1 Chronicles 11:6
in 1 Chronicles 11Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief.
KJV
And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 11
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The narrative here given fills out a manifest defect in 2Sa 5:8 where something has evidently dropped out of the text. The prowess of Joab on this occasion, and the part which he took in the building of the city of David 1Ch 11:8, are known to us only from this passage of Chronicles.
This site's exposition
marched to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus)
on 1 Chronicles 11:4-6
Jerusalem falls to David, and the text keeps the city's older name, Jebus. Joab son of Zeruiah went up first and won the chief command David had offered. This passage alone credits him with the feat, for 2 Samuel 5:8 records the siege without naming who led it.
This site's exposition
Whoever is the first to
Barnes reads this verse as filling a gap in 2 Samuel 5:8, where the text breaks off. Joab had already led David's men at Gibeon in 2 Samuel 2:13, and this feat wins him the rank of chief over the whole army. Zeruiah was David's sister (1 Chronicles 2:16).
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַכֵּ֤ה | makeh | [one who] strikes down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| יְבוּסִי֙ | yevusi | <of> a Jebusite | H2983 → | 41 times |
| בָּרִ֣אשׁוֹנָ֔ה | barishonah | at the first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְרֹ֖אשׁ | lerosh | <into> a chief | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וּלְשָׂ֑ר | ulesar | and <into> a commander | H8269 → | 421 times |
| וַיַּ֧עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בָּרִאשׁוֹנָ֛ה | barishonah | at the first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| יוֹאָ֥ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צְרוּיָ֖ה | tzeruyah | Zeruiah | H6870 → | 26 times |
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְרֹֽאשׁ׃ | lerosh | <into> a chief | H7218 → | 599 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he had said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַכֵּ֤ה[one who] strikes down
makehH5221 →499 times
יְבוּסִי֙<of> a Jebusite
yevusiH2983 →41 times
בָּרִ֣אשׁוֹנָ֔הat the first
barishonahH7223 →182 times
יִהְיֶ֥הhe will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְרֹ֖אשׁ<into> a chief
leroshH7218 →599 times
וּלְשָׂ֑רand <into> a commander
ulesarH8269 →421 times
וַיַּ֧עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
בָּרִאשׁוֹנָ֛הat the first
barishonahH7223 →182 times
יוֹאָ֥בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צְרוּיָ֖הZeruiah
tzeruyahH6870 →26 times
וַיְהִ֥יand he became
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לְרֹֽאשׁ׃<into> a chief
leroshH7218 →599 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 2:18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 12:8
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions…
- Habakkuk 3:19
GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
- 1 Chronicles 12:8
Through
2 Samuel 8:16Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
it leads to
- 1 Kings 4:3
Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
- 2 Samuel 19:13
And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- 1 Kings 4:3
Through
2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:5
Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them…
- 2 Samuel 20:9–10
“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- 1 Kings 2:5
Through
1 Samuel 17:25Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:16
And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
- Joshua 15:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Berean Standard Bible, 2 Samuel 2:13; Berean Standard Bible, 1 Chronicles 2:16 and Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
