David sends messengers to Hanun, the new king of Ammon, to comfort him after the death of his father Nahash, who had shown kindness to David. However, Hanun's advisers accuse David of trying to spy on their land. As a result, Hanun humiliates David's messengers by shaving off half their beards and cutting their clothes. David sends troops in response and defeats both the Ammonites and their allies from Aram.

1. 1 CHRONICLES 19 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
David Defeats the Ammonites
1 In the course of time, Nahash king of the
Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as
king.
BARNES, "Compare the marginal references and notes. The writer here adds one or
two touches, and varies in one or two of the numbers.
CLARKE, "Now it came to pass - See the same history, 2Sa_10:1 (note), etc., and
the notes there.
HENRY 1-5et us here observe, 1. That is becomes good people to be neighbourly, and
especially to be grateful. David will pay respect to Hanun because he is his neighbour;
and religion teaches us to be civil and obliging to all, to honour all men, and to be ready
to do all offices of kindness to those we live among; nor must difference in religion be
any obstruction to this. But, besides this, David remembered the kindness which his
father showed to him. Those that have received kindness must return it as they have
ability and opportunity: those that have received it from the parents must return it to the
children when they are gone. 2. That, as saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness
proceedeth from the wicked, 1Sa_24:13. The vile person will speak villany, and the
instruments of the churl will be evil, to destroy those with lying words that speak right,
Isa_32:6, Isa_32:7. Those that are base, and design ill themselves, are apt to be jealous
and to suspect ill of others without cause. Hanun's servant suggested that David's
ambassadors came as spies, as if so great and mighty a man as David needed to do so
1

2. mean a thing (if he had any design upon the Ammonites, he could effect it by open force,
and had no occasion for any fraudulent practices), or as if a man of such virtue and
honour would do so base a thing. Yet Hanun hearkened to the suggestion, and, against
the law of nations, treated David's ambassadors villainously. 3. Masters ought to protect
their servants, and with the greatest tenderness to concern themselves for them if they
come by any loss or damage in their service. David did so for his ambassadors, 1Ch_19:5.
Christ will do so for his ministers; and let all masters thus give unto their servants that
which is just and equal.
JAMISON 1-5, "1Ch_19:1-5. David’s messengers, sent to comfort Hanun, are
disgracefully treated.
after this — This phrase seems to indicate that the incident now to be related took
place immediately, or soon after the wars described in the preceding chapter. But the
chronological order is loosely observed, and the only just inference that can be drawn
from the use of this phrase is, that some farther account is to be given of the wars against
the Syrians.
Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died — There had subsisted a very
friendly relation between David and him, begun during the exile of the former, and
cemented, doubtless, by their common hostility to Saul.
K&D, "The same phenomena are met with in the detailed account of the Ammonite-
Syriac war, 1Ch_19:1-2; 1Ch_20:3, as compared with 2 Sam 10:1-11:1, and 2Sa_12:26-31.
In 1Ch_19:1 the omission of the name ‫נוּן‬ ָ‫ה‬ after ‫נ‬ ְ‫בּ‬ is merely an oversight, as the
omission of the name ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ָח‬‫נ‬ in 2Sa_10:1 also is. In 1Ch_19:3 there is no need to alter ‫וגו‬
ֹ‫פ‬ֲ‫ה‬ַ‫ל‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫ֹר‬‫ק‬ ְ‫ח‬ַ‫ל‬ into ‫וגו‬ ‫הּ‬ָ‫ל‬ְ‫גּ‬ ַ‫ר‬ ְ‫וּל‬ ‫יר‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫ת־ה‬ ֶ‫א‬ ‫ֹר‬‫ק‬ֲ‫ח‬, 2Sa_10:3, although the expression in
Samuel is more precise. If the actual words of the original document are given in
Samuel, the author of the Chronicle has made the thought more general: “to search and
to overthrow, and to spy out the land.” Perhaps, however, the terms made use of in the
original document were not so exact and precise as those of the book of Samuel. In 1Ch_
19:6, 1Ch_19:7, at least, the divergence from 2Sa_10:16 cannot be explained otherwise
than by supposing that in neither of the narratives is the text of the original document
exactly and perfectly reproduced. For a further discussion of the differences, see on 2Sa_
10:6. The special statement as to the place where the mercenaries encamped, and the
Ammonites gathered themselves together from out their cities (1Ch_19:7), is wanting in
2nd Samuel. The city Medeba, which, according to Jos_13:16, was assigned to the tribe
of Reuben, lay about two hours southeast from Heshbon, and still exists as ruins, which
retain the ancient name Medaba (see on Num_21:30). In 1Ch_19:9, ‫יר‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ‫ה‬ ‫ח‬ ַ‫ת‬ֶ‫,פּ‬ “outside
the city” (i.e., the capital Rabbah), more correct or exact than ‫ר‬ַ‫ע‬ַ‫שּׁ‬ ַ‫ה‬ ‫ח‬ ַ‫ת‬ ֶ‫פּ‬ (2Sa_10:8). On
‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ֵ‫ֲל‬‫א‬ ‫ֹא‬‫ָב‬‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬, as compared with ‫ה‬ ָ‫אמ‬ָ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ח‬ ‫ֹא‬ ‫ָב‬‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬ (2Sa_10:17), cf. the discussion on 2Sa_
10:16-17.
2

3. BENSON 2967. — B.C. 1037.
David’s friendly message to King Hanun, 1 Chronicles 19:1, 1 Chronicles 19:2.
Hanun’s base usage of his ambassadors, 1 Chronicles 19:3-5. The Ammonites
prepare for war, 1 Chronicles 19:6, 1 Chronicles 19:7. David overthrows them and
the Syrians, 1 Chronicles 19:8-19.
1 Chronicles 19:1. Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died — Of the
contents of this chapter, see the notes on 2 Samuel 10.
ELLICOTT, "The war with the sons of Ammon and their Aramæan allies. The
chapter is a duplicate of 2 Samuel 10. The story of David’s kindness to
Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9), creditable as it was to David, is omitted by the
chronicler, as belonging rather to the private than the public history of the king.
Verse 1
(1) Now it came to pass after this.—The same phrase as at 1 Chronicles 18:1; it has
no chronological significance (see Note there). The conflict with Ammon, which has
been glanced at in 1 Chronicles 18:11, is now to be described at length (1 Chronicles
19:1 to 1 Chronicles 20:3), and in connection therewith the overthrow of Hadadezer
(1 Chronicles 18:3-8) is again related, with additional details.
COFFMAN, "And it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of
Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will show kindness
unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. So David
sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's messengers
came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the
princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth
honor thy father, in that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants
come unto thee to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land? Then Hanun took
David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to
their buttocks, and sent them away. Then there went certain persons, and told
David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly
ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then
return.
3

4. PARKER, " Gracious Messengers
1 Chronicles 19
THE phrase "after this" has no chronological significance. David was moved once
more by a fine human sentiment. He remembered that Nahash had been kind to him
in the days of his ancient trouble, so when Nahash died David proposed to show
kindness unto Hanun his son. David was thus far from being spoiled by his royalty
and grandeur. He who could sing so well could always sympathise most deeply.
These fine human traits in the character of David endear the king to the common
heart of the world. Though he was always ready for war, yet David was always
ready also to bind up broken hearts, and to lead back to the right road men who
had lost their path in life.
A very tender expression is this:
"David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father" ( 1 Chronicles 19:2).
It might have been thought that a man whose mind was preoccupied with new
military schemes, with ideas of advancement or aggrandisement, a man who slew
thousands of enemies, would have cared but little for the death of a single man. Yet
it was quite otherwise. David distinguished between the soldier and the man;
between what he believed to be his military duty, and all those kindly and generous
sentiments which invest human character with its noblest attributes. Though we
cannot build a temple, we may send a comforting message to a human heart; though
we cannot go forth to great wars such as require volumes of history for their proper
narration, we can look out for instances of solitary grief and sadness to which we
can minister encouragement and sympathy. Here, however, in the very act of
carrying out a benevolent purpose, David is encountered by the all-poisoning
thought in life, namely, the thought which is born of suspicion. Unfortunately, there
are always men who misinterpret the motives of others, and assign sinister
intentions to the very highest actions of the benevolent soul. How many feasts have
these marplots spoiled? Into how many families have suspicious thoughts entered
where they ought not to have had a moment"s accommodation? It should be the
delight of Christians to receive kindness without suspicion, and to give men credit
for the best motives—especially in the day of darkness and distress—when they seek
us out that they may comfort us with the light of the Lord. It would seem to require
the whole energy of God to rid the human soul of suspicion and jealousy. How hard
it is for us to give one another credit for really pure and good intentions! But in
ascribing false or unworthy motives to human action, do we not thereby reveal the
4

5. principal characteristics of our own disposition? Is it not true that evil is to him who
evil thinks,—in other words, that only the evil man can think evil of other people,
and that when we ascribe sinister motives to those who would help us, we are only
drawing our own portraiture, and showing but too vividly what we ourselves would
do under similar circumstances? The basest of motives was ascribed to David: he
was making his pretended compassion a medium through which to search the city,
and to spy it out, and to overthrow it. Unquestionably there are men who make an
investment of Christianity, and turn their very Christian profession into an article
of merchandise: unquestionably, too there may be simulations of sympathy which
deserve only to be denounced as cunningly arranged hypocrisies: at the same time, it
is better to err, if we err at all, on the side of magnanimity, by ascribing to men the
worthiest motives, and crediting them with intentions akin to the faith which they
profess. We may exclude ourselves from the enjoyment of many spiritual
advantages by suspecting the motives of the men who offer them. Thus in going to
the house of God itself we may regard the whole institution as an attempt to impose
upon our credulity and generosity. In no such way do men realise the highest
spiritual advantages; they embitter themselves; they rebuke all that is sweetest and
noblest in human nature; and they betake themselves to narrowness and solitude,
when they might live in the very largeness of the divine love, and in the sweetest
companionship of the divine presence. All this suspicion brings upon those who
indulge it punishment sooner or later.
The subsequent history given in this chapter shows that men cannot both be
suspicious and successful when they are doing injustice to high motives and
generous proposals. There are men who are clever within limited points, and whose
policies instantly commend themselves because they appear to be marked by
shrewdness. There Isaiah , however, a larger prudence—the great and generous
prudence which gives men credit for being better than perhaps they are, and which
disarms even their animosity by a liberal trust in what ought to be their main
purpose. Beware of imprudent prudence; that Isaiah , prudence which sees only a
portion of the situation, and does not take in the whole scope and horizon of the
circumstances. The princes of the children of Ammon imagined themselves to be
very clever in penetrating David"s motive, but they lived to see that their cleverness
was a mistake, and that astuteness when unregulated by magnanimity leads to
penalty and ruin.
GUZIK, "A. The offense of the Ammonites.
1. (1 Chronicles 19:1-2) David sends ambassadors to the Ammonites at the passing
5

6. of their king.
It happened after this that Nahash the king of the people of Ammon died, and his
son reigned in his place. Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of
Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to
comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came to Hanun in the land
of the people of Ammon to comfort him.
a. I will show kindness: David was the dominate ruler of his region, but he was not a
cruel tyrant. Here he showed kindness towards a pagan king because in sympathy
with the loss of his father.
b. So David sent messenger to comfort him: David wasn’t content to feel kindness
towards Hanun. He did something to bring the grieving man comfort.
TRAPP, "1 Chronicles 19:1 Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of
the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead.
Ver 1.] This chapter is the same also with 2 Samuel 10:1-19. {See Trapp on "2
Samuel 10:1"} &c.
PULPIT, "This chapter runs very closely parallel with 2 Samuel 10:1-19; a chapter
also of nineteen verses. The slight differences between them avail to make one or the
other narrative a little clearer or a little fuller. The time is only marked, as in the
first verse of the preceding chapter, by the too general formula, "after this."
Between the last verse of the preceding chapter and the first of this, we find
interposed, in the Book of Samuel, the account of David's thoughts and deeds of
kindness "for Jonathan's sake" to Mephibosheth "of the house of Saul," who was a
son of Jonathan, though apparently not personally known at present to David.
The chapter gives an account of David's war with Ammon and Aram allied
temporarily, and the ungracious cause of the war—the insult put upon David's
messengers, when sent on a mission of kindly and sincere condolence, on occasion of
the death of Nahash, King of Ammon. Some think that the contents of this chapter
are in reality a narration at greater length and in fuller detail, belonging to the
space occupied by 2 Samuel 10:3-13 of last chapter. They would, in like manner,
identify 2 Samuel 10:1-19 with 2 Samuel 8:3-13.
1 Chronicles 19:1
Nahash. It is possible that this may be the Nahash of 1 Samuel 11:1, 1 Samuel 11:2
6

7. and 1 Samuel 12:12, who, being signally defeated by Saul, may have been the more
inclined to show partiality to David. But it would appear that nearly sixty years had
elapsed, and if so, it must be held very unlikely, and would point to the conclusion
that it was his son whose death is here in question. With this the statement of
Josephus ('Ant.,' 1 Samuel 6:5, § 3), would tally, which says that the Nahash of 1
Samuel 11:1-15. was killed in the destruction of the Ammonite army then wrought
by Saul. Possibly the word "Nahash" was the official title of kings of the Ammonites
(and, though considering its signification, i.e. serpent, scarcely a flattering one from
a modern point of view, yet this is overruled by the association of the attribute of
wisdom with the serpent in olden time, of which we have more than a trace in
Matthew 10:16), as "Pharaoh" of kings of Egypt, etc.
BI, "And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father.
The menage of condolence
I. The generous message of David.
1. In its accession.
2. In its form.
II. The disgraceful treatment of David’s messengers. Shaving their beards and
shortening their garments, a double insult in the East, where long beards and long
garments are badges of honour. Many Orientals would rather die than lose their beards
(signs of dignity and ornaments of freedom), and Turks used to regard beardless
Europeans as runaway slaves.
III. The considerate kindness for the disgraced messengers. (J. Wolfendale.)
Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father.
Suspicions
Don’t be suspicious. Some people think they are very clever in finding out what is wrong
where no one else sees anything amiss, and these often make themselves very ridiculous.
Tennyson, when a young man, was walking through Wales, on his way back from the
Continent, and turned into a little wayside inn, where an old man sat by the fire, and
asked many questions in s very suspicious fashion. “Are you from the army? Not from
the army? Then where do you come from?” he bluntly asked at last. “I am just come from
the Pyrenees,” said the poet. “Ah, I knew there was ‘a something!’” was the knowing
clincher of the old man. Could anything have been more ridiculous? Don’t be suspicious;
think the best, believe the best, love the best; remember that everybody finds just what
he seeks. You will always find “a something” if it is “a something” you are seeking, but
you will also always find what is good and beautiful if you are in search of that. (J. Reid
Howatt.)
7

8. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun
son of Nahash, because his father showed
kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to
express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his
father.
When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land
of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him,
BARNES, "Hanun - A Philistine king of this name is mentioned in the Assyrian
inscriptions as paying tribute to Tiglath-pileser and warring with Sargon.
BENSON, "1 Chronicles 19:2. David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun —
Religion teaches us to be civil and obliging to all; to honour all men, and to be ready
to do all offices of kindness to those among whom we live: and difference in the
modes and forms of religion, or even in religion itself, must be no obstruction to it.
But, besides this, David remembered the kindness which his father had showed him.
They that have received kindness should return it as they have ability and
opportunity: and they that have received it from the parents, should return it to the
children when the parents are gone.
ELLICOTT, " (2) Nahash Samuel omits, but adds “Hanun.” The omissions in each
are perhaps accidental. Saul’s first campaign was against Nahash (1 Samuel 11).
8

9. Children of Ammon.—Sons of Ammon, like “sons of Israel.” The title calls attention
to their tribal organisation.
Because.—For. Samuel, “according as.”
Shewed kindness to me.—The Hebrew phrase, which answers to the Greek of Luke
1:72. (See Revised Version.)
The rest of the verse is made more perspicuous than in 2 Samuel 10:2 by slight
changes and additions.
PULPIT, "1 Chronicles 19:2
Because his father showed kindness to me. The instance of kindness here alluded to
is not recorded. There may have been many opportunities and calls for it during
David's persecuted life, and when the Ammonite king would feel a motive beyond
any intrinsic goodness of heart to "show kindness" to the youth who was Saul's
object of hatred. It is, however, very remarkable that we find a genuine kindliness
towards David still cleaving to the succession of Ammonite kings, even after the
events of this chapter (2 Samuel 17:27-29). Hanna. Nothing else is known of this
Hanun. Though here the name of an Ammonite king, we find it in Nehemiah 3:13,
Nehemiah 3:30, the name of two of those who helped repair the city. The Assyrian
Inscriptions contain the name as that of a Philistine king, tributary to Tiglath-
pileser (see 'Speaker's Commentary').
3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do
you think David is honoring your father by
sending envoys to you to express sympathy?
Haven’t his envoys come to you only to explore
and spy out the country and overthrow it?”
9

10. JAMISON, "are not his servants come unto thee for to search? — that is, thy
capital, Rabbah (2Sa_10:3).
ELLICOTT, " (3) Are not his servants come . . . for to search, and to overthrow,
and to spy out the land?—Literally, Is it not for to search . . . that his servants are
come unto thee? This is hardly an improvement on Samuel: “Is it not to search the
city (Rabbath-Ammon, the capital), and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that
David hath sent his servants unto thee?” The Syriac and Arabic agree with Samuel
in reading “city;” LXX. and Vulg., “land.”
GUZIK 3-5, "2. (1 Chronicles 19:3-5) Hanun, the new king of the Ammonites, treats
Israel’s ambassadors shamefully.
And the princes of the people of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David
really honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Did his servants
not come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” Therefore
Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the
middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away. Then some went and told David
about the men; and he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed.
And the king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then
return.”
a. Do you think that David really honors your father because he has sent comforters
to you? It’s hard to explain why these advisers to Hanun said this to the king of
Ammon. It is possible that they genuinely suspected David, or they may have just
used this as a way to appear wise and cunning to King Hanun. It is common for liars
to always suspect others of lying.
b. Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the
middle . . . and sent them away: This was a disgraceful insult to these ambassadors
from Israel. In that culture, many men would rather die than to have their beard
shaved off, because to be clean shaven was the mark of a slave but free men wore
beards.
i. “With the value universally set upon the beard by the Hebrews and other Oriental
10

11. nations, as being man’s greatest ornament, the cutting off of one-half of it was the
greatest insult that could have been offered to the ambassadors, and through them
to David their king.” (Keil and Delitzsch in their commentary on 2 Samuel 10)
ii. “The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his
greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges
it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at
the hazard of his life.” (Clarke on 2 Samuel 10)
iii. To cut off their garments in the middle was also an obvious insult and
humiliation. “That the shame of their nakedness might appear, and especially that
of their circumcision, so derided by the heathen.” (Trapp on 2 Samuel 10)
iv. “This is check to the fashion-mongers of our time, saith Piscator; who wear their
clothes so close, and cloaks so short, that they cover not their buttocks.” (Trapp)
One must only wonder what the Puritan preacher John Trapp would say about
those who today wear their garments so low that they do not cover their buttocks.
v. To insult the ambassador is the insult the king. It was just as if they had done this
to David himself. The same principle is true with King Jesus and His ambassadors.
Jesus reminded His disciples: If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me
before it hated you. (John 15:18)
vi. “The attitude of Ammon does not detract from the nobleness of the action of
David. In that action he proved that he had not forgotten the kindness which had
been shown to him by Nahash.” (Morgan)
c. Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return: David didn’t use
these men as political tools to whip up anger against the Ammonites. He cared more
for their own dignity and honor, and allowed them to wait before returning to
Jerusalem.
4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them,
cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent
them away.
11

12. CLARKE, "And cut off their garments in the midst - Usque ad eorum,
pudenda. So the Targum, Jarchi, and others; leaving exposed what nature and decency
require to be concealed. See on 2Sa_10:4 (note).
GILL, "shaved them — not completely, but only the half of their face. This
disrespect to the beard, and indecent exposure of their persons by their clothes being cut
off from the girdle downwards, was the grossest indignity to which Jews, in common
with all Orientals, could be subjected. No wonder that the men were ashamed to appear
in public - that the king recommended them to remain in seclusion on the border till the
mark of their disgrace had disappeared - and then they might, with propriety, return to
the court.
ELLICOTT, " (4) Shaved them—i.e., the half of their beards (Samuel).
Hard by their buttocks.—Literally, unto the extremities. The chronicler has
substituted a more decorous term for the one which appears in Samuel.
Cut off their garments.—To look like captives (Isaiah 20:4).
TRAPP, "1 Chronicles 19:4 Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved
them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them
away.
Ver. 4. And shaved them.] Sic legatos Davidis deturpans illudit, (a) Popish priests
say they do therefore shave their beards, lest while they drink Christ’s blood out of
the chalice, any drop thereof should hang upon their beards. Oh, shameful
superstition!
Hard by their buttocks.] This is check to the fashion mongers of our time, saith
Piscator; who wear their clothes so close, and cloaks so short, that they cover not
their buttocks.
12

13. PULPIT, "1 Chronicles 19:4
The classical scholar will not fail to be reminded, so far as the shaving here spoken
of is concerned, of the account contained in Herodotus, 2:121. The parallel place
makes the resemblance close, in that it tells us that "one-half of their beards" was
shaved. To shave them was an affront to their customs, dignity, and religion: to
shave them half added mockery; and to cut off half their garments completed the
tale of ignominious and contemptuous insult (Isaiah 20:4). The beard was held
almost in reverence by Easterns.
5 When someone came and told David about the
men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they
were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at
Jericho till your beards have grown, and then
come back.”
ELLICOTT, " (5) Ashamed.—Not the usual term (bôsh), but a stronger word,
confounded (niklam; properly, pricked, wounded). (Comp. Psalms 35:4. where it
forms a climax to the other.)
Be grown.—Sprout, or shoot (Judges 16:22, of Samson’s hair).
Jericho lay on their road to the capital.
6 When the Ammonites realized that they had
13

14. become obnoxious to David, Hanun and the
Ammonites sent a thousand talents[a] of silver to
hire chariots and charioteers from Aram
Naharaim,[b] Aram Maakah and Zobah.
BARNES, "A thousand talents of silver - The price is not given in Samuel. On the
practice of hiring troops about this time in western Asia, see 1Ki_15:18; 2Ki_7:6; 2Ch_
25:6.
CLARKE, "Chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia - These are not
mentioned in the parallel place in Samuel; probably they did not arrive till the
Ammonites and their other allies were defeated by the Israelites in the first battle.
HENRY 6-19, "We may see here, 1. How the hearts of sinners that are marked for
ruin are hardened to their destruction. The children of Ammon saw that they had made
themselves odious to David (1Ch_19:6), and then it would have been their wisdom to
desire conditions of peace, to humble themselves and offer any satisfaction for the injury
they had done him, the rather because they had made themselves not only odious to
David, but obnoxious to the justice of God, who is King of nations, and will assert the
injured rights and maintain the violated laws of nations. But, instead of this, they
prepared for war, and so brought upon themselves, by David's hand, those desolations
which he never intended them. 2. How the courage of brave men is heightened and
invigorated by difficulties. When Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and
behind (1Ch_19:10), instead of meditating a retreat, he doubled his resolution; and,
though he could not double, he divided his army, and not only spoke, but acted, like a
gallant man, that had great presence of mind when he saw himself surrounded. He
engaged with his brother for mutual assistance (1Ch_19:12), excited himself and the rest
of the officers to act vigorously in their respective posts, with an eye to God's glory and
their country's good, not to any honour and advantage of their own, and then left the
issue to God: Let the Lord do that which is right in his sight. 3. How vain the greatest art
and strength are against justice and equity. The Ammonites did their utmost to make the
best of their position: they brought as good a force into the field, and disposed it with as
much policy as possible; yet, having a bad cause, and acting in defence of wrong, it
would not do; they were put to the worst. Right will prevail and triumph at last. 4. To
how little purpose it is for those to rally again, and reinforce themselves, that have not
God on their side. The Syrians, though in no way concerned in the merits of the cause,
14

15. but serving only as mercenaries to the Ammonites, when they were beaten, thought
themselves concerned to retrieve their honour, and therefore called in the assistance of
the Syrians on the other side Euphrates; but to no purpose, for still they fled before
Israel (1Ch_19:18); they lost 7000 men, who are said to be the men of 700 chariots,
2Sa_10:18. For, as now in a man of war for sea-service they allot ten men to a gun, so
then, in land-service, ten men to a chariot. 5. those who have meddled with strife that
belongs not to them, and have found that they meddled to their own heart, do well to
learn wit at length and meddle no further. The Syrians, finding that Israel was the
conquering side, not only broke off their alliance with the Ammonites and would help
them no more (1Ch_19:19), but made peace with David and became his servants. Let
those who have in vain stood it out against God be thus wise for themselves, and agree
with him quickly, while they are in the way. Let them become his servants; for they
cannot but see themselves undone if they be his enemies.
JAMISON, "1Ch_19:6-15. Joab and Abishai overcome the Ammonites.
when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious
to David — One universal feeling of indignation was roused throughout Israel, and all
classes supported the king in his determination to avenge this unprovoked insult on the
Hebrew nation.
Hanun ... sent a thousand talents of silver — a sum equal to about $2,000,000
to procure the services of foreign mercenaries.
chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia ... Syria-maachah, and ...
Zobah — The Mesopotamian troops did not arrive during this campaign (1Ch_19:16).
Syria-maachah lay on the north of the possessions of the trans-jordanic Israelites, near
Gilead.
Zobah — (see on 1Ch_18:3).
BENSON, "1 Chronicles 19:6. The children of Ammon saw they had made
themselves odious to David — It would therefore have been their wisdom to have
desired conditions of peace, to have humbled themselves and offered any
satisfaction for the injury they had done him; and the rather, because they had
made themselves not only odious to David, but obnoxious to the justice of God, who
is the king of nations, and will assert the injured rights, and maintain the violated
laws of nations. But, instead of this, they prepared for war, and so brought upon
themselves those desolations which David never intended them.
ELLICOTT, " (6) And when the children of Ammon.—Up to this point the
narrative has substantially coincided with 2 Samuel 10, and might have been
derived immediately from it; but this and the following verses differ considerably
from the older account, and add one or two material facts, which suggest another
15

16. source.
Made themselves odious.—“Had become in bad odonr.” A unique (Aramaized)
form of the same verb as is used in Samuel (hithbâ’ăshû for nib’ăshû).
A thousand talents of silver.—The talent was a weight, not a coin, coined money
being unknown at that epoch. The sum specified amounts to £400,000. estimating
the silver talent at £400. This detail is peculiar to the Chronicles.
Out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah.—Out of Aram-
naharaïm, and out of Aram-maachah, &c Samuel has, “And they hired Aram-beth-
rehob and Aram-zobah, 20,000 foot, and the king of Maachah, 1,000 men, and the
men (or chieftain) of Tôb, 12,000men.”Aram-naharaïm, i.e., Aram of the two rivers,
was the country between the Tigris and Euphrates (see Judges 3:8); Aram-beth-
rehob may have been one of its political divisions, and is perhaps to be identified
with Rehoboth-hannahar (1 Chronicles 1:48), on the Euphrates. Another Rehoboth
(“Rehoboth-ir,” Genesis 10:11) lay on the Tigris, north-east of Nineveh, and was a
suburb of that great city. Aram-maachah imply the dominions of “the king of
Maachah,” who is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 19:7; and Zobah, the Aram-zobah of
Samuel. The chronicler makes no separate mention of the “men of Tòb” (Judges
11:3), perhaps because they were subject to Hadadezer, and as such, included in his
forces. The Syriac and Arabic here have “from Aram-naharaïm, Haran, Nisibis, and
Edom.”
GUZIK, "3. (1 Chronicles 19:6-8) The Ammonites and Israelites prepare for war.
When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David,
Hanun and the people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for
themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Syrian Maachah, and
from Zobah. So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, with the
king of Maachah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. Also the
people of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. Now when
David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.
a. When the people of Ammon saw that they had made themselves repulsive: They
16

17. knew that they did this. David didn’t reject the Ammonites, they made themselves
repulsive to Israel.
b. The people of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves
chariots and horsemen: This was a common practice in the ancient world. The
Ammonites had no hope of protecting themselves, so they hired mercenary armies.
c. When David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men: It’s
important to understand that David was nothing without his mighty men, and they
were nothing without him. He was their leader, but a leader is nothing without
followers - and David had an army of the mighty men to follow him. These men
didn’t necessarily start as mighty men; many were some of the distressed, indebted,
and discontent people who followed David at Adullam Cave (1 Samuel 22:1-2).
i. One of these mighty men was Adino the Eznite - famous for killing 800 men at one
time (2 Samuel 23:8). Another was Jashobeam who killed 300 men at one time (1
Chronicles 11:11). Another was Benaiah who killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day
and took on a huge Egyptian warrior and killed the Egyptian with his own spear (1
Chronicles 11:22-23).
PULPIT, "1 Chronicles 19:6
Made themselves odious. The Hebrew root of very strong force, ‫אשׁ‬ָ‫,בּ‬ is here
employed, and which our Authorized Version translates, both in the parallel place
and elsewhere, far more uncompromisingly than here. A thousand talents . Not
stated in Samuel. This talent was of three thousand shekels, believed to be
equivalent to f342. Mesopotamia. The parallel place has Aram-beth-rehob, instead
of our Aram-naharaim ("Syria of the Two Rivers," i.e. Tigris and Euphrates;
Authorized Version, "Mesopotamia"). From comparing this verso with 1 Chronicles
19:16, it may seem probable that those strictly called "of Mesopotamia" lent either
no aid at first or but very partial. It is observable that the numbers of men supplied
by Beth-rehob, Zobah, and Ishtob in the parallel place (viz. thirty-two thousand)
agree with the numbers of this verse, from which we may conclude that, whatever
Aram-beth-rehob (probably either Reho-both on the Euphrates, or Rehob last of
Lebanon) and Aram-naharaim may strictly stand for respectively, they here
substantially mean the same. It is possible that the difference is that of a corrupt text
or careless copying. The Aram-naharaim (Mesopotamia), which comes before us
first in Genesis 24:10, passes out of Scripture language after the defeats of this
17

18. chapter—the tract of country which it designated (some seven hundred miles by
twenty to two hundred and fifty) being absorbed, first by Assyria, and afterwards
by Babylon. The Assyrian Inscriptions reveal the fact that Mesopotamia was the
prey of a largo number of small separate tribes at the period of the judges and the
early Jewish monarchy, which is quite consistent with the glimpses we hero get of it
and its people. Aram-maachah probably designates the tract of country north of
East Manasseh, bordering on Palestine, and bounded by the Jordan, Mount
Hermon, and on its east, Salcah. Zobah (see 1 Chronicles 18:3, note; 1 Samuel
14:47). The parallel place adds also "the men of Ishtob."
BI 6-9, "And when the children of Ammon.
Avenging an insult
I. Insult springing from slight provocation.
1. From a suspicious mind.
2. From advice of jealous princes.
II. Insult leading to unjust war. This War might have been avoided by an honourable
apology or better understanding. One evil leads to smother.
III. War terminating in disgraceful overthrow. (J. Wolfendale.)
7 They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and
charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his
troops, who came and camped near Medeba,
while the Ammonites were mustered from their
towns and moved out for battle.
18

19. BARNES, "They hired thirty and two thousand chariots - The reading is
corrupt. Such a number as 32,000 chariots alone was never brought into battle on any
occasion. Compare the numbers in Exo_14:7; 1Ki_10:26; 2Ch_12:3. The largest force
which an Assyrian king ever speaks of encountering is 3,940. The words “and horsemen”
have probably fallen out of the text after the word “chariots” (compare 1Ch_19:6). The
32,000 would be the number of the warriors serving on horseback or in chariots; and
this number would agree closely with 2Sa_10:6, as the following table shows:
2Sa_10:6 Men
Syrians of Beth-rehob and Zobah 20,000
Syrians of Ish-tob 12,000
Syrians of Maachah 1,000
Total 33,000
1Ch_19:7 Men
Syrians of Zobah, etc. 32,000
Syrians of Machah ( number not
given)
1,000
Total 33,000
CLARKE, "Thirty and two thousand - The whole number mentioned in Samuel
is, Syrians, of Beth-rehob, and of Zoba, twenty thousand; of King Maacah, one thousand;
of Ish-tob, twelve thousand; in all thirty-three thousand. Of chariots or cavalry there is
no mention. These could not have been the whole army.
JAMISON, "So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots — Hebrew,
“riders,” or “cavalry,” accustomed to fight either on horseback or in chariots, and
occasionally on foot. Accepting this as the true rendering, the number of hired
auxiliaries mentioned in this passage agrees exactly with the statement in 2Sa_10:6 :
twenty thousand (from Syria), twelve thousand (from Tob), equal to thirty-two
thousand, and one thousand with the king of Maachah.
ELLICOTT, " (7) So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of
Maachah and his people.—The account which the chronicler has followed here did
not state the relative strength of the contingents, yet its estimate of the total number
19

20. of the allied forces is in substantial accord with that of Samuel. The chronicler puts
the total at 32,000 + the Maachathite contingent; Samuel at 32,000 + 1,000
Maachathites. The expression “32,000 chariotry” (rèkeb) is not to be pressed. The
writer wished to lay proper stress on the chariots and cavalry as the chief arm of the
Aramæan states, and at the same time to be as concise as possible. That he was not
thinking of 32,000 chariots in the literal sense is clear, (1) because he must have
known that an army would not consist of chariots only; (2) in 1 Chronicles 18:4 he
had already assigned to the army of Zobah its natural proportions of chariots,
cavalry, and infantry. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 19:18, below.) The present text of
Samuel can hardly be right, as it makes the whole army consist of infantry. (Comp.
2 Samuel 8:4.) The great plains of Aram were a natural training-ground for
horsemen and charioteers.
Who came and pitched (their camp) before Medeba.—Another detail peculiar to the
Chronicles. Medeba, the meeting-place of the Aramæan forces, lay south-east of
Heshbon, on a site now known as Madibiya.
And the children of Ammon gathered themselves . . .—The muster of the
Ammonites is not mentioned in Samuel.
PULPIT, "Thirty and two thousand chariots. The reading in the parallel place is
evidently what is intended. Clearly a stop should follow the numeral, which
designates the number of the men under arms. Medeba. Some four miles south-cast
of Heshbon (Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:16; Isaiah 15:2), or others give
it as nine miles. It is not given in Samuel.
8 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the
entire army of fighting men.
ELLICOTT, " (8) All the host of the mighty men.—So the Hebrew text. The
Hebrew margin and Samuel read “all the host,” viz., the mighty men. The “mighty
men” (gibbôrîm) were a special corps. (Comp. 1 Samuel 23:13; 1 Samuel 27:8; 2
20

21. Samuel 2:3; 2 Samuel 16:6; 1 Kings 1:8.) Either, then, the term has a general sense
here, or we must read, “and the mighty men.”
9 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle
formation at the entrance to their city, while the
kings who had come were by themselves in the
open country.
JAMISON 9-15, "children of Ammon ... put the battle in array before the
gate of the city — that is, outside the walls of Medeba, a frontier town on the Arnon.
the kings that were come were by themselves in the field — The Israelitish
army being thus beset by the Ammonites in front, and by the Syrian auxiliaries behind,
Joab resolved to attack the latter (the more numerous and formidable host), while he
directed his brother Abishai, with a suitable detachment, to attack the Ammonites.
Joab’s address before the engagement displays the faith and piety that became a
commander of the Hebrew people. The mercenaries being defeated, the courage of the
Ammonites failed; so that, taking flight, they entrenched themselves within the fortified
walls.
ELLICOTT, " (9) Before the gate of the city.—Literally, in the outlet of the city.
Samuel has “in the outlet of the gate.” The city appears to have been Medeba (1
Chronicles 19:7).
And the kings that were come.—Samuel repeats the names: “And Aram-zobah and
Rehob, and the men of Tôb and Maachah.”
Were.—Rather, put the battle in array (to be supplied from the former sentence).
In the field.—In the open country, or plain (mîshôr) of Medeba (Joshua 13:9;
Joshua 13:16), where there was room for the movements of cavalry and chariots.
21

22. GUZIK, "B. Victory for Israel.
1. (1 Chronicles 19:9-13) Joab divides the army into two groups.
Then the people of Ammon came out and put themselves in battle array before the
gate of the city, and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. When
Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of
Israel’s best and put them in battle array against the Syrians. And the rest of the
people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in
battle array against the people of Ammon. Then he said, “If the Syrians are too
strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for
you, then I will help you. Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and
for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
a. Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind: As the army of
the mighty men approached the Ammonite city they found themselves surrounded.
In front of them were the Ammonites in battle array before the gate of the city.
Behind them were the mercenary kings in the field. It looked bad for the army of
Israel.
b. If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me: Joab had only one
strategy in battle - attack. Many generals would consider surrender when
surrounded on both sides by the enemy, but not Joab. He called the army to courage
and faith and told them to press on.
i. “It is interesting to observe that in his arrangements he made no allowance for the
possibility of ultimate defeat in his conflict with Ammon . . . it does not seem to have
occurred to him that the combination might have been too much for both of them.”
(Morgan)
c. Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our
God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight: This is a great speech by
Joab before the battle. He makes at least three great points.
i. Be of good courage, and let us be strong: Courage and strength are not matters of
feeling and circumstance. They are matters of choice, especially when God makes
His strength available to us. We can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might (Ephesians 6:10).
ii. Let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God: Joab called them to
remember all they had to lose. If they lost this battle they would lose both their
22

23. people and their cities. This was a battle bigger than themselves, and the army of the
mighty men had to remember that.
iii. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight: Joab wisely prepared for the
battle to the best of his ability and worked hard for the victory. At the same time, he
knew that the outcome was ultimately in God’s hands.
iv. Joab trusted God to work, and he did all that he could do. “To believe that God
will do all, and therefore to do nothing, is as bad as to believe that God leaves us to
our unaided endeavours.” (Meyer)
PULPIT, "The kings. Compare this and 1 Chronicles 19:19 with 1 Chronicles 19:19
of the parallel chapter, and also with 1 Chronicles 19:8 (2 Samuel 10:19, 2 Samuel
10:8).
10 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of
him and behind him; so he selected some of the
best troops in Israel and deployed them against
the Arameans.
ELLICOTT, " (10) The battle was set against him before and behind.—Literally,
the front of the battle had become towards him, front and rear. The order of words
is different in Samuel, and a preposition added (“on front and on rear”). The
Ammonites lay in front of the city, their Aramæan allies at some distance away, in
the plain. For Joab to attack either with his entire army would have been to expose
his rear to the assault of the other. He therefore divided his forces.
The choice of Israel.—Literally, the chosen or young warriors (singular collective)
23

24. in Israel (i.e., in the Israelitish army). These Joab himself led against the Aramæans,
as the most dangerous enemy, while he sent a detachment, under his brother
Abishai, to cope with the Ammonites.
Put them in array.—Rather, set the battle in array, or drew up against . . . (1
Chronicles 19:17; 1 Chronicles 12:33). The same Hebrew phrase recurs in 1
Chronicles 19:11.
PULPIT, "1 Chronicles 19:10
The meaning in brief of this Terse is that, as Joab found there were practically two
enemies, and two armies to face, he avoided the mistake of being shut up between
them more than necessary, and divided his own hosts. He took the flower of all,
under his own command, to face the Syrians in the field, who were the most
formidable of the enemy. The rest he put under his brother Abishai, to face the
Ammonites at the gate, i.e. of the city Medeba. The plan succeeded, for if Abishai
had only done as much as hold back the Ammonites awhile, so soon as they saw the
Syrians break and flee they knew that Joab and his army would be free to "help"
Abishai.
11 He put the rest of the men under the command
of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed
against the Ammonites.
12 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for
me, then you are to rescue me; but if the
Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will
rescue you.
24

25. ELLICOTT, " (12) Literally, If Aram, prevail over me, thou shalt become to me for
succour. The word “succour” here is tĕshû‘âh, a less frequent synonym of yĕshû‘âh,
the term in Samuel.
I will help (succour) thee.—Samuel, “I will march to succour thee.” This verb is
often rendered “to save,” and the cognate noun, “salvation.”
13 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our
people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do
what is good in his sight.”
CLARKE, "Be of good courage - See the note on 2Sa_10:12.
ELLICOTT, " (13) Be of good courage.—The same verb was rendered “be strong”
in 1 Chronicles 19:12.
Let us behave ourselves valiantly.—The same verb again, in reflexive form. Thus
the whole runs literally: Be strong, and let us shew ourselves strong!
And let the Lord do . . .—Literally, And Jehovah—the good in his own eyes may he
do! The order in the Hebrew of Samuel is that of the Authorised Version here. The
chronicler lays stress on the auspicious word “good.” There is also emphasis on
“Jehovah,” as leaving the issue in His hands who is Lord of hosts and God of
battles; and on the verb, expressive of a pious wish that right may not miscarry.
Evidently the spirit which inspired the prayer, “Thy will be done,” was not
unknown to the warriors of the old theocracy.
14 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced
to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.
25

26. ELLICOTT, " (14) Before the Syrians.—Rather, against Aram; so Samuel, with the
more classical construction. The preposition used here was rendered to meet (1
Chronicles 12:17).
GUZIK, "2. (1 Chronicles 19:14-15) Joab defeats the Syrians, and the Ammonites
retreat to the city of Rabbah.
So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the
Syrians, and they fled before him. When the people of Ammon saw that the Syrians
were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city. So Joab
went to Jerusalem.
a. They fled before him: It doesn’t even say that Joab engaged the Syrians in battle.
This mercenary army fled before the army of the mighty men because God was with
them. God promised this kind of blessing upon an obedient Israel (Deuteronomy
28:7).
b. They also fled before Abishai his brother, and entered the city: When the
Ammonites saw the mercenaries retreating, they also retreated. They could no more
stand before the army of the mighty men than the Syrians could.
i. “Joab did not at this time follow up the victory by laying siege to Rabbah; it may
have been too late in the year.” (Payne)
15 When the Ammonites realized that the
Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his
brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab
went back to Jerusalem.
26

27. ELLICOTT, " (15) And when the children of Amnion saw.—The Hebrew
construction is quite different from that of 1 Chronicles 19:6. Render, Now the sons
of Ammon had seen that Aram was routed.
They likewise.—An explanatory addition to the text, as read in Samuel. So also “his
brother.”
Then Joab came . . .—Abridged. (Comp. Samuel.)
PULPIT, "Then Joab came to Jerusalem. This is equivalent to saying that, for what
he deemed sufficient reasons, Joab did not stay to besiege the Ammonites in the city,
within the wails of which they had taken refuge, nor to pursue the Syrians. Hence
we find these latter soon made bold to rally and to get additional aid.
16 After the Arameans saw that they had been
routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had
Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates
River, with Shophak the commander of
Hadadezer’s army leading them.
27

28. JAMISON, "1Ch_19:16-19. Shophach slain by David.
And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel —
(See on 2Sa_10:15-19).
ELLICOTT, " (16) They sent messengers.—Samuel, “Hadarezer sent and drew
forth” (literally, made to come out: i.e., to war, 1 Chronicles 20:1). The name
“Hadarezer” (Hadadezer) is important, as helping us to identify this campaign with
that of 1 Chronicles 18:3-8.
Beyond the river.—The Euphrates, called Purât, Purâtu, by the Babylonians and
Assyrians, Furât by the Arabs, and Ufrâtus by the ancient Persians. The name is
derived from the Accadian Pura-nunu (great river). The Assyrian Purât, Hebrew
Pĕrâth, is simply the word Pura with a feminine ending; so that this well-known
name means “The River par excellence. (Comp. Genesis 15:18; Isaiah 8:7.)
The use of this phrase, “beyond the river,” to denote the position of the Eastern
Aramæans, shows that the narrative here borrowed by the chronicler was originally
written in Palestine. The Syriac and Arabic add here, “and they came to Hîlâm.” (So
Samuel; see next verse.)
Shophach.—Samuel, “Shobach.” The letters p and b are much alike in Hebrew. The
Syriac has Sh’bûk. Shophach may be compared with the Arabic safaka, “to shed
blood” (saffâk, a shedder of blood).
Went before them.—Commanded them. It thus appears that the suzerainty of
Hadadezer was recognised by some Aramæan States lying east of the Euphrates.
COFFMAN, "We have thoroughly discussed these nineteen verses in chapter 10 of
2Samuel, where they are found parallel to all that is written here. These comments
are on pp. 123-132 of my commentary on 2Samuel. There is nothing further which I
wish to add here.
GUZIK, "3. (1 Chronicles 19:16-19) David wipes out the Syrian reinforcements.
Now when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent
messengers and brought the Syrians who were beyond the River, and Shophach the
commander of Hadadezer’s army went before them. When it was told David, he
28

29. gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan and came upon them, and set up in
battle array against them. So when David had set up in battle array against the
Syrians, they fought with him. Then the Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed
seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians, and
killed Shophach the commander of the army. And when the servants of Hadadezer
saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his
servants. So the Syrians were not willing to help the people of Ammon anymore.
a. When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered
together: The enemies of Israel wouldn’t quit after one defeat. They were a
persistent enemy, and came back to fight again.
b. When it was told David, he gathered all Israel: David gathered the rest of the
army of Israel to prevent this army of Syrian reinforcements from crushing the
army of the mighty men. The result was glorious: the Syrians fled before Israel.
i. The emphasis on all Israel is important. “The whole incident therefore shows ‘all
Israel’ cooperating under David and establishing the required ‘rest’ for building the
temple.” (Selman)
ii. The chapter ends with unfinished business at Rabbah. The offending Ammonites
are still in their city and Joab has returned to Jerusalem. In the Spring King David
will send Joab and the army out again to deal with Rabbah as he waits in
Jerusalem. While he waited comfortably in Jerusalem he fell into sin with
Bathsheba.
iii. Most of us know about David’s sin with Bathsheba, and how it happened when
David waited in Jerusalem when he should have led the battle at Rabbah. We see in
2 Samuel 10 that God gave David a warning by showing it necessary for him to
come out against the Syrians. David tried to leave the battle with Joab in 1
Chronicles 19 (and 2 Samuel 10), but his army needed him and God tried to show
him that by blessing it when David did go out to battle. These events were God’s
gracious warning that David sadly wasted.
iv. When it comes to sin such as David fell into, “Constant watchfulness is the only
guarantee of safety. Not even true desire and great blessing are sufficient if the heart
be not personally watchful.” (Morgan)
PULPIT "Beyond the river; i.e. the river Euphrates. Shophach. In the parallel place
spelt Shobach. Of him nothing else is known except his death, as recorded in 1
29

30. Chronicles 19:18 and in 2 Samuel 10:18.
BI 16-18, "Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him.
The war-cry
I. The purpose for which they fought.
II. The method in which they fought.
1. A wise economy of forces.
2. A determination to render mutual help.
III. The spirit in which they fought.
1. Of exalted courage.
2. Of true patriotism.
3. Of submission to God. (J. Wolfendale.)
17 When David was told of this, he gathered all
Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced
against them and formed his battle lines opposite
them. David formed his lines to meet the
Arameans in battle, and they fought against him.
ELLICOTT, " (17) Came upon them.—Samuel, “came to Hêlâm.” The chronicler
seems to have substituted an intelligible phrase for the name of an unknown locality.
Professor Sayce has suggested to the writer that this mysterious Helam is no other
than Aleppo, the Halman of the Assyrian monuments.
30

31. Upon them . . . against them.—Literally, unto them (’alêhem). The Hebrew term, “to
Helam” (Helâmah), contains the same consonants as this prepositional phrase, with
one extra. Perhaps, however, the term Helâmah was understood as a common noun
implying to their army (hayil, hêl, army).
So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians.—Literally, And
David set the battle, &c., a needless repetition of the last clause. Probably Samuel is
right: “And Aram put the battle in array against David.”
PULPIT, "Came upon them. The reading of the parallel passage is probably
correct, i.e. they "came to Helam," inasmuch as the place is repeated, both in 1
Chronicles 19:16 and 1 Chronicles 19:17. Nothing else, however, is known of Helam.
The Septuagint has αἱλάμ.
18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed
seven thousand of their charioteers and forty
thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed
Shophak the commander of their army.
CLARKE, "Forty thousand footmen - See this number accounted for in the note
on 2Sa_10:18 (note).
JAMISON, "David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men — (Compare 2Sa_
10:18, which has seven hundred chariots). Either the text in one of the books is corrupt
[Keil, Davidson], or the accounts must be combined, giving this result - seven thousand
31

32. horsemen, seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen [Kennicott, Houbigant,
Calmet].
ELLICOTT, " (18) Seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty
thousand footmen.—Heb., seven thousand chariotry (rèkeb), &c. Samuel reads,
“seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horse-men.” Such deviations seem to
indicate independent sources. We can hardly choose between the two accounts; but
“horsemen” may be more correct than “footmen.” (See 1 Chronicles 18:4-5.)
And killed Shophach . . .—Abridged statement. (Comp. 2 Samuel 10:18.)
PULPIT, "Seven thousand men which fought in chariots. The parallel passage has
the men of seven hundred chariots. There could not be ton fighting men to a chariot.
The reading of Samuel is more likely to be correct than our present reading. Forty
thousand footmen. The parallel place shows "horsemen."
19 When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they
had been routed by Israel, they made peace with
David and became subject to him.
So the Arameans were not willing to help the
Ammonites anymore.
CLARKE, "They made peace with David, and became his servants - See on
2Sa_10:19 (note), and the concluding note in that place; and see for omissions in
Chronicles, the preface to these books.
BENSON, "1 Chronicles 19:19. They made peace with David, and became his
32

33. servants — Those who have meddled with strife that belonged not to them, and have
found that they meddled to their own hurt, do well to learn wisdom at length, and
meddle no further. Let those who have in vain stood it out against God, be thus wise
for themselves, and agree with him quickly while they are in the way with him. Let
them become his servants, for they are undone if they remain his enemies.
ELLICOTT, " (19) And when the servants of Hadarezer.—Samuel is fuller and
clearer: “And all the kings, servants of Hadarezer.” The tributaries of Hadadezer
now transferred their fealty to David.
They made peace with David.—Samuel, “with Israel.”
And became his servants.—Literally, and served him. Samuel, “and served them.”
To the writer of Samuel God’s people is the main topic; to the chronicler the
divinely-anointed king. The difference, therefore, though slight, is characteristic.
Neither would the Syrians’ help.—And Aram was not willing to come to the help of
the sons of Ammon. Samuel, “And Aram feared to come to the help,” &c.
Footnotes:
1 Chronicles 19:6 That is, about 38 tons or
about 34 metric tons
33

34. 1 Chronicles 19:6 That is, Northwest
Mesopotamia
34