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1 CHR ONICL ES 12
page 367
Warriors Join David’s Army
The following men joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from Saul son
of Kish. They were among the warriors who
fought beside David in battle. 2 All of them were
expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or
sling stones with their left hand as well as their
right. They were all relatives of Saul from the
tribe of Benjamin. 3 Their leader was Ahiezer
son of Shemaah from Gibeah; his brother Joash
was second-in-command. These were the other
warriors:
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Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth;
Beracah;
Jehu from Anathoth;
Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous warrior
and leader among the Thirty;
*Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad
from Gederah;
Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and
Shephatiah from Haruph;
Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and
Jashobeam, who were Korahites;
Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from
Gedor.
8 Some brave and experienced warriors from
the tribe of Gad also defected to David while
he was at the stronghold in the wilderness.
They were expert with both shield and spear,
as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the
mountains.
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Ezer was their leader.
Obadiah was second.
Eliab was third.
Mishmannah was fourth.
Jeremiah was fifth.
Attai was sixth.
Eliel was seventh.
Johanan was eighth.
Elzabad was ninth.
Jeremiah was tenth.
Macbannai was eleventh.
14 These warriors from Gad were army commanders. The weakest among them could take
on a hundred regular troops, and the strongest
could take on a thousand! 15 These were the men
who crossed the Jordan River during its seasonal flooding at the beginning of the year and
drove out all the people living in the lowlands
on both the east and west banks.
16 Others from Benjamin and Judah came to
David at the stronghold. 17 David went out to
meet them and said, “If you have come in peace
to help me, we are friends. But if you have come
to betray me to my enemies when I am innocent,
then may the God of our ancestors see it and
punish you.”
12:4 Verses 12:4b-40 are numbered 12:5-41 in Hebrew text.
18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the
leader of the Thirty, and he said,
“We are yours, David!
We are on your side, son of Jesse.
Peace and prosperity be with you,
and success to all who help you,
for your God is the one who helps you.”
So David let them join him, and he made them
officers over his troops.
19 Some men from Manasseh defected from
the Israelite army and joined David when he
set out with the Philistines to fight against
Saul. But as it turned out, the Philistine rulers refused to let David and his men go with
them. After much discussion, they sent them
back, for they said, “It will cost us our heads
if David switches loyalties to Saul and turns
against us.”
20 Here is a list of the men from Manasseh
who defected to David as he was returning to
Ziklag: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each commanded
1,000 troops from the tribe of Manasseh. 21 They
helped David chase down bands of raiders, for
they were all brave and able warriors who became commanders in his army. 22 Day after day
more men joined David until he had a great
army, like the army of God.
23 These are the numbers of armed warriors
who joined David at Hebron. They were all eager
to see David become king instead of Saul, just as
the Lord had promised.
24 From
the tribe of Judah, there were 6,800
warriors armed with shields and spears.
25 From the tribe of Simeon, there were 7,100
brave warriors.
26 From the tribe of Levi, there were 4,600
warriors. 27 This included Jehoiada, leader
of the family of Aaron, who had 3,700 under
his command. 28 This also included Zadok,
a brave young warrior, with 22 members of
his family who were all officers.
29 From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives,
there were 3,000 warriors. Most of the men
from Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul
until this time.
30 From the tribe of Ephraim, there were 20,800
brave warriors, each highly respected in his
own clan.
31 From the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the
Jordan, 18,000 men were designated by
name to help David become king.
32 From the tribe of Issachar, there were
200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives.
All these men understood the signs of the
times and knew the best course for Israel
to take.
33 From the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000
skilled warriors. They were fully armed and