1 Chronicles 11:38

11:10-47 An account is given of David's worthies, the great men who served him. Yet David reckoned his success, not as from the mighty men that were with him, but from the mighty God, whose presence is all in all. In strengthening him, they strengthened themselves and their own interest, for his advancement was theirs. We shall gain by what we do in our places for the support of the kingdom of the Son of David; and those that are faithful to Him, shall find their names registered much more to their honour, than these are in the records of fame.

And inquired not of the Lord,.... For though he did inquire in some sense in an external, careless, and hypocritical manner, yet not done seriously, sincerely, and heartily, nor with constancy; it was accounted as if he inquired not at all, 1 Samuel 28:6 the Targum adds another reason of his death, because he killed the priests of Nob; but that is not in the text: therefore he slew him; or suffered him to be slain: and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse; translated the kingdom of Israel out of Saul's family, upon his death, into Jesse's, even unto David; for the sake of which observation this short account is given of the last end of Saul.

Verse 38. - Joel. This name is also easily to be reconciled with the Igal of the parallel passage (ver. 36), though there is nothing to evidence which should stand. Mibhar the son of Haggeri . For this we have in the parallel place (ver. 36) the names " Bani the Gadite ;" but before these comes the last word of the previous clause, "of Zobab." When these three words are compared with the three of our present passage, it is very possible to bring them into harmony ('Speaker's Commentary,' in loc .). Zobah was a district of Syria in the time of Israel's first three kings, stretching north-east and east towards the Euphrates ( 1 Samuel 14:47 ; 2 Samuel 8:7 ). 1 Chronicles 11:38

(38) Joel the brother of Nathan. —Samuel, “Jigal (a name found in Numbers 13:7 ) son of Nathan of Zobah.” This is probably correct. Zobah was a Syrian state. Mibhar the son of Haggeri.—“Mibhar” (choice) is unlikely as a proper name, and is probably a corruption of Miçcobah, “of Zobah,” as in Samuel. After this word Samuel adds “Bani the Gadite.” The name “Bani” has fallen out of our text. “Haggeri” is an easy corruption of Haggadi “the Gadite.”

Joel the brother of Nathan; either, 1. The same who is called Jaal the son of Nathan of Zobah , being possibly his brother by birth and nature, and called his son by adoption, or right of succession to his estate, or called his brother at large for his near kinsman, and his son for his nephew. Or, 2. Another, who, upon the death of the former, was put in his stead.

The sons of Hashem - It is impossible that this can be the true reading, since an individual warrior must be spoken of. Comparing 2 Samuel 23:32 , perhaps the most probable conjecture is that the "Beni-Hashem" of Chronicles and the "Beni Jashen" of Samuel alike conceal some single name of a man which cannot now be recovered.

1 Chronicles 11:21 should be translated: honoured before the three as two; i.e., doubly honoured-he became to them prince, leader. With regard to בשּׁנים, which, as meaningless, Bertheau would alter so as to make it correspond with הכי (Sam.), cf. Ew. Lehrb. 269, b. For Benaiah and his exploits, 1 Chronicles 11:22-25 , see the commentary on 2 Samuel 23:20-23 . No special deeds of the heroes enumerated in vv. 26-47 are related, so that we may regard them as a third class, who are not equal to the first triad, and to the second pair, Abishai and Benaiah, and consequently occupied a subordinate place in the collective body of the royal body-guards. In 2 Samuel 23 thirty-two names are mentioned, which, with the above-mentioned three and two of the first and second classes, amount in all to thirty-seven men, as is expressly remarked in 2 Samuel 23:39 at the conclusion. In the text of the Chronicle no number is mentioned, and the register is increased by sixteen names (1 Chronicles 11:41-47), which have been added in the course of time to the earlier number. The words החילים וגבּורי, 1 Chronicles 11:26, are to be regarded as a superscription: And valiant heroes were, etc.; equivalent to, But besides there, there remain still the following valiant heroes.

The words החילים גּבּורי are not synonymous with החילים שׂרי, leaders of the host, 1 Kings 15:20; Jeremiah 40:7, (Berth.), but signify heroes in warlike strength, i.e., heroic warriors, like חילים גּבּורי (1 Chronicles 7:5, 1 Chronicles 7:7,1 Chronicles 7:11, 1 Chronicles 7:40). That חילים has here the article, while it is not found in the passages quoted from the seventh chapter, does not make any difference in the meaning of the words. The article is used, here, as with הגּבּורים, 1 Chronicles 11:10, 1 Chronicles 11:11, because the heroes of David are spoken of, and לדויד אשׁר is to be mentally supplied from 1 Chronicles 11:10. As to the names in vv. 26-41, which are also found in the register in the book of Samuel, see the commentary to 2 Samuel 23:24-39. This list, which is common to both books, begins with Asahel, a brother of Joab, who was slain by Abner in the war which he waged against David (2 Samuel 2:19-23), and concludes in the book of Samuel with Uriah the Hittite, so well known from 2 Samuel 11:3. (1 Chronicles 11:41), with whose wife David committed adultery. But to the continuation of the register which is found in 1 Chronicles 11:41-47 of our text, there is no parallel in the other writings of the Old Testament by which we might form an idea as to the correctness of the names. The individual names are indeed to be met with, for the most part, in other parts of the Old Testament, but denote other men of an earlier or later time.