1 Chronicles 11 Study Notes

11:1-2 The Chronicler skips over a lengthy series of events and takes us directly to the time of David’s coronation. David was not accepted immediately as king of Israel by everyone. He had opposition from Jonathan’s surviving brother Esh-baal, and it took warfare and bloodshed before David emerged as the undisputed victor (2Sm 1-2). Thus, this peaceful assertion by all Israel of blood relationship with David and his entitlement to the throne was as pragmatic as it was firm. The people even quoted the Lord’s approval of David, even though some of them had fought against him not too long ago.

11:3 David’s initial coronation took place at Hebron, a city from which he ruled for seven years.

11:4-9 The last stronghold of the Canaanites in the promised land was the citadel of Jebus at the peak of Jerusalem. This was considered virtually impregnable. Despite the defiance declared by the Jebusites, David motivated his troops to capture this prize, and his half nephew Joab succeeded. He used the water shaft to gain entry into the compound (2Sm 5:8). Joab was rewarded by being designated chief commander of David’s army, an office that he had held de facto all along. David moved the capital from Hebron to Jerusalem.

11:10-47 The list of David’s major warriors and heroes covers both individual exploits and victories of larger armies. It covers several decades, from the time that David was fleeing Saul until the end of David’s forty-year reign. Not everyone on this list was around all that time. For example, Asahel (v. 26) was killed in the civil war against Esh-baal (2Sm 2:23), and Uriah the Hethite (v. 41) was sent to his death by David (2Sm 11:17). For this reason the list of the Thirty (v. 11) actually includes more than thirty people. It is best to think of “the Thirty” as an elite company of warriors, the number of which was not fixed at thirty. See note at v. 47.

11:11-14 Other English Bible versions set apart a special group of “Three” in addition to the Thirty, but the manuscripts in the original language do not support this distinction. Chronicles mentions only two men in the supposed group of “Three.” A parallel list in 2Sm 23 adds a man named Shammah.

11:15-19 This anecdote illustrates the respect that David had for his heroes. When David complained of thirst, three of his men risked their lives to break through the Philistine camp and make off with some water from the city of Bethlehem for the king. But David refused to drink it. He poured it on the ground as an offering to God, stating that if he drank it, it would be as though he were drinking the blood of these three heroes.

11:20-21 It may seem a little confusing that Abishai, Joab’s brother, was the commander of the Three but was not actually one of them. Again, the manuscripts allow for greater flexibility in the translation. He may have been a commander of the “Thirty” (v. 11), but not a part of the most distinguished “Three.” It also makes sense that the person in charge of an elite outfit would not necessarily be a participant in the mission of the group. Much the same occurs in modern militaries.

11:22-25 Another commander was Benaiah, whom David put in charge of his bodyguard. Benaiah’s exploits included the killing of a giant. Victories over giants are mentioned several times in Chronicles (see 20:5 and note there), though the story of David and Goliath occurs only in 1Sm 17.

11:26-47 Best soldiers is literally “those who are mighty in strength.” The phrase first occurs in Joshua (Jos 1:14; 6:2; 8:3; 10:7), then in 2Kg 24:14, and again in 1Ch 12:8.

11:26 Asahel, brother of Joab and Abishai and half-nephew of David, was also counted among the “Thirty.” But he lost his life early on in the civil war against Esh-baal’s supporters (2Sm 2:23).

11:34 Several sets of brothers are included in this list. We do not know how many sons of Hashem there were, but pairs of brothers are mentioned in vv. 44-46.

11:42 We see how flexible the designation of the “Thirty” was because Adina from Reuben was a part of this group, together with his own thirty supporters.

11:47 Assuming that there were only two sons of Hashem (and not counting Adina’s thirty followers), the list adds up to forty-five people, quite an expansive interpretation of the “Thirty.” However, this is a problem only if one mistakenly takes approximations or figures of speech as exact numbers. A baseball team is called “nine,” but the roster consists of twenty-five people, and that number would be higher still if it listed all who had been on the team over a forty-year period.