries discussed three famous men. They were.... Jashobeam, Eleazar and Shammah. Here, the commentary says that Abishai was a famous as those three. The Bible says that Abishai "held his sword up" to either 30 or 300. Whether it was 30 men or an army of 300.... he didn't run and hide.... he took them on..... now that's pretty courageous if you ask me.... I would probably run from one man with a sword.... let alone 30.... and he stood his ground.
Fact is... according to a search, Abishai was David's nephew.... so Abishai had huge shoes to try on..... I mean almost everyone [but Saul] loved David.... Maybe taking on 30 men [or standing in battle against 300] was not only a testament to Abishai's bravery.... maybe it's a comparison to the fighting prowess in comparison to uncle David.
Now this other guy.... Benaiah.... he reminds me [as hinted] of Davy Crockett! I can't imagine why anyone would crawl down in a pit and take on a lion. Then again.... if a lion was plaguing the neighborhood, eating little kids like the crocodiles at the park outside of Disney.... the people might have dug a pit to capture the lion. If that's the case.... then crawling into that pit to kill the lion... well it might have been an act of stupidity.... but it was indeed a sign that Benaiah was willing to fight until the enemy [or danger] was ended.
These are two men who should have made the top list.... but maybe David didn't want to make a target out of his nephew. I know it seems like everyone loved David.... but I'm pretty sure he had more enemies than Saul. I'm pretty sure there were plenty of people who would have been happy to use David's own nephew as bait.
Sometimes humans have to be brave to survive. Most of the time... there's no one to notice just how brave some humans are.
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