1 Chronicles 11:20

1Ch 11:20-21. Lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them — He vanquished them all, and slew a great number of them: it is, however, not said that he slew them all at one time, as it is said of Jashobeam, 1Ch 11:11. He attained not unto the first three — He did not equal them in valiant exploits.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(20) Abishai the brother of Joab.—Heb., Abshai, but in Samuel, Abishai. (Comp. Abram and Abiram.) Samuel adds “son of Zeruiah” after Joab. (Comp. 1Ch_2:16 and 1Ch_18:12; 1Ch_19:11 ff. for other deeds of Abishai.)

He was chief of the three.—Apparently the second triad, one of whose famous exploits has just been related (1Ch_11:15-19). The Hebrew text of Samuel seems to read “knights,” but some MSS., the Hebrew margin, and all the versions, agree with Chronicles.

For lifting up . . .—Literally, and he had bran. dished his spear over three hundred slain. The exploit of Jashobeam (1Ch_11:11).

And had a name among the three.—That is, among the second triad, of which he was captain.

(20-25) Feats of Abishai and Benaiah. (Comp. 2Sa_23:18-23, of which the present passage is little more than a duplicate.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. chief of the three] In 2Sa_23:18 (C’thîb) Abishai is called by the same title (Heb. rôsh hasshâlîshi) as Josheb-basshebeth (ib. 2Sa_23:8). This title probably means chief of the third part [of the army]; cp. 2Sa_23:11, note. Chief of the three is a faulty reading.

for lifting up his spear] R.V. for he lifted up his spear; cp. 1Ch_11:11, note.

had a name among the three] Cp. 1Ch_11:24, where the same thing is said of Benaiah. The three meant are either the three of 1Ch_11:15-19 or else an unknown three; cp. next note.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Abisai. His name is written without the middle i, in all this book. --- Three. Alexandrian Septuagint alone reads, "six." --- He was. Hebrew adds, "not;" evidently mistaking lo, "not," for lo, "ei." See 4 Kings viii. 10. "He lifted up his spear against 300 soldiers, and had a name among Three." (Kennicott)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He slew them; he vanquished them all, and slew a great number of them; though it be not said that he slew them all at one time, as it is said of Jashobeam, above, 1Ch 11:11.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Abishai was chief of the three. It is remarkable that again the name of one of the three is wanting, even if we take Benaiah of ver. 22 for the second.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Abishai

See how you translated this man's name in 1 Chronicles 2:16.

captain over the Three

This means Abishai was the leader of the three who went and got water for David.

three hundred

"300 men" or "300 warriors" (See: Numbers)

He is mentioned along with the Three

This can be stated in active form. AT: "People often mentioned him when they spoke of the Three" (See: Active or Passive)

Of the Three, he was given double honor and became

This can be stated in active form. Possible meanings are 1) that he received double the honor that the Three received. AT: "People gave him twice as much honor as they gave the Three and he became" or 2) the Three honored him more than they honored others. AT: "The Three honored him more than they honored others and he became" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Joab

spear

honor

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And Abshai, the brother of Joab, was the chief of the three of those three who broke through the Philistine camp and drew the water. The reason he does not mention Joab with the chiefs of the mighty men is that it is beneath his dignity to count him with these men, because he was the general of the army, the chief of them all.

and he had a name among the three It was reputed (lit., he had that name) that his heroism equaled all the heroic acts of them all, but it was an error.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.