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1 Chronicles 18:12

in 1 Chronicles 18

Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand.

KJV

Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand.

This verse in 1 Chronicles 18

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Abishai - slew of the Edomites - This victory is attributed to David, 2Sa 8:13. He sent Abishai against them, and he defeated them: this is with great propriety attributed to David as commander-in-chief; qui facit per alterum, facit per se.

This site's exposition

in the valley of salt

on 1 Chronicles 18:12-13

Abishai son of Zeruiah strikes Edom in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand men, a victory 2 Sam 8:13 credits to David himself as commanding king even though Abishai led the field. Verse 13 closes this movement with the same refrain that opened it at verse 6, the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went, so the whole run of conquests is bracketed by one sentence naming its true cause. Chronicles is content to let the field commander's name stand beside the king's without resolving which telling is fuller.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

King David dedicated to the Lord —for the construction of the Temple.
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on I Chronicles 18:11:1, via Sefaria, The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007

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

11 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.

  • וְאַבְשַׁ֣יand Abishai

    veavshaiH5225 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H11214930 times

  • צְרוּיָ֗הZeruiah

    tzeruyahH687026 times

  • הִכָּ֤הhe struck down

    hikahH5221499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • אֱדוֹם֙Edom

    ʾedomH12399 times

  • בְּגֵ֣יאin [the] Valley of

    begei'H151659 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לַח<the> Salt

    hamelachH4417

  • שְׁמוֹנָ֥הeight-

    shemonahH8083109 times

  • עָשָׂ֖רteen

    ʾasarH6240338 times

  • אָֽלֶף׃thousand

    ʾalefH505505 times

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

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

    Psalms 60:1

    You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 8:12–13

      from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

    • 2 Samuel 8:3

      David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

    • Psalms 44:9

      But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.

    • 2 Samuel 5:20

      So David went to Baal-perazim, where he defeated the Philistines and said, “Like a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me.” So he called that place Baal-perazim.

    • 1 Chronicles 18:3

      As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 26:6

    And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai.

    it leads to

    • Judges 7:10–11

      But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah

    • 2 Samuel 2:18

      The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 25:11

    Amaziah, however, summoned his strength and led his troops to the Valley of Salt, where he struck down 10,000 men of Seir,

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 14:7

      Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.

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.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Keil, The Books of the Chronicles.