1 CHRONICLES - CHAPTER 20
VERSES 1-3
v1 Kings usually went to war in the spring. In the spring, Joab led out the army of Israel. They destroyed the country called Ammon. They came to the city called Rabbah and they camped round it. But David stayed in Jerusalem. Then Joab attacked Rabbah and he destroyed it. v2 David took the crown from the head of their king. The weight of the crown was a talent of gold. There were precious stones in the crown. Then David placed that crown on his head. And David took many valuable things from the city. v3 He brought out the people that were there. And he forced them to work with saws, iron tools, and axes. David did this to all the towns in Ammon. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 1-3
Spring was at the end of the rainy season. In the rainy season, it was not practical to fight with chariots. When the spring came, the kings could go to war again. So, in the spring Joab led the army to fight in the country called Ammon.
Battles Against the Philistines – 1 Chronicles 20:4-8
v4 Later there was a war against the Philistines, at Gezer. Sibbecai, who came from the town called Hushah, killed Sippai. Sippai was a descendant of the family of huge people. So, Israel defeated the Philistines.
v5 And there was another battle against the Philistines. Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath, who was from the town called Gath. Lahmi’s spear was as large as the beam that people use to make cloth.
v6 There was another battle at the town called Gath. There was a huge man with 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot. (He had in total 24 fingers and toes.) He also was a descendant of the family of huge people. v7 When he insulted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
v8 David and his men killed these descendants of the huge people from Gath.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 4-8
Here are three incidents that happened during battles with the Philistines. The first two of these incidents were at Gezer. Gezer was a town but it may here mean that general area. The record elsewhere says that these incidents happened at Gob (2 Samuel 21:18). The third incident was in the battle at Gath. So all these incidents happened before David took the city called Gath from Philistine control (18:1).
These huge people were called the descendants of Rephaim. Rephaim was the ancestor of an ancient group of people who were very tall. There were very few of them still alive at the time of Moses (Deuteronomy 2:21). Formerly, they lived in Bashan, which was on the east side of the Jordan river (Deuteronomy 3:11).
Sibbecai came from Hushah town in Judah. He was one of David’s 30 special soldiers (1 Chronicles 11:29). Later David divided his army into 12 groups. Each group was on duty for a month. Sibbecai was the leader of 8th group of soldiers (1 Chronicles 27:11).
Sippai is the first of the huge men that the passage mentions. Sibbecai, the Israelite soldier, was very brave when he fought this man. Because the man was so huge, it was very dangerous to fight him. But Sibbecai managed to defeat the man and to kill him.
Lahmi was the brother of Goliath whom David killed (1 Samuel chapter 17). Elhanan, son of Jair, killed Lahmi.
This other huge man with extra fingers and toes was also a descendant of Rephaim. Jonathan, a nephew of David, killed him.
All these huge men lived in the city called Gath. The passage shows that, like Goliath, these huge men were champions in the Philistines’ army.
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