1 It happened after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. 2 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. David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. 3 But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, "Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven't his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?" 4 So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. 5 Then there went certain persons, and told David how the men were served. He sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, "Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." 6 When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Arammaacah, and out of Zobah. 7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle. 8 When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of the mighty men. 9 The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city: and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 10 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. 11 The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and they put themselves in array against the children of Ammon. 12 He said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you are to help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. 13 Be courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God. May Yahweh do that which seems good to him." 14 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. 15 When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem. 16 When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head. 17 It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came on them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. 18 The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians (the men of) seven thousand chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the army. 19 When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David, and served him: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.
David sends a congratulatory message to Hanun, king of Ammon, 1-Chronicles 19:1, 1-Chronicles 19:2. He treats the messengers with great incivility, 1-Chronicles 19:3, 1-Chronicles 19:4. David is exasperated, but condoles with the degraded messengers, 1-Chronicles 19:5. The Ammonites prepare for war, and hire thirty-two thousand chariots, and besiege Medeba, 1-Chronicles 19:6, 1-Chronicles 19:7. David sends Joab to attack them; he defeats the Syrians and Ammonites, 1-Chronicles 19:8-15. The discomfited Syrians recruit their army, and invade David's territories beyond Jordan; he attacks them, kills Shophach their general, seven thousand charioteers, and forty thousand of their infantry, 1-Chronicles 19:16-18. The Syrians abandon the Ammonites and make a separate peace with David, 1-Chronicles 19:19.
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 19
The eighteenth and nineteenth chapters are the same with 2-Samuel 8:1 with very little variations, which are observed in the notes on them, to which the reader is referred.
David's wars.
The same phenomena are met with in the detailed account of the Ammonite-Syriac war, 1-Chronicles 19:1-2; 1-Chronicles 20:3, as compared with 2 Sam 10:1-11:1, and 2-Samuel 12:26-31. In 1-Chronicles 19:1 the omission of the name הנוּן after בּנו is merely an oversight, as the omission of the name נחשׁ in 2-Samuel 10:1 also is. In 1-Chronicles 19:3 there is no need to alter וגו ולהפך לחקר into וגו וּלרגּלהּ את־העיר חקר, 2-Samuel 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 1-Chronicles 19:6, 1-Chronicles 19:7, at least, the divergence from 2-Samuel 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 2-Samuel 10:6. The special statement as to the place where the mercenaries encamped, and the Ammonites gathered themselves together from out their cities (1-Chronicles 19:7), is wanting in 2nd Samuel. The city Medeba, which, according to Joshua 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 Numbers 21:30). In 1-Chronicles 19:9, העיר פּתח, "outside the city" (i.e., the capital Rabbah), more correct or exact than השּׁער פּתח (2-Samuel 10:8). On אליהם ויּבא, as compared with חלאמה ויּבא (2-Samuel 10:17), cf. the discussion on 2-Samuel 10:16-17.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.