1 Chronicles 12:2
in 1 Chronicles 12they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
KJV
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The skill of the Benjamites as archers is noted in 1Ch 8:40, and 2Ch 14:8. Their proficiency in using the left hand appears in the narrative of Judges (Jdg 3:15, and marginal reference) where their special excellency as slingers is also noticed. Even of Saul’s brethren - Compare 1Ch 12:29. Even of Saul’s own tribe there were some who separated themselves from his cause, and threw in their lot with David.
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 Awakening2 voices
Several of the leading men of them are here named. Some of the tribe of Gad, though seated on the other side Jordan, had such a conviction of David's title to the government, and fitness for it, that they separated themselves from their brethren (a laudable separation it was) to go to David, though he was in the hold in the wilderness (
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They were armed with bows,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
This movement to which the parties were led, doubtless by the secret impulse of the Spirit, was of vast importance to the cause of David, as it must have been founded on their observation of the evident withdrawal of God's blessing from Saul, and His favoring presence with David, to whom it was universally known the Divine King of Israel had given the crown in reversion.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֹ֣שְׁקֵי | noshekei | [they were] equipped of | H5401 → | |
| קֶ֗שֶׁת | keshet | bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| מַיְמִינִ֤ים | mayminim | using right [hand] | H3231 → | |
| וּמַשְׂמִאלִים֙ | umasmilim | and using left [hand] | H8041 → | |
| בָּֽאֲבָנִ֔ים | baavanim | with <the> stones | H68 → | 273 times |
| וּבַחִצִּ֖ים | uvachitzim | and with <the> arrows | H2671 → | |
| בַּקָּ֑שֶׁת | bakashet | with the bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| מֵאֲחֵ֥י | meachei | some of [the] relatives of | H251 → | 630 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| מִבִּנְיָמִֽן׃ | mibinyamin | from Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
נֹ֣שְׁקֵי[they were] equipped of
noshekeiH5401 →
קֶ֗שֶׁתbow
keshetH7198 →76 times
מַיְמִינִ֤יםusing right [hand]
mayminimH3231 →
וּמַשְׂמִאלִים֙and using left [hand]
umasmilimH8041 →
בָּֽאֲבָנִ֔יםwith <the> stones
baavanimH68 →273 times
וּבַחִצִּ֖יםand with <the> arrows
uvachitzimH2671 →
בַּקָּ֑שֶׁתwith the bow
bakashetH7198 →76 times
מֵאֲחֵ֥יsome of [the] relatives of
meacheiH251 →630 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
מִבִּנְיָמִֽן׃from Benjamin
mibinyaminH1144 →166 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
Judges 20:16Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
it leads to
- Judges 3:15
And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
- Judges 3:15
Through
Judges 3:15And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
it leads to
- Judges 3:9
But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
- Psalms 78:34
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Judges 20:16
Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
- Isaiah 36:16
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine…
- Judges 3:9
Through
1 Chronicles 12:29From Benjamin, the kinsmen of Saul: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 2:8–9
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
- 2 Samuel 2:8–9
Through
1 Samuel 17:49Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:27–28
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- 1 Corinthians 1:27–28
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.