= 1 Chronicles 12 * Please see [[nsv:license|License]] for Copyright notice and Licensing information. * [ [[1_Chronicles_11|Previous]] | [[1_Chronicles_13|Next]] ] == 1 Chronicles 12 1 Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war. 2 They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin. 3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite. 4 And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite, 5 Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite, 6 Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites, 7 And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. 8 And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; 9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, 10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, 11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh. 14 These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. 15 These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. 16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. 17 And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. 18 Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band. 19 And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads. 20 As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh. 21 And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valour, and were captains in the host. 22 For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God. 23 And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the Lord. 24 The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war. 25 Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valour for the war, seven thousand and one hundred. 26 Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred. 27 And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred; 28 And Zadok, a young man mighty of valour, and of his father's house twenty and two captains. 29 And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul. 30 And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valour, famous throughout the house of their fathers. 31 And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, which were expressed by name, to come and make David king. 32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. 33 Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart. 34 And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand. 35 And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. 36 And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. 37 And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, an hundred and twenty thousand. 38 All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. 39 And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them. 40 Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel. == Notes == Cross Reference == Concordance == Commentary == Rashi ==== Verse 1 when he was still hiding - Heb. עָצוּר, hiding. ==== Verse 2 Armed with bows armed with a bow and with arrows and shooting in front of them and behind them. And they would even place stones on the bowstring and shoot. I personally saw many like these. of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin Since they were all descended from one man, from Benjamin, they are all called brethren, and in honor of David’s greatness, the Chronicler says, “of Saul’s brethren,” [saying] that even Saul’s brethren came to him while Saul was still living. ==== Verse 4 and over the thirty the chief of the thirty. ==== Verse 9 to the stronghold of the desert to the strongholds of the desert where he hid from Saul, as it is written (I Sam. 23:24): “And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul, and David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the plain,” and it is written (ibid. 24:1): “And David went up from there, and he stayed in the strongholds of En-Gedi.” and whose faces were [like] the faces of lions Their faces were frightful like lions. and as swift as gazelles on the mountains They were swift in their running, for it is customary for gazelles to run on the mountains when people hunt them. ==== Verse 15 these were some of the sons of Gad as is written above (v. 8): “And some of the Gadites separated to David.” the smallest one a hundred The smallest of them could pursue a hundred. and the greatest a thousand And the greatest of them could pursue a thousand. This is an actualization of the verse (Lev. 26:8): “Five of you will pursue one hundred, and one hundred of you, etc.” ==== Verse 16 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month in Nissan, when the snows had already melted. and they put all the valley-dwellers to flight to the east and to the west They crossed the Jordan and with their shields split all the depths of the water to the east and to the west and crossed on dry land. Some say that ויַּבְרִיחוּ אֶת כָּל הָעֲמָקִִים refers to the people dwelling in the valleys. ==== Verse 17 And there came some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah up to the stronghold, to David to the stronghold where David was hiding from Saul. And they took David’s sister’s son with them, because the sons of Benjamin were concerned that David might think that the sons of Benjamin had come to bind him and deliver him into Saul’s hands. Therefore, they took Amasa with them to David, and also some of David’s kinsmen from the rest of Judah, as it is written, “some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah,” in order that David would see that they came with them in good faith, so that he should not suspect them of anything. ==== Verse 18 And David came out before them from the stronghold. my heart will be upon you as one My heart and your heart will be like one heart. but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries although there is no injustice in my hands for what have I done to Saul that he is stalking my soul to take it for nothing? ==== Verse 19 And a spirit enwrapped Amasai - Heb. רוּחַ, talent, a will or desire, not a spirit of prophecy; i.e., this desire and will enwrapped him so that he sprang first to speak before the sons of Benjamin and Judah who came with him. A similar instance is (Jud. 11:29): “And a spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah” and he said: To you, David You say, “Have you come to me in peace?” We have surely come to you in peace. and with you, O son of Jesse We wish to be with you and at your assistance. peace, peace to you and peace to your helper And you ask me to help you? We have surely come to help you, but you need not thank us because it is from the Lord, and that is the meaning of “for your God has helped you.” and David received them those sons of Benjamin and placed them at the head of his troop. ==== Verse 20 And from Manasseh there defected to David to help him. when he came with the Philistines against Saul in battle in that war in which Saul was slain. but they did not help them God forbid that they helped the Philistines, but with a counsel the chiefs of the Philistines sent him away. The chiefs of the Philistines took counsel to send him home because they said, “With our heads he will defect to his master,” an expression similar to “defected to David” ==== Verse 22 against the troop of Amalekites when his wives were captured; it was at that time, for when he went to Ziklag when the chiefs of the Philistines sent him away and he came to Ziklag, they had already been captured. ==== Verse 23 For from day to day [men] came to David to help him The meaning is: What is the purpose of continuing to recount who came to him? The final analysis is that at all times people were coming to David. until it became a huge camp, like the camp of God The meaning is that David’s camp should not have been so large, but from God the camp was so large, because they came to him by the counsel of God. And that is the meaning of “like the camp of God.” A similar instance of this is (Gen. 32: 2): “the camp of God” of Jacob. We can also say that because of the magnitude of his armies, it was called “the camp of God.” ==== Verse 24 to turn Saul’s kingdom to him from Saul’s sons. A similar instance is (I Kings 2:15): “...but the kingdom turned about.” ==== Verse 25 The sons of Judah, bearing shield and spear, six thousand and eight hundred Do not wonder that the smallest number of all the [people from] the tribes that came to him were from Judah, because it was not necessary for anyone to come to him from Judah to crown him since the sons of Judah had already crowned him in Hebron. But the remaining tribes, who had been with Saul’s sons until now - had to come to Hebron to crown him. armed men of the army - Heb. חֲלוּצֵי צָבָא, those taken out of the people, and a similar case is found in חֲלוּצֵי צָבָא, of the Portion מַטּוֹת. Some say that חֲלוּצִים means armed, like רְצֵה וְהַחֲלִיצֵנוּ: be pleased and strengthen us. ==== Verse 28 And Jehoiada was the ruler of Aaron He is the father of Benaiah. the ruler of Aaron who would lead them out and bring them in. three thousand and seven hundred all of them were descendants of Aaron the Priest, and Jehoiada, who was in the time of Joash, was the son of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. ==== Verse 29 And Zadok was a youth Therefore, do not wonder that he was not the ruler. and his father’s house had twenty-two officers This is a great honor; therefore, they took the high priesthood from Ebiathar and gave it to Zadok the Priest. ==== Verse 30 And of the sons of Benjamin, Saul’s brethren, etc. Do not wonder that only three thousand came to him, because “heretofore their majority kept the watch of the house of Saul,” to help them. ==== Verse 33 those who had an understanding of the times They knew how to give counsel appropriate to the incident; David had to take counsel on how to strengthen the kingdom against the sons of Saul. their chiefs were two hundred besides the rest. and all their brethren obeyed their word on their counsel. ==== Verse 34 wage war וְלַעֲדר, an expression of digging, like (Isa. 7:25): “And all the mountains that will be dug with a spade (בַּמַעְדֵּר יֵעָדֵרוּן),” and as a result, those who set up the battle array will stand there. Some say that לַעֲדוֹר is like לַעֲרֹך, to set up a battle array. of double heart It is explained in Genesis Rabbah (Lev. Rabbah 25:2): “... whether with intention or without intention, they would be victorious.” ==== Verse 38 and also the entire remnant of Israel was of one heart to crown David even though they did not come to Hebron. For this reason, שֵׁרִית is missing an “aleph,” to imply that there was not even a remnant. Only a few remained, for they all came to Hebron joyfully. ==== Verse 39 And they were there with David for three days And do not wonder where this whole army obtained so much food and drink that sufficed them, because their brethren had prepared it for them beforehand. ==== Verse 41 for there was joy in Israel that they had a prosperous and wise king.