1 Chronicles 12:8-15, 37-38
1 Chronicles 12:8-15
12:8 Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills. 1 12:9 Ezer was the leader, Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third, 12:10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, 12:11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12:12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 12:13 Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai the eleventh. 12:14 These Gadites were military leaders; the least led a hundred men, the greatest a thousand. 2 12:15 They crossed the Jordan River 3 in the first month, 4 when it was overflowing its banks, and routed those living in all the valleys to the east and west. 5
1 Chronicles 12:37-38
12:37 From the other side of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons.
12:38 All these men were warriors who were ready to march. 6 They came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel by acclamation; 7 all the rest of the Israelites also were in agreement that David should become king. 8
1 tn Heb “warriors, men of battle for war, prepared with shield and spear, and [like] the face of a lion were their faces, and like gazelles on the hills to hurry.”
2 tn Heb “one for a hundred the small, and the great for a thousand.” Another option is to translate the preposition -לְ (lamed) as “against” and to understand this as a hyperbolic reference to their prowess: “the least could stand against a hundred, the greatest against a thousand.”
3 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
4 sn That is, March-April.
5 tn Heb “and they chased all the valleys to the east and to the west.”
6 tc Heb “all these [were] men of war, helpers of the battle line.” The present translation assumes an emendation of עֹדְרֵי (’odÿrey, “helpers of”) to עֹרְכֵי, (’orÿkhey, “prepared for”).
7 tn Heb “with a complete heart they came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel.”
8 tn Heb “and also all the rest of Israel [was of] one mind to make David king.”
