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The Histories · Old Testament

1 Chronicles 20

1 Chronicles 20: Rabbah taken and the sons of the giant killed

General context

When the year turns, "at the time that kings go out to battle", Joab leads the army, wastes the land of Ammon and besieges Rabbah, "But David tarried at Jerusalem." Joab strikes Rabbah and destroys it. David takes the crown of Ammon's king, a talent of gold with precious stones, and it is set on his head; he brings much spoil out of the city. He brings out the people and cuts them "with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes", and does the same to all the Ammonite cities before returning to Jerusalem. Three Philistine wars follow. At Gezer, Sibbechai the Hushathite kills Sippai, one of "the children of the giant", and the Philistines are subdued. In another war Elhanan the son of Jair kills Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam. At Gath a man of great stature with twenty-four fingers and toes, also "the son of the giant", defies Israel, and Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, kills him. The narrator sums up: these were born to the giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and his servants.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 20:1, 1 Chronicles 20:2, 1 Chronicles 20:3, 1 Chronicles 20:4, 1 Chronicles 20:5, 1 Chronicles 20:6, 1 Chronicles 20:7, 1 Chronicles 20:8

1 Chronicles 20 (KJV)

1And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

2And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.

3And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.

5And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam.

6And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant.

7But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him.

8These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

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Historical context

The narrator says David stayed in Jerusalem while Joab besieged Rabbah, and then moves straight to David taking the crown; nothing is told of what David did in the city during the siege, and the chapter does not say how he came to be at Rabbah for the crown. The treatment of Rabbah's people is stated in the KJV as cutting them with saws, harrows and axes, applied to all Ammon's cities; the text presents this as David's act and gives no comment. Lahmi is identified as "the brother of Goliath the Gittite", and Goliath himself is not otherwise mentioned in this book. "The giant" is never named. Jonathan is called the son of Shimea, David's brother; chapter 2 spelled Jesse's third son Shimma, and the text does not remark on the difference. The closing summary credits the deaths to David and his servants together, though the chapter names only servants as the killers. The three Philistine wars are dated only by "after this" and "again".

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 20:1, 1 Chronicles 20:2, 1 Chronicles 20:3, 1 Chronicles 20:5, 1 Chronicles 20:6, 1 Chronicles 20:7, 1 Chronicles 20:8, 1 Chronicles 20:4

Literary context

The chapter is short and built of two lists. The first is the end of the Ammonite war in three verses: siege, crown, punishment. The sentence "But David tarried at Jerusalem" is set against the season "at the time that kings go out to battle" and then left without explanation, so the contrast sits in the text unresolved. The crown moves from the Ammonite king's head to David's in one verse, a plain image of transfer. The second list is three Philistine duels told in a formula, "there was war again", each naming an Israelite, a giant's son and a detail (a spear like a weaver's beam, twenty-four digits). The weaver's beam echoes Benaiah's Egyptian in chapter 11. The summary in the last verse gathers the individual killings under David's name, so the chapter closes the war narratives of chapters 18 to 20 with the king's servants acting as his hand.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 20:1, 1 Chronicles 20:2, 1 Chronicles 20:5, 1 Chronicles 20:6, 1 Chronicles 20:8

Key moments

  1. David tarries at Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 20:1). Joab besieges Rabbah in the season of war while David stays in Jerusalem.
  2. The crown on David's head (1 Chronicles 20:2). David takes the Ammonite king's golden crown and much spoil.
  3. Rabbah's people cut down (1 Chronicles 20:3). The people of Rabbah and the Ammonite cities are cut with saws, harrows and axes.
  4. Sippai slain at Gezer (1 Chronicles 20:4). Sibbechai kills a son of the giant and the Philistines are subdued.
  5. Goliath's brother killed (1 Chronicles 20:5). Elhanan kills Lahmi, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.
  6. The man with twenty-four digits (1 Chronicles 20:7). David's nephew Jonathan kills the giant's son who defied Israel.

For reflection

The narrator notes that David stayed home in the season when kings go to war, and says nothing more about it. What is a reader to do with a detail that the text sets down and then leaves alone?

People in this chapter

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