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1 Chronicles 12:1

in 1 Chronicles 12

Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle;

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men, his helpers in war.

KJV

Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war.

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This verse in 1 Chronicles 12

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag,.... Given him by Achish to live in, when he fled from Saul, 1Sa 27:6. while he yet kept himself close, because of Saul the son of Kish; when he was an exile from his own country, and obliged to live retired in a foreign one, because of Saul's persecution of him, and seeking to take away his life: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war; not against Saul, with whom David had none, but with the Amalekites, and others, 1Sa 27:8.

This site's exposition

came to David to Ziklag

on 1 Chronicles 12:1-2

These are Saul's own kinsmen, Benjamite archers skilled with either hand, who threw in with David while Saul still reigned and David still hid at Ziklag. No account in Samuel names this company; the whole chapter is material Chronicles alone preserves, four separate musters building toward the coronation at Hebron. The label helpers of the war marks trained fighters rather than raw sympathizers, men whose bow-skill Saul's own tribe had first supplied.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), while he did not appear, to invite or encourage his friends and well-wishers to come in to him (not foreseeing that the death of Saul was so near), God was inclining and preparing them to come over to him with seasonable succours.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

This chapter is composed wholly of matter that is new to us, no corresponding accounts occurring in Samuel. It comprises four lists: (1) One of men, chiefly Benjamites, who joined David at Ziklag 1Ch 12:1-7; (2) A second of Gadites who united themselves to him when he was in a stronghold near the desert 1Ch 12:8-15; (3) A third of Manassites who came to him when he was dismissed by the Philistines upon suspicion 1Ch 12:19-22; and (4) A fourth of the numbers from the different tribes who attended and made him king at Hebron 1 Chr. 12:23-40.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Ziklag--(See on 1Sa 27:6). It was during his retirement in that Philistine town that he was joined in rapid succession by the heroes who afterwards contributed so much to the glory of his reign.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Came to David to Ziklag - Achish, king of Gath, had given Ziklag to David, as a safe retreat from the wrath of Saul.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְאֵ֗לֶּהand these

    veelehH428 →746 times

  • הַבָּאִ֤ים[were] the [ones who] came

    habaimH935 →2568 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • דָּוִיד֙David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לְצִ֣יקְלַ֔גto Ziklag

    letzikelagH6860 →15 times

  • ע֣וֹדstill

    odH5750 →490 times

  • עָצ֔וּרkept back

    ʾatzurH6113 →47 times

  • מִפְּנֵ֖יfrom before

    mipeneiH6440 →2123 times

  • שָׁא֣וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • קִ֑ישׁKish

    kishH7027 →21 times

  • וְהֵ֙מָּה֙and they

    vehemahH1992 →553 times

  • בַּגִּבּוֹרִ֔ים[were] among the warriors

    bagiborimH1368 →158 times

  • עֹזְרֵ֖י[who] helped of

    ʾozereiH5826 →81 times

  • הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃the war

    hamilchamahH4421 →320 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 27:2–6So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.4 works1 Chronicles 11:10Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.2 works1 Chronicles 11:24–25These were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who won a name alongside the three mighty men.2 works1 Chronicles 9:39Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.2 works2 Samuel 1:1After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.2 works1 Chronicles 11:19saying, “Far be it from me, my God, to do this! How can I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” Because they had brought it at the risk of their lives, David refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three mighty men.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 4:10when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!2 works1 Chronicles 8:33Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.2 works1 Chronicles 4:30Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,2 works1 Samuel 27:6That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.2 worksJoshua 15:31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Chronicles 9:39

    Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 13:22

      So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

    • 1 Samuel 14:1

      One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.

    • 1 Chronicles 10:2

      The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 11:10

    Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 11:3

      So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, where David made a covenant with them before the LORD. And they anointed him king over Israel, according to the word of…

    • 2 Samuel 23:8–39

      These are the names of David’s mighty men: Josheb-basshebeth the Tahchemonite was chief of the Three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed at one time.

    • 2 Samuel 3:17–18

      Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “In the past you sought David as your king.

    • 1 Chronicles 12:38

      All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David…

    • 1 Samuel 16:1

      Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…

About 1 Chronicles

Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 1 Chronicles 12 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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