1 Chronicles 12:14
in 1 Chronicles 12These Gadites were army commanders, the least of whom was a match for a hundred, and the greatest for a thousand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These of the sons of Gad were captains of the host: he that was least was equal to a hundred, and the greatest to a thousand.
KJV
These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
This site's exposition
Mishmannah the fourth
on 1 Chronicles 12:10-14
The eleven Gadite captains are ranked in order, Mishmannah fourth through Machbanai eleventh, and verse fourteen states the scale of their command: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the line as a hyperbole for personal valor, each man reckoned worth many ordinary soldiers rather than commanding armies of that size. Barnes notes the passage's older, more poetic style, arguing it was drawn from an early source rather than written fresh by the Chronicler.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3297: “David and His Volunteers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
DAVID, compelled to flee from his own country, and to hide himself from the malice of Saul, was eminently a type of our Lord Jesus Christ who, in the days when He dwelt here among men, was despised and rejected of men. And at this moment it is well known to the true Church of God and it becomes palpably evident to every earnest Believer in the Gospel that Jesus, the Son of David, is not received, acknowledged, or tolerated in this present evil world. He has gone forth outside the camp.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3297: “David and His Volunteers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
DAVID, compelled to flee from his own country, and to hide himself from the malice of Saul, was eminently a type of our Lord Jesus Christ who, in the days when He dwelt here among men, was despised and rejected of men. And at this moment it is well known to the true Church of God and it becomes palpably evident to every earnest Believer in the Gospel that Jesus, the Son of David, is not received, acknowledged, or tolerated in this present evil world. He has gone forth outside the camp. All who would repair to Him must go forth likewise, bearing His reproach. These eleven Gadites—all of them remarkable men—espoused the cause of David when he was in his very worst condition—they left the ease and comfort, the honors and elements of their own homes to associate themselves with him when he was regarded as an outlaw under the ban of society. And to this day, every Christian who is faithful to his profession must separate himself from his fellow men to be a follower of the despised Jesus. In that way and with that faith which men still count heresy, must he join himself with that to which is everywhere spoken against, running the gauntlet of the age if he would espouse the cause of the Lord's Anointed! In tracing out the parallel, let me now draw your attention, first, to the leader who commanded the voluntary homage of good and valiant men. And then to the recruits who joined themselves to him, of whom we find a graphic description it our text. I. THE LEADER, whom we regard as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, was David, the son of Jesse. And in tracing out some points of analogy, we begin by noticing that like David, our Lord was anointed of God to be the Leader of His people. Hence the words of prophecy concerning Him, "I will make an Everlasting Covenant with You, even the sure mercies of David.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The marginal rendering is preferable. (Compare Lev 26:8).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
these were some of the sons of Gad as is written above (v. 8): “And some of the Gadites separated to David.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֥לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| מִבְּנֵי־ | mibenei- | [were] of [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| גָ֖ד | gad | Gad | H1410 → | 72 times |
| רָאשֵׁ֣י | rashei | [the] chiefs of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַצָּבָ֑א | hatzava' | the army | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֶחָ֤ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְמֵאָה֙ | lemeah | to a hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| הַקָּטָ֔ן | hakatan | the little | H6996 → | 101 times |
| וְהַגָּד֖וֹל | vehagadol | and the great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| לְאָֽלֶף׃ | lealef | to a thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
אֵ֥לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
מִבְּנֵי־[were] of [the] descendants of
mibenei-H1121 →4930 times
גָ֖דGad
gadH1410 →72 times
רָאשֵׁ֣י[the] chiefs of
rasheiH7218 →599 times
הַצָּבָ֑אthe army
hatzava'H6635 →485 times
אֶחָ֤דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְמֵאָה֙to a hundred
lemeahH3967 →581 times
הַקָּטָ֔ןthe little
hakatanH6996 →101 times
וְהַגָּד֖וֹלand the great
vehagadolH1419 →526 times
לְאָֽלֶף׃to a thousand
lealefH505 →505 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
Deuteronomy 32:30How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
it leads to
- Joshua 23:10
One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Isaiah 30:17
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a…
- Psalms 31:8
You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Joshua 23:10
Through
Leviticus 26:8Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
- Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- 1 Chronicles 11:20
Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the Three, and he lifted his spear against three hundred men, killed them, and won a name along with the Three.
- Numbers 14:9
Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD…
- Deuteronomy 28:7
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3297: “David and His Volunteers” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).