And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.
Asahel pursued after Abner. To gain the general's armour was deemed the grandest trophy. Asahel, ambitious of securing Abner's, had outstripped all other pursuers, and was fast making on the retreating commander, who, conscious of possessing more physical power, and unwilling that there should be "blood" between himself and Joab, Asahel's brother, twice urged him to desist. The impetuous young soldier being deaf to the generous remonstrance, the veteran raised the pointed butt of his lance, as the modern Arabs do when pursued, and with a sudden back-thrust transfixed him on the spot, so that he fell, and lay weltering in his blood. But Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit by another route until sunset. On reaching a rising ground, and receiving a fresh reinforcement of some Benjamites, Abner rallied his scattered troops, and earnestly appealed to Joab's better feelings to stop the further effusion of bloodshed, which, if continued, would lead to more serious consequences-a destructive civil war. Joab, while upbraiding his opponent as the sole cause of the fray, felt the force of the appeal, and led off his men; while Abner, probably dreading a renewal of the attack when Joab should learn his brother's fate, and vow fierce revenge, endeavoured, by a forced march, to cross the Jordan that night. On David's side the loss was only 19 men, besides Asahel; but of Ish-bosheth's party there fell 360. This skirmish is exactly similar to the battles of the Homeric warriors, among whom, in the flight of one, the pursuit by another, and the dialogue held between them, there is vividly represented the style of ancient warfare.