1And all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, Behold we are your bone and your flesh. 2Also, in time past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and Jehovah your God said to you, You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over My people Israel. 3Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before Jehovah. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the Word of Jehovah by the hand of Samuel. 4And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, You shall not come in here. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the City of David. 6And David said, Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief commander. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief. 7And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the City of David. 8And he built the city all around, from the Millo and all around. And Joab restored the rest of the city. 9And David went on, proceeding to greatness, for Jehovah of Hosts was with him. 10These were the heads of the mighty men with David, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to the Word of Jehovah concerning Israel. 11This is the number of David's mighty men: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, chief of the thirty; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed at one time. 12After him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was among the three mighty men. 13He was with David at Pasdammim. Now the Philistines had gathered there for battle, and there was a parcel of land full of barley; and the people had fled before the Philistines. 14But they took their stand in the middle of that field, recovered it, and killed the Philistines. And Jehovah saved by a great deliverance. 15And three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the army of the Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 16David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 17And David said longingly, Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. 18So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it, but poured it out to Jehovah, 19and said, Far be it from me, O my God, to do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men with their souls? For at the risk of their lives they have brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things were done by the three mighty men. 20Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of another three. He had lifted up his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and had a name among the three. 21Of the three he was more honored than the other two; therefore he became their commander. However he did not attain to the first three. 22Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like ones of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 23And he killed an Egyptian, a man five cubits in stature. In the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. 24These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and won a name among the three mighty men. 25Behold, he was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the first three. And David appointed him over his guard. 26And the mighty ones of the army were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, 28Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, 29Sibbechai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, 31Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, 32Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, 34the sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite, 35Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, 36Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, 38Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, 39Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite (the armorbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah), 40Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, 42Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite (a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him), 43Hanan the son of Maachah, Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46Eliel the Mahavite, Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, Ithmah the Moabite, 47Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 DAVID MADE KING. (
1Chr 11:1-3)
Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron--This event happened on the death of Ish-bosheth (see on
2Sam 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
1Sam 11:15).
4 HE WINS THE CASTLE OF ZION FROM THE JEBUSITES BY JOAB'S VALOR. (
1Chr 11:4-9)
David and all Israel went to . . . Jebus--(See on
2Sam 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].
10 A CATALOGUE OF HIS WORTHIES. (1Ch. 11:10-47)
These . . . are the chief of the mighty men--(See on
2Sam 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 Jashobeam, an Hachmonite--or, "son of Hachmoni." He is called also son of Zabdiel (
1Chr 27:2), so that, strictly speaking, he was the grandson of Hachmoni (compare
1Chr 27:32).
lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time--The feat is said (
2Sam 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 (
2Sam 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 [
2Sam 23:15;
1Chr 11:17]. This is a notice of the achievement, to which Eleazar owed his fame, but the details are found only in
2Sam 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 (
1Chr 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 (
2Sam 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 (
2Sam 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 David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink . . . of the well of Beth-lehem--(See on
2Sam 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
1Chr 11:13]. But this is far from being clear. On the contrary, it would seem that three different heroes are referred to, for Abishai (
1Chr 11:20) was one of them. The camp of the Philistines was in the valley of Rephaim (
1Chr 11:15), which lay on the west of Jerusalem, but an outpost was stationed at Beth-lehem (
1Chr 11:16), and through this garrison they had to force a passage.
21 howbeit he attained not to the first three--(See on
2Sam 23:19).
22 Benaiah . . . of Kabzeel--a town in the south of Judah (
Josh 15:21;
Neh 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 (
2Sam 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 (
2Sam 23:25-26) [BERTHEAU].
30 Maharai--chief of the detachment of the guards who attended on the king in the tenth month, January (
1Chr 27:13;
2Sam 23:28).
39 Naharai--armorbearer to Joab (
2Sam 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
1Chr 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 (
1Chr 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].