Might Men: The Three
The Three are named[4] Ishbaal the Tahkemonite (“thou will make me wise”), Eleazar (“God has helped”) son of Dodo (“his beloved”) the Ahohite (“brother of rest”), and Shammah son of Agee the Hararite.
The life these men led while following David in the wilderness would have been austere, desperate, and dangerous. A strong bond, not to mention unbreakable loyalty, must have developed between David and these warriors. It is also during these times that these men would have honed their skills and developed their prowess. The three held impressive resumes. Josheb-Basshebeth (Ishbaal) was responsible for the death of 800 men at one time per II Samuel 23:8 (I Chronicles 11:11 lists that number as 300). — Skilled, strength.
Eleazar, at one point, held off the Philistines even though the Israelites had retreated, until “his hand stuck to the sword.” Eleazar is described as standing his ground against the Philistines at Pas Dammim when the rest of the Hebrews ran away and as successfully defeated them. — Disciplined and steadfastness.
Shammah defended a field of barley (or lentils), possibly with the help of the other two, and prevailed against the Philistines. Shammah is described as having stood his ground when the Philistines attacked a “field of ripe lentils” despite the rest of his associates dispersing and as having defeated the attackers. — Willing & Tough, Courage.
The text in II Samuel 23:21, describes his prowess in disarming a giant Egyptian and then killing him with his own weapon. Benaiah’s crowing achievements would be commanding David’s guard, and later commanding the entire army under Solomon.
They were superb warriors who acted as bodyguards for their officers and learned to skillfully fight in concert with the ones they were sworn to protect. We know Joab was a skilled fighter, and as commander of David’s army, he would have required his armorbearer to be an elite warrior.
The interaction between David and Uriah in II Samuel 11 gives us a hint into the character of these warriors. Uriah shows an unbreakable allegiance to the men he is fighting with but also shows genuine concern for the state of the Ark of the Covenant. The importance he places on the ark, a symbol of God’s presence in Israel, hints that he had left his own religion and his gods and adopted the God of Israel as his own.
