1 Chronicles 12:22
in 1 Chronicles 12For at that time men came to David day after day to help him, until he had a great army, like the army of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great host, like the host of God.
KJV
For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThat time - While he was at Ziklag, and in his march to Hebron, and principally at Hebron. Like - Innumerable, like the stars or angels, both which are called God's hosts.
This site's exposition
like the host of God
The narrator pauses to summarize before the tribal numbers begin: day by day men came until it was a great host, like the host of God. Gill records the Targum's reading of that comparison as the heavenly host, the angels themselves, a scale meant to describe overwhelming number rather than to claim a supernatural army. Wesley reads it the same way, the host of God standing for what is beyond counting, like the stars.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Auxiliary forces flocked in daily, till he had a great host. When the promise comes to the birth, leave it to God to find strength to bring forth. 23 And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:35w-of-65
For at that time, day by day, there came to David to help him,.... Particularly after the defeat of Saul by the Philistines, unto the time that David came to Hebron: until it was a great host, like the host of God; the heavenly host, the angels; so the Targum.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there fell some of Manasseh--The period of their accession is fixed as the time when David came with the Philistines against Saul to battle. but they helped them not--(See on 1Sa 29:4).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Like the host of God - “That is, a very numerous army; like the army of the angel of God.” - T.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְעֶת־ | leet- | to a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בְּי֔וֹם | beyom | in a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יָבֹ֥אוּ | yavou | they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דָּוִ֖יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לְעָזְר֑וֹ | leazero | to help him | H5826 → | 81 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| לְמַחֲנֶ֥ה | lemachaneh | to a camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| גָד֖וֹל | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| כְּמַחֲנֵ֥ה | kemachaneh | like [the] camp of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ פ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לְעֶת־to a time of
leet-H6256 →296 times
י֣וֹםa day
yomH3117 →2304 times
בְּי֔וֹםin a day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
יָבֹ֥אוּthey came
yavouH935 →2568 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דָּוִ֖ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לְעָזְר֑וֹto help him
leazeroH5826 →81 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
לְמַחֲנֶ֥הto a camp
lemachanehH4264 →215 times
גָד֖וֹלgreat
gadolH1419 →526 times
כְּמַחֲנֵ֥הlike [the] camp of
kemachanehH4264 →215 times
אֱלֹהִֽים׃ פGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
Job 17:9Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.
it leads to
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Isaiah 1:15–16
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Job 22:30
He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
- Psalms 84:7
They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion.
- Proverbs 14:16
A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
- Proverbs 4:18
Through
Joshua 5:14“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?”
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:4
Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples.
- Genesis 17:3
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
- Revelation 19:10–14
So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…
- Isaiah 55:4
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.