Abishai
A son of Zeruiah, David's sister, and brother of Joab and Asahel — one of the fiercest of David's men. He went down with David into Saul's camp at night and begged to pin the sleeping king to the ground with one thrust of the spear; David refused. He commanded troops against the Ammonites and Edomites, killed the Philistine giant Ishbi-benob when David tired in battle, and offered to take the head of Shimei for cursing the king. David's repeated line to him and his brother was that the sons of Zeruiah were too violent for him.
What we know — and how we know it
Scan by NYPL — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient writersJosephus recounts the exploits of Abishai (Abisai), son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, as one of David's leading warriors. The reference is real but derivative, following the books of Samuel closely.
Where in scripture
1 Samuel2 Samuel1 ChroniclesThen David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?” Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”
1 Samuel 26:6
So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay around him.
1 Samuel 26:7
Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
1 Samuel 26:8 — Would have speared Saul
The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle.
2 Samuel 2:18
But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.
2 Samuel 2:24
So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.
2 Samuel 3:30
The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon.
2 Samuel 10:10
When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 10:14
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
Family
In their own words — 4 recorded sayings
“Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, Who will go down with me to the tents of Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you.” — 1 Samuel 26:6
“Then Abishai said to David, God has given up your hater into your hands today; now let me give him one blow through to the earth with his spear, and there will be no need to give him a second.” — 1 Samuel 26:8
“Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, Is this dead dog to go on cursing my lord the king? let me go over and take off his head.” — 2 Samuel 16:9
“But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said, Is not death the right fate for Shimei, because he has been cursing the one marked by the holy oil?” — 2 Samuel 19:21
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
In art
