1 Crônicas 12

ARC · Chapter 12/29

1Estes porém são os que vieram a David, a Siclag, estando elle ainda encerrado, por causa de Saul, filho de Kis: e eram dos valentes que ajudaram a esta guerra,

2Armados de arco, e usavam da mão direita e esquerda em atirar pedras e em despedir frechas com o arco: eram estes dos irmãos de Saul, benjamitas.

3Ahiezer, o chefe, e Joás, filho de Semaa, o gibeathita, e Jeziel e Pelet, filhos de Azmaveth, e Beracha, e Jehu, o anathotita,

4E Ismaias, o gibeonita, valente entre os trinta, e capitão dos trinta, e Jeremias, e Jahaziel, e Johanan, e Jozabad, o gederathita,

5Eluzai, e Jerimoth, e Bealias, e Samarias, e Saphatias, o haruphita,

6Elkana, e Issias, e Azareel, e Joezer, e Jasobeam, os korahitas,

7E Joela, e Zabadias, filhos de Jeroham de Gedor.

8E dos gaditas se retiraram a David, ao logar forte no deserto, varões valentes, homens de guerra para pelejar, armados com rodela e lança: e seus rostos eram como rostos de leões, e ligeiros como corças sobre os montes:

9Ezer, o cabeça, Obadias, o segundo, Eliab, o terceiro,

10Mismanna, o quarto, Jeremias, o quinto,

11Atthai, o sexto, Eliel, o setimo,

12Johanan, o oitavo, Elzabad, o nono,

13Jeremias, o decimo, Machbannai, o undecimo.

14Estes, dos filhos de Gad, foram os capitães do exercito: um dos menores tinha o cargo de cem, e o maior de mil.

15Estes são os que passaram o Jordão no mez primeiro, quando elle trasbordava por todas as suas ribanceiras, e fizeram fugir a todos os dos valles para o oriente e para o occidente.

16Tambem vieram alguns dos filhos de Benjamin e de Judah a David, ao logar forte.

17E David lhes saiu ao encontro, e lhes fallou, dizendo: Se vós vindes a mim pacificamente e para me ajudar, o meu coração se unirá comvosco; porém se é para me entregar aos meus inimigos, sem que haja deslealdade nas minhas mãos, o Deus de nossos paes o veja e o reprehenda.

18Então entrou o espirito em Amasai, chefe de trinta, e disse: Nós somos teus, ó David! e comtigo estamos, ó filho de Jessé! paz, paz comtigo! e paz com quem te ajuda! pois que teu Deus te ajuda. E David os recebeu, e os fez capitães das tropas.

19Tambem de Manassés alguns passaram a David, quando veiu com os philisteos para a batalha contra Saul, ainda que não os ajudaram; porque os principes dos philisteos, com conselho, o despediram, dizendo: Á custa de nossas cabeças passará a Saul, seu senhor.

20Voltando elle pois a Siclag, passaram para elle, de Manassés, Adnah, e Jozabad, e Jediael, e Michael, e Jozabad, e Elihu, e Zillethai, chefes de milhares dos de Manassés.

21E estes ajudaram a David contra aquella tropa, porque todos elles eram heroes valentes, e foram capitães no exercito.

22Porque n'aquelle tempo, de dia em dia, vinham a David para o ajudar, até que se fez um grande exercito, como exercito de Deus,

23Ora este é o numero dos chefes armados para a peleja, que vieram a David em Hebron, para transferir a elle o reino de Saul, conforme a palavra do Senhor.

24Dos filhos de Judah, que traziam rodela e lança, seis mil e oitocentos, armados para a peleja.

25Dos filhos de Simeão, varões valentes para pelejar, sete mil e cem.

26Dos filhos de Levi, quatro mil e seiscentos.

27Joiada porém era o chefe dos de Aarão, e com elle tres mil e setecentos.

28E Zadok, sendo ainda mancebo, varão valente; e da familia de seu pae, vinte e dois principes.

29E dos filhos de Benjamin, irmãos de Saul, tres mil; porque até então havia ainda muitos d'elles que eram pela casa de Saul.

30E dos filhos de Ephraim vinte mil e oitocentos varões valentes, homens de nome em casa de seus paes.

31E da meia tribu de Manassés dezoito mil, que foram apontados pelos seus nomes para vir a fazer rei a David.

32E dos filhos d'Issacar, destros na sciencia dos tempos, para saberem o que Israel devia fazer, duzentos de seus chefes, e todos os seus irmãos seguiam a sua palavra.

33De Zebulon, dos que sahiam ao exercito, ordenados para a peleja com todas as armas de guerra, cincoenta mil; como tambem destros para ordenarem uma batalha com coração constante.

34E de Naphtali, mil capitães, e com elles trinta e sete mil com rodela e lança.

35E dos danitas, ordenados para a peleja, vinte e oito mil e seiscentos.

36E de Aser, dos que sahiam para o exercito, para ordenarem a batalha, quarenta mil.

37E da banda d'além do Jordão, dos rubenitas e gaditas, e da meia tribu de Manassés, com toda a sorte de instrumentos de guerra para pelejar, cento e vinte mil.

38Todos estes homens de guerra, postos em ordem de batalha, com coração inteiro, vieram a Hebron para levantar a David rei sobre todo o Israel: e tambem todo o mais d'Israel tinha o mesmo coração para levantar a David rei

39E estiveram ali com David tres dias, comendo e bebendo; porque seus irmãos lhes tinham preparado as provisões.

40E tambem seus visinhos de mais perto, até Issacar, e Zebulon, e Naphtali, trouxeram pão sobre jumentos, e sobre camelos, e sobre mulos, e sobre bois, provisões de farinha, pastas de figos e cachos de passas, e vinho, e azeite, e bois, e gado miudo em multidão; porque havia alegria em Israel.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Warriors from various tribes who joined David are listed, both during his time as a fugitive and at the moment he was crowned king in Hebron, forming a great unified army from all of Israel.

Explanation

This chapter celebrates David's growing base of support, showing skilled warriors coming even from the tribe of Benjamin, the very tribe of King Saul, which demonstrates a significant national reconciliation after the period of civil war between the two royal houses. The mention that the leaders of Issachar were 'men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do' suggests leadership that combined strategic and spiritual discernment, not just military strength. The great final celebration, with abundant food and drink brought by various tribes, symbolizes the genuine, joyful unity achieved around David's leadership.

Fun facts

  • The warriors of Gad are described with vivid language, compared to lions in the face and swift as gazelles upon the mountains, a poetic style common in ancient Near Eastern military literature to describe ferocity and agility in combat.
  • The phrase used for the men of Issachar, 'understanding of the times,' is interpreted by scholars as referring both to astronomical/calendar knowledge and to political wisdom in discerning the right moment to act.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Crônicas 12:1Even before becoming king, David was already drawing valiant warriors while hiding out in Ziklag, fleeing from Saul — the start of a list that shows support arriving from every direction, well before the official coronation.
  2. 1 Crônicas 12:2These Benjamite warriors could sling stones and shoot arrows with either hand, a rare and prized skill in an ancient army. The detail shows the kind of specific talent that made someone worth remembering by name in a list of hundreds of soldiers.
  3. 1 Crônicas 12:3The first names on this Ziklag list, starting with the chief Ahiezer — all warriors who chose David’s side while he was still a fugitive, not a king.
  4. 1 Crônicas 12:4Ismaiah the Gibeonite is described as a mighty man among the thirty, and even a captain over them — another name showing the kind of talent already surrounding David before the throne.
  5. 1 Crônicas 12:5Five more warriors join the list of Ziklag supporters, each identified by family or city of origin, in the usual way for these military lists.
  6. 1 Crônicas 12:6Five more names close out this part of the list of those who came to support David while he was still a fugitive, including Jashobeam, who reappears as one of the great warriors from the previous chapter.
  7. 1 Crônicas 12:7Joelah and Zebadiah close out the list of Benjamites who chose David even though they were of Saul’s own tribe — a brave choice, since it meant going against their own king and kinsman.
  8. 1 Crônicas 12:8Warriors of Gad also join David in the wilderness — described with a striking image: faces like lions, and swift as roes running on the mountains.
  9. 1 Crônicas 12:9The first three of these Gadite warriors already come with a kind of military ranking: Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third.
  10. 1 Crônicas 12:10The ranking continues down to fifth place — an organized and unusual way of listing warriors, almost like a standings table.
  11. 1 Crônicas 12:11Two more Gadite warriors round out the ranking through seventh place, keeping the same numbered pattern as the rest of the list.
  12. 1 Crônicas 12:12The ranking reaches ninth place — each position representing the level of distinction of each warrior within this specific group from Gad.
  13. 1 Crônicas 12:13The ranking closes out with tenth and eleventh place — eleven warriors of Gad, each with a defined position within the group.
  14. 1 Crônicas 12:14These eleven warriors of Gad became captains of the army: the least of them commanded a hundred men, and the greatest commanded a thousand — a clear military structure even within a small group.
  15. 1 Crônicas 12:15The most impressive feat of these Gadites: they cross the Jordan while it’s overflowing all its banks, and still put to flight everyone in the valleys on both sides of the river.
  16. 1 Crônicas 12:16Some from Benjamin and Judah also come to David’s hideout — the two tribes that will later form the core of the southern kingdom after Israel’s division.
  17. 1 Crônicas 12:17David doesn’t accept support just any way: he goes out to meet these men and makes clear he only wants true allies, calling on God himself to witness if their intention is to betray him.
  18. 1 Crônicas 12:18The Spirit comes upon Amasai, who declares total loyalty to David in a short poem of peace — and it’s this declaration that convinces David to accept the group and make them captains.
  19. 1 Crônicas 12:19Some of Manasseh desert to David’s side at the very moment he found himself, unwillingly, on the wrong side — about to fight alongside the Philistines against Saul himself, until he’s dismissed out of suspicion by the Philistine lords themselves.
  20. 1 Crônicas 12:20Back at Ziklag, more captains of thousands from Manasseh join David — support grows precisely at the moment he needs it most, right after escaping having to fight against his own people.
  21. 1 Crônicas 12:21These men of Manasseh help David against a band of raiders — probably the same Amalekites who attack Ziklag while David was away, a story told in detail in Samuel.
  22. 1 Crônicas 12:22The expression “like the host of God” used to describe the size of the force joining David is the Chronicler’s way of saying this support came from all the tribes, not just from his home territory of Judah. It’s an important detail: it shows all Israel, north and south, united behind David before any future division between the kingdoms.
  23. 1 Crônicas 12:23Here begins the great census of Hebron: the number of armed chiefs who come to confirm David as king, fulfilling the word of the Lord about the transfer of Saul’s kingdom.
  24. 1 Crônicas 12:24From Judah come six thousand eight hundred armed men — David’s own tribe contributing a solid contingent for the coronation.
  25. 1 Crônicas 12:25From Simeon come seven thousand one hundred mighty men of valor — numbers that, added up tribe by tribe, will show the real size of the national support for David.
  26. 1 Crônicas 12:26From Levi come four thousand six hundred — even though it’s the tribe dedicated to worship, with no land inheritance, the Levites also send their fighting men to support the coronation.
  27. 1 Crônicas 12:27Jehoiada leads the specific group from Aaron’s family, with three thousand seven hundred men — the priests also have military representation at this historic gathering.
  28. 1 Crônicas 12:28Zadok appears here still a young man, described as a mighty man of valor, years before becoming the famous high priest who anoints Solomon as king.
  29. 1 Crônicas 12:29From Benjamin come only three thousand, and the text explains why: many of the tribe were still loyal to the house of Saul, being his relatives — support for David wasn’t unanimous from the very start.
  30. 1 Crônicas 12:30From Ephraim come twenty thousand eight hundred mighty men of valor, described as famous men — one of the largest numerical contributions of all the tribes gathered at Hebron.
  31. 1 Crônicas 12:31The half-tribe of Manasseh sends eighteen thousand men, expressed by name specifically to come and make David king — a targeted recruitment, not just a voluntary one.
  32. 1 Crônicas 12:32From Issachar come only two hundred chiefs, but with a rare quality: they had understanding of the times, and knew what Israel ought to do — one of the most quoted verses in the Bible on discernment and wise leadership.
  33. 1 Crônicas 12:33From Zebulun come fifty thousand trained warriors, described as men of steady heart, not divided in loyalty — a large contingent, and a reliable one besides.
  34. 1 Crônicas 12:34From Naphtali come a thousand captains leading thirty-seven thousand men armed with shield and spear — another northern tribe bringing considerable strength to support David.
  35. 1 Crônicas 12:35From Dan come twenty-eight thousand six hundred warriors ready for war — the list of tribes keeps growing, showing the national reach of support for David.
  36. 1 Crônicas 12:36From Asher come forty thousand men able to keep battle formation — another sizable number added to the overall total.
  37. 1 Crônicas 12:37The tribes on the other side of the Jordan — Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh — send a hundred and twenty thousand men with every kind of weapon of war, the largest single contingent on the whole list.
  38. 1 Crônicas 12:38Three days of eating and drinking in Hebron, with the neighboring tribes bringing provisions in abundance, close the chapter with an image of feasting and unity. It’s the picture the Chronicler wants to leave in the reader’s mind before the accounts of war and reign that come next.
  39. 1 Crônicas 12:39Once gathered, these men spend three days in Hebron eating and drinking, because their own relatives had already prepared provisions for them — a great celebration even before the actual coronation.
  40. 1 Crônicas 12:40Even more distant tribes, like Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, send food in abundance — meal, figs, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep — because, as the text sums it up, there was joy in Israel.

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