Zeruiah
Mother of Abishai (called so from Ishai = Jesse), Joab, and Asahel, "the sons of Zeruiah"; sister of Abigail and of the sons of Jesse (1Ch 2:13-17). The father of her three sons is nowhere mentioned, because their more famous mother challenged the greater attention. Josephus preserves a tradition that he was named Souri (Ant. 7:1, Section 3). Nahash was father of Zeruiah and Abigail. (See NAHASH) At his death their mother married Jesse, by whom she bore David (2Sa 17:25; 1Ch 2:16).
Therefore Zeruiah and Abigail are called "David's (half) sisters," but not Jesse's daughters.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Zeruiah
Zeruiah ze-roo-i'-a, ze-roo'-ya (tseruyah, tseruyah (2Sa 14:1; 16:10), meaning uncertain; Sarouia): In 2 Sam 2:18; 17:25; 1Ch 2:16, and elsewhere where the names Joab, Abishai, occur. According to 1Ch 2:16 a sister of David and mother of Joab, Abishai and Asahel, the two former being always referred to as sons of Zeruiah. This latter fact is explained by some as pointing to a type of marriage by which the children belonged to their mother's clan (compare Abimelech, Jg 8:31; 9:1 ff); by others as being due to her husband's early death; and again as a proof of the mother in this case being the stronger personality. Either of the last two reasons may be the correct one, and plenty of parallels from the village names of boys today can be produced to illustrate both explanations. According to 2Sa 2:32, her husband was buried at Bethlehem. In 2 Sam 17:25, "Abigal the daughter of Nahash" is said to be her sister. ⇒See a list of verses on ZERUIAH in the Bible. See ABIGAIL. David Francis Roberts ⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Zeruiah
The mother of David's officers, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. Her husband's name is never mentioned, and the three heroes are always referred to as ' the sons of Zeruiah ' (once in 1 Sam,, 13 times in 2 Sam,, 3 limes in 1 Kings, and 7 times in 1 Chronicles), This fact may simply imply that Zeruiah's hiLsband died early and w,is forgotten ; or it may signify that the mother of these famous men was herself so remarkable a woman that her husband's name was comparatively unworthy of preservation ; or it may be an interest- ing relic of the ancient custom of tracing kinship through the female line. In the genealogy given in 1 Ch 2, Zeruiah and Abigail aro mentioned as sisters of the sons of .Jesse (2''M. The e.vpi-ession seems to imply that they were not daughters of Jesse, and in 2 S 17" one of the two, Abigail, is called the dangliter of Nahash, On this pas8.igo Stanley bases tlie conjecture that •lesso's wife was the mother of ZeVuiah and Abigail by a pre- vious marriage with Nahash, king of the Ammonites; l)ut Buddo prefers to emend irni into 't*' (Jesse). 8ee Nahash, J, STIiACHAN, ZETHA…
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Zeruiah
(balsam), the mother of the three leading heroes of David’s army—Abishai, Joah and Asahel— known as the “sons of Zeruiah.” Of Zeruiah’s husband there is no mention in the Bible. (B.C. before 1046.)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia