er, lest
he should force him to kill him, and he should then not be able to
look his brother in the face: but when Asahel would not admit of any
persuasions, but still continued to pursue him, Abner smote him with his
spear, as he held it in his flight, and that by a back-stroke, and gave
him a deadly wound, so that he died immediately; but those that were
with him pursuing Abner, when they came to the place where Asahel lay,
they stood round about the dead body, and left off the pursuit of the
enemy. However, both Joab [1] himself, and his brother Abishai, ran
past the dead corpse, and making their anger at the death of Asahel an
occasion of greater zeal against Abner, they went on with incredible
haste and alacrity, and pursued Abner to a certain place called Ammah:
it was about sun-set. Then did Joab ascend a certain hill, as he stood
at that place, having the tribe of Benjamin with him, whence he took a
view of them, and of Abner also. Hereupon Abner cried aloud, and said
that it was not fit that they should irritate men of the same nation to
fight so bitterly one against another; that as for Asahel his brother,
he was himself in the wrong, when he would not be advised by him not
to pursue him any farther, which was the occasion of his wounding and
death. So Joab consented to what he said, and accepted these his words
as an excuse [about Asahel], and called the soldiers back with the sound
of the trumpet, as a signal for their retreat, and thereby put a stop to
any further pursuit. After which Joab pitched his camp there that night;
but Abner marched all that night, and passed over the river Jordan,
and came to Ishbosheth, Saul's son, to Mahanaim. On the next day Joab
counted the dead men, and took care of all their funerals. Now there
were slain of Abner's soldiers about three hundred and sixty; but of
those of David nineteen, and Asahel, whose body Joab and Abishai carried
to Bethlehem; and when they had buried him in the sepulcher of their
fathers, they came to David to Hebron. From this time therefore there
began an intestine war, which lasted a great while, in which the
followers of David grew stronger in the dangers they underwent, and the
servants and subjects of Saul's sons did almost every day become weaker.

4. About this time David was become the father of six sons, born of as
many mothers. The eldest was by Ahinoam, and he was called Arenon;
the second was Daniel, by his wife Abigail; the name of the thir