Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 19

Verse 1

CHAPTER XIX

David sends a congratulatory message to Hanun, king of Ammon,

1, 2.

He treats the messengers with great incivility, 3, 4.

David is exasperated, but condoles with the degraded

messengers, 5.

The Ammonites prepare for war, and hire thirty-two thousand

chariots, and besiege Medeba, 6, 7.

David sends Joab to attack them; he defeats the Syrians and

Ammonites, 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, 16-18.

The Syrians abandon the Ammonites and make a separate peace

with David, 19.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIX

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:1. Now it came to pass — See the same history, 2 Samuel 10:1, &c., and the notes there.

Verse 4

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:4. 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 2 Samuel 10:4.

Verse 6

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:6. 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.

Verse 7

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:7. 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.

Verse 13

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:13. Be of good courage — 2 Samuel 10:12.

Verse 18

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:18. Forty thousand footmen — See this number accounted for in Clarke's note on "2 Samuel 10:18".

Verse 19

Verse 1 Chronicles 19:19. They made peace with David, and became his servants — See on 2 Samuel 10:19, and the concluding note in that place; and see for omissions in Chronicles, the preface to these books.