1 Then all Israel gathered themselves to David to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh. He lived with him for a month.
They went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
It happened after this, that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? Yahweh said to him, Go up. David said, Where shall I go up? He said, To Hebron.
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel: and Yahweh said to you, You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel. So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh: and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, Except you take away the blind and the lame, you shall not come in here; thinking, David can't come in here. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. David said on that day, Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [strike] the lame and the blind, who are hated of David's soul. Therefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he can't come into the house. David lived in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. David built round about from Millo and inward. David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of hosts, was with him. Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house. David perceived that Yahweh had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake. David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron; and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, and Ibhar, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet.
But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, Absalom is king in Hebron.
You are my brothers, you are my bone and my flesh: why then are you the last to bring back the king? Say you to Amasa, Aren't you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren't captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
These are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of Yahweh. The children of Judah who bore shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, armed for war. Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for the war, seven thousand and one hundred. Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred. Jehoiada was the leader of [the house of] Aaron; and with him were three thousand and seven hundred, and Zadok, a young man mighty of valor, and of his father's house twenty-two captains. Of the children of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. Of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were mentioned by name, to come and make David king. Of the children of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brothers were at their commandment. Of Zebulun, such as were able to go out in the host, who could set the battle in array, with all manner of instruments of war, fifty thousand, and who could order [the battle array, and were] not of double heart. Of Naphtali one thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty-seven thousand. Of the Danites who could set the battle in array, twenty-eight thousand six hundred. Of Asher, such as were able to go out in the host, who could set the battle in array, forty thousand. On the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, one hundred twenty thousand. All these being men of war, who could order the battle array, 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. They were there with David three days, eating and drinking; for their brothers had made preparation for them. Moreover those who were near to them, [even] as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on donkeys, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, food of meal, cakes of figs, and clusters of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep in abundance: for there was joy in Israel.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 11
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 11 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 11
1Ch 11:1-3. David Made King.
1. Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron—This event happened on the death of Ish-bosheth (see on 2Sa 5:1). The convention of the estates of the kingdom, the public and solemn homage of the representatives of the people, and the repeated anointing of the new king in their presence and by their direction, seem to have been necessary to the general acknowledgment of the sovereign on the part of the nation (compare 1Sa 11:15).
1Ch 11:4-9. He Wins the Castle of Zion from the Jebusites by Joab's Valor.
4. David and all Israel went to … Jebus—(See on 2Sa 5:6).
8. Joab repaired the rest of the city—David built a new town to the north of the old one on Mount Zion; but Joab was charged with a commission to restore the part that had been occupied by the ancient Jebus, to repair the breaches made during the siege, to rebuild the houses which had been demolished or burned in the sacking of the town, and to preserve all that had escaped the violence of the soldiery. This work of reconstruction is not noticed elsewhere [Calmet].
1Ch 11:10-47. A Catalogue of His Worthies.
10. These … are the chief of the mighty men—(See on 2Sa 23:8). They are here described as those who held strongly with him (Margin) to make him king, &c. In these words the sacred historian assigns a reason for introducing the list of their names, immediately after his account of the election of David as king, and the conquest of Jerusalem; namely, that they assisted in making David king. In the original form of the list, and the connection in which it occurs in Samuel, there is no reference to the choice of a king; and even in this passage it is only in the clause introduced into the superscription that such a reference occurs [Keil].
11-13. Jashobeam, an Hachmonite—or, "son of Hachmoni." He is called also son of Zabdiel (1Ch 27:2), so that, strictly speaking, he was the grandson of Hachmoni (compare 1Ch 27:32).
lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time—The feat is said (2Sa 23:8) to have been a slaughter of eight hundred in one day. Some endeavor to reconcile the statements in that passage and in this by supposing that he slew eight hundred on one occasion and three hundred on another; while others conjecture that he attacked a body of eight hundred, and, having slain three hundred of them, the rest fled [Lightfoot].
12. the three mighties—Only two are mentioned; namely, Jashobeam and Eleazar—the third, Shammah (2Sa 23:11), is not named in this passage.
13. He was with David at Pas-dammim—It was at the time when he was a fugitive in the wilderness, and, parched with thirst under the burning heat of noonday, he wistfully thought of the cool fountain of his native village [2Sa 23:15; 1Ch 11:17]. This is a notice of the achievement, to which Eleazar owed his fame, but the details are found only in 2Sa 23:9-11, where it is further said that he was aided by the valor of Shammah, a fact corroborated in the passage before us (1Ch 11:14), where it is recorded of the heroes, that "they set themselves in the midst of that parcel." As the singular number is used in speaking of Shammah (2Sa 23:12), the true view seems to be that when Eleazar had given up from exhaustion, Shammah succeeded, and by his fresh and extraordinary prowess preserved the field.
barley—or lentils (2Sa 23:11). Ephes-dammim was situated between Shocoh and Azekah, in the west of the Judahite territory. These feats were performed when David acted as Saul's general against the Philistines.
15-19. David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink … of the well of Beth-lehem—(See on 2Sa 23:15). This chivalrous act evinces the enthusiastic devotion of David's men, that they were ready to gratify his smallest wish at the risk of their lives. It is probable that, when uttering the wish, David had no recollection of the military posted at Beth-lehem. It is generally taken for granted that those who fought a way to the well of Beth-lehem were the three champions just mentioned [see on 1Ch 11:13]. But this is far from being clear. On the contrary, it would seem that three different heroes are referred to, for Abishai (1Ch 11:20) was one of them. The camp of the Philistines was in the valley of Rephaim (1Ch 11:15), which lay on the west of Jerusalem, but an outpost was stationed at Beth-lehem (1Ch 11:16), and through this garrison they had to force a passage.
21. howbeit he attained not to the first three—(See on 2Sa 23:19).
22. Benaiah … of Kabzeel—a town in the south of Judah (Jos 15:21; Ne 11:25). It is said that "he had done many acts," though three only are mentioned as specimens of his daring energy and fearless courage.
slew two lionlike men of Moab—literally, "lions of God," that is, great lions or champions. This gallant feat was probably achieved in David's hostile invasion of Moab (2Sa 8:2).
also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day—probably a cave into which Benaiah had taken refuge from the snowstorm, and in which he encountered a savage lion which had its lair there. In a spacious cave the achievement would be far greater than if the monster had been previously snared or cabined in a pit.
23. he went down—the ordinary phraseology for expressing an engagement in battle. The encounter of Benaiah with this gigantic Egyptian reminds us, in some respects, of David's combat with Goliath. At least, the height of this giant, which was about eight feet, and his armor, resembled his of Gath.
with a staff—that is, having no other weapon in his hand than his walking stick.
25. David set him over his guard—the Cherethites and Pelethites that composed the small bodyguard in immediate attendance on the king.
26. Also the valiant men of the armies—This was the third degree of military rank, and Asahel was their chief; the names of few of those mentioned are historically known.
27. Shammoth—Between this name and Hebez, that of Elikah has evidently fallen out, as we may see (2Sa 23:25, 26) [Bertheau].
30. Maharai—chief of the detachment of the guards who attended on the king in the tenth month, January (1Ch 27:13; 2Sa 23:28).
39. Naharai—armorbearer to Joab (2Sa 23:37). The non-occurrence of Joab's name in any of the three catalogues is most probably to be accounted for by the circumstance that his office as commander-in-chief raised him to a position superior to all these orders of military knighthood.
41. Uriah the Hittite—The enrolment of this name in such a list, attesting, as it does, his distinguished merits as a brave and devoted officer, aggravates the criminality of David's outrage on his life and honor. The number of the names at 1Ch 11:26-41 (exclusive of Asahel and Uriah, who were dead) is thirty, and at 1Ch 11:41-47 is sixteen—making together forty-eight (see on 1Ch 27:1-34). Of those mentioned (1Ch 11:26-41), the greater part belonged to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; the sixteen names (1Ch 11:41-47) are all associated with places unknown, or with cities and districts on the east of the Jordan. The northern tribes do not appear to have furnished any leaders [Bertheau].