Study Desk

The following were the men who came to David at Ziklag while he was still banned from the presence of Saul son of Kish.^(a) They were among the warriors who helped him in battle.

They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow.^(b) They were Saul's relatives^(c) from Benjamin:

Their chief was Ahiezer son of Shemaah the Gibeathite. Then there was his brother Joash; Jeziel and Pelet sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu the Anathothite;

Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; ^[a]Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite;

Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite;

Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites;

and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.

Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were fighting men, trained for battle, expert with shield and spear. Their faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.^(d)

Ezer was the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third,

Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth,

Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,

Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth,

Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh.

These Gadites were army commanders; the least of them was a match for a hundred, and the greatest of them for a thousand.^(e)

These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month^[b] when it was overflowing all its banks,^(f) and put to flight all those in the valleys to the east and to the west.

Other Benjaminites and men from Judah also went to David at the stronghold.^(g)

David went out to meet them and said to them, "If you have come in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you, but if you have come to betray me to my enemies even though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our ancestors look on it and judge."

Then the Spirit took control of^[c](h) Amasai,⁽ⁱ⁾ chief of the Thirty, and he said: We are yours, David, we are with you, son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you,^(j) for your God helps you. So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

Some Manassites defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. However, they did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers sent David away after a discussion. They said, "It will be our heads if he defects to his master Saul."^(k)

When David went to Ziklag, some men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.

They helped David against the raiders,^(l) for they were all brave warriors and commanders in the army.

At that time, men came day after day to help David until there was a great army, like an army of God.^[d](m)

The numbers of the armed troops who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him,⁽ⁿ⁾ according to the Lord 's word,^(o) were as follows:

From the Judahites: 6,800 armed troops bearing shields and spears.

From the Simeonites: 7,100 brave warriors ready for war.

From the Levites: 4,600

²⁷in addition to Jehoiada, leader of the house of Aaron, with 3,700 men;

²⁸and Zadok,^(p) a young brave warrior, with 22 commanders from his own ancestral house.

From the Benjaminites, the relatives of Saul:^(q) 3,000 (up to that time the majority of the Benjaminites maintained their allegiance to the house of Saul).

From the Ephraimites: 20,800 brave warriors who were famous men in their ancestral houses.

From half the tribe of Manasseh: 18,000 designated by name to come and make David king.

From the Issacharites, who understood the times^(r) and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command.

From Zebulun: 50,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle with all kinds of weapons of war, with one purpose^(s) to help David.^[e]

From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.

From the Danites: 28,600 trained for battle.

From Asher: 40,000 who could serve in the army, trained for battle.

From across the Jordan—from the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: 120,000 men equipped with all the military weapons of war.

All these warriors, lined up in battle formation, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of Israel was also of one mind to make David king.^(t)

They spent three days there eating and drinking with David, for their relatives had provided for them.

In addition, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came and brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen—abundant provisions of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine and oil, oxen, and sheep.^(u) Indeed, there was joy in Israel.