seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Chronicles 12:8 Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions, and they were as swift as gazelles in the mountains.
14 These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand. 15 It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.
16 Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, I am ready for you to join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our ancestors see it and judge you.”
18 Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:
So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.
9 Ezer was the chief,
Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,
10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13 Jeremiah the tenth and Makbannai the eleventh.
Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third,
10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13 Jeremiah the tenth and Makbannai the eleventh.
14 These Gadites were army commanders; the least was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand. 15 It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.
16 Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, I am ready for you to join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free from violence, may the God of our ancestors see it and judge you.”
18 Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:
“We are yours, David!
We are with you, son of Jesse!
Success, success to you,
and success to those who help you,
for your God will help you.”
We are with you, son of Jesse!
Success, success to you,
and success to those who help you,
for your God will help you.”
So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.
I read it a couple times.... it's interesting... the number of valiant men who flocked to David.... a shepherd with a sling and a couple of rocks.
This is from the easy English site.
Before David went to Ziklag, he was in a camp in the desert. 11 officers from the army of the tribe of Gad came with their men to him. They were all skilled and ready for battle.
The passage compares these men to two kinds of animals: lions and gazelles. A lion is the strongest and fiercest animal. A gazelle is an animal that lives in the hills. Gazelles can run very fast. So these men were strong and they could run quickly. Such skills were very useful in the army.
The tribe of Gad lived on the east side of the river Jordan. These men crossed the river during the first month (that is, March or April in a modern calendar). That is the time when the river floods. Then they had to fight their way through their enemies on both sides of the river. Their success in this battle showed how brave and strong these men were.
People from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah came to David. It seems that he suspected them. In other words, he thought that they might be enemies. Maybe they had come to take him to Saul. So, David went to meet them. He had to find out whether they were enemies. If they were enemies, God would know it. And he believed that God would punish them. But God spoke by means of Amasai. And Amasai convinced David that they were friends. They would fight to support David.
The passage compares these men to two kinds of animals: lions and gazelles. A lion is the strongest and fiercest animal. A gazelle is an animal that lives in the hills. Gazelles can run very fast. So these men were strong and they could run quickly. Such skills were very useful in the army.
The tribe of Gad lived on the east side of the river Jordan. These men crossed the river during the first month (that is, March or April in a modern calendar). That is the time when the river floods. Then they had to fight their way through their enemies on both sides of the river. Their success in this battle showed how brave and strong these men were.
People from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah came to David. It seems that he suspected them. In other words, he thought that they might be enemies. Maybe they had come to take him to Saul. So, David went to meet them. He had to find out whether they were enemies. If they were enemies, God would know it. And he believed that God would punish them. But God spoke by means of Amasai. And Amasai convinced David that they were friends. They would fight to support David.
Can you see it now? David went out to meet the Gadites..... his bodyguard must have been armed and ready to run through some Gadites if they laid a finger on David. I can see him walking right up to the leader.... and in today's vernacular.... "Sup"
This is from biblestudytools.org..... on the definition of Valor.....
one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand--David, while at Ziklag, had not so large an amount of forces as to give to each of these the command of so many men. Another meaning, therefore, must obviously be sought, and excluding was, which is a supplement by our translators, the import of the passage is, that one of the least could discomfit a hundred, and the greatest was worth a thousand ordinary men; a strong hyperbole to express their uncommon valor.
One of David's men was more terrifying than 100 of anyone else's army. The really talented men in David's army were more territying than 1000 of anyone else's army. They had bows, arrows, shields, knives, and spears. They could skirt around the hill country as if it were their own little hood. David's men were bad.....
I figure they were loyal too.... David didn't conscript them into the service..... they came to him. David didn't pay them handsomely.... he was a wanted man in hiding when a lot of these men joined up. David had cred.
