Bible Strands
2 Samuel 2:32
And 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — After the clash at Gibeon, Joab’s men retrieve Asahel’s corpse, inter it in his family tomb in Bethlehem, and then march through the night to arrive in Hebron at dawn.
The words — The Hebrew וַיִּשְׂאוּ (va.yis'u) literally means "and they lifted up [the body]," denoting the physical handling of the dead for burial.
The thread — The burial location recalls David’s Bethlehem lineage (1 Samuel 17:58; 1 Chronicles 2:13) and positions Hebron as the immediate destination for the northern tribal leadership (2 Samuel 5:1).
Why it lands — The account records military aftermath as a sequence of bodily recovery, family burial, and nocturnal relocation, requiring the reader to track how political transition proceeds through concrete logistical steps.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth–lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 17:58 “Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.
- 2 Samuel 5:1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- 1 Chronicles 2:13 Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third,
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
- 2 Chronicles 21:1 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And his son Jehoram reigned in his place.
- Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.