1 Chronicles 20 Study Notes

20:1 The ideal time to march out to war in ancient times was the spring because the ground is not too wet or muddy, and the weather is not too cold or hot for soldiers to exert themselves. In addition, for food the army could plunder crops growing in the invaded territory. Joab, once again in command, crossed into the territory of Ammon to finish the job started the previous year when the Ammonites had retreated. He traveled to the town of Rabbah and laid siege to this capital of the Ammonites. David did not accompany his troops, but he remained in Jerusalem. This is the time when David had his affair with Bathsheba, and this is the military campaign in which he sent her husband, Uriah, to his death (2Sm 11:2-12:25). The Chronicler omits this entire episode.

20:2-3 After Joab had destroyed the city, David was crowned with the Ammonites’ crown. His men carried away anything of value. Then he may have commanded the inhabitants of the city to destroy their own buildings. To have them destroy their houses, which could be rebuilt, was an effective way to keep them under control without taking their lives or carrying them into slavery.

20:4 Further conflict with the Philistines was inevitable. The occasions mentioned here may have happened over a longer period of time; they are brought together here by the Chronicler to report on the various Philistine giants. The first giant mentioned was Sippai, referred to as a descendant of the Rephaim. The Hebrew word rephaim refers to a race of giants, of whom we know nothing more than that they were larger than normal men. Apparently the rephaim had left a genetic heritage, even though the last pure member of their race was Og, king of Bashan, whose bed was 13 feet long and 6 feet wide (Dt 3:11). Earlier in 1 Chronicles we learned of an Egyptian giant who was killed by Benaiah (1Ch 11:23). In the case of Sippai, his killer was Sibbecai the Hushathite.

20:5 Goliath had a brother named Lahmi, who may have been as tall as Goliath (1Sm 17:4). He was killed by Elhanan son of Jair, who is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

20:6-7 Another giant, whose name is not given, copied Goliath by taunting Israel. In addition to his extraordinary stature, he had an extra digit on each hand and foot. This time the killing of a giant remained in David’s family when his nephew Jonathan took care of the matter.

20:8 The elimination of giants is an important aspect of how David finally took possession of the entire promised land. Assuming the spies were giving an accurate report rather than an exaggerated report born of fear and faithlessness, giants were spotted in the promised land. This report initially deterred the Israelites from invading Canaan (Nm 13:33-14:9). Those giants may have been Anakites, descended from the Nephilim who were destroyed in Noah’s flood (Gn 6:4) but whose genes might have been carried recessively by Noah’s son Ham or his wife, among the eight survivors of the flood. About forty years after the aborted invasion of the promised land Caleb had the opportunity to demonstrate his faith in God by eliminating the Anakites who lived around his new hometown of Hebron (Jdg 1:20). The defeat of these giants was a sign that the land had finally been completely conquered.