1 CHRONICLES LESSON 14

     We will begin this lesson in I Chronicles 11:1 "Then all Israel
gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we [are] thy
bone and thy flesh."

     When Saul first died, Abner anointed Ishbosheth king in his
father's place. Samuel had already anointed David king. All of the
people accepted David as king. Ishbosheth reigned for two years over
11 tribes, until two of his own captains killed him. David immediately
became king of Judah. David was king first in Hebron. For seven and
one half years, David reigned over just Judah. David had six sons born
in Hebron. "All Israel" is speaking of all of the elders of all the
tribes of Israel. David asked God where he would go to set up his
kingdom, and the LORD told him Hebron. Hebron was located between
Jerusalem and Beersheba. Many of the patriarchs are buried in Hebron.
David was, indeed, bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh. He was
descended from Judah.

     I Chronicles 11:2 "And moreover in time past, even when Saul was
king, thou [wast] he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and
the LORD thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and
thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel."

     It appears, that the people greatly admired David for the way he
handled the problem with Saul. David did have a following of loyal
men. The LORD had anointed David king of Israel, and these people
accepted that anointing. They wanted to be ruled by David. This
Scripture is almost prophetic, in the fact that Jesus of the tribe of
Judah, descended in the flesh from David, is indeed the Shepherd.
David was a shepherd boy who knew the importance of feeding the sheep.
He was a shepherd. Jesus is the great Shepherd.

     I Chronicles 11:3 "Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the
king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before
the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the
word of the LORD by Samuel."

     This says the covenant was made with them before the LORD. It is
not certain the location of this covenant, except it was in the
presence of the LORD. The anointing of David as king was done by the
men of Judah confirming the anointing that Samuel had done previously.
The place of the anointing could have been in some place of worship in
Hebron, because two priests were there at the time, Abiathar and
Zadok. They would not have been there, if worship were not going on.
Samuel had anointed David king on the Word of the LORD.

     I Chronicles 11:4  "And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem,
which [is] Jebus; where the Jebusites [were], the inhabitants of the
land."

     Jebus was the ancient name of Jerusalem. It was, also, spelled
Jebusi in some Scriptures. Jerusalem would become the city of God.
This would be the city where David would rule all of Israel. It was 7
1/2 years after David went to Hebron, that he made Jerusalem his
headquarters.

     I Chronicles 11:5 "And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David,
Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of
Zion, which [is] the city of David."

     The castle of Zion became the location where the temple was
built. Mount Moriah and Mount Zion are in the same area. The Jebusites
tried to keep David from taking this area, but he took it anyway.
Jerusalem is called the city of David. Zion is symbolic of the church.

     I Chronicles 11:6 "And David said, Whosoever smiteth the
Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah
went first up, and was chief."

     Joab had fallen out of favor with David for killing Abner. He had
to prove himself again. He destroyed the Jebusites and was restored as
chief and captain. He had been demoted, when David disapproved of him.
Now, he is back in good standing.

     I Chronicles 11:7 "And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they
called it the city of David."

     The name was changed, because of the downfall of the Jebusites
and the rise of David. Jerusalem is still called the city of David.

     I Chronicles 11:8 "And he built the city round about, even from
Millo round about: and Joab repaired the rest of the city."

     Millo would, probably, have been a place of fortification.
"Millo" means a mound. The city would, probably, be built out from the
castle to give it protection from every side. Joab, restored to his
place of authority, heads up the repairs.

     I Chronicles 11:9 "So David waxed greater and greater: for the
LORD of hosts [was] with him."

     The blessings of God were upon David. He reigned as king of all
Israel for 33 years. His entire reign was for 40 years. He was the
most loved of God, besides Jesus.

     I Chronicles 11:10  "These also [are] the chief of the mighty men
whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom,
[and] with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the
LORD concerning Israel."

     These chief of the mighty men had been with David, and they
actually helped David gain the rule over the entire tribes of Israel.
He became king, partly because of their strong support. Of course, he
was king, because God made him king. He had to have strong men around
him, also. He gave them jobs of position in his kingdom for their
efforts in his behalf.

     I Chronicles 11:11 "And this [is] the number of the mighty men
whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains:
he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain [by him] at one
time."

     Jashobeam was the chief of his captains. He was over 24,000
fighting men. Hachmonite is, probably, the same as Tachmonite.
Jashobeam is said to have killed 300 enemies in one battle. If
Tachmonite is the same, he is said to have killed 800. It really does
not matter, if he killed just 300. That was a tremendous number for
one man to kill.

     I Chronicles 11:12 "And after him [was] Eleazar the son of Dodo,
the Ahohite, who [was one] of the three mighties."

     This Eleazar is the same as Azareel. Dodo is spoken of as Dodi,
and Dodai. Ahohite is the same as Ahoah. The third mighty man is not
named here, but is called Shammah, the Harahite, in 2 Samuel 23:11.

     I Chronicles 11:13 "He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there
the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel
of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the
Philistines."

     "Pas-dammim"  means the boundary of blood.  Barley was cheaper
than wheat. It was used to feed animals, as well as people. There
appeared to have been many battles fought in this place. In fact, this
was where David had come against Goliath and slew him. In the battle
mentioned in the verse above, the people fled before the Philistines.

     I Chronicles 11:14 "And they set themselves in the midst of
[that] parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the
LORD saved [them] by a great deliverance."

     These men were mighty men, because the LORD was with them. The
blessings of the LORD were upon everything that David did. The
Philistines were the enemy of David, but they were, also, God's
enemies, as well. They stopped running in the middle of the barley
field, and fought against the Philistines and won.

     I Chronicles 11:15  "Now three of the thirty captains went down
to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the
Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim."

     This is speaking of the same cave that David camped in over and
over, when he was fleeing from Saul. "Rephaim" means giants. The three
captains, that we have just read about, are the leaders of the other
thirty captains. The thirty are over smaller groups and are, probably,
subject to the three we have just discussed. There is very little
known of the thirty. They are alluded to several times, however.

     I Chronicles 11:16 "And David [was] then in the hold, and the
Philistines' garrison [was] then at Beth-lehem."

     This is, probably, the same as in 2 Samuel chapter 5 verses 17
and 18. This happened just after David was anointed king over Israel.
The Philistines thought they would destroy him, before he got settled
as king. The hold was, probably, the cave. David inquired of God what
he should do and God gave the Philistines into the hands of David.

     I Chronicles 11:17 "And David longed, and said, Oh that one would
give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, that [is] at the
gate!" I Chronicles 11:18 "And the three brake through the host of the
Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that [was]
by the gate, and took [it], and brought [it] to David: but David would
not drink [of] it, but poured it out to the LORD,"

     Beth-lehem was surrounded by Philistines at the time. The three,
spoken of here, are the three captains who are in charge of David's
men. We can see their bravery and their loyalty to David in this. It
is interesting that David was thirsty for the water, and yet, would
not drink it. He offered the water to the LORD by pouring it out.

     I Chronicles 11:19 "And said, My God forbid it me, that I should
do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put
their lives in jeopardy? for with [the jeopardy of] their lives they
brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these
three mightiest."

     David was not speaking of literal blood, but he felt they had put
their life at peril to get this water for him. He did not drink it to
satisfy his physical thirst, because of the sacrifice they had made
for him to get it.

     I Chronicles 11:20  "And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was
chief of the three: for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he
slew [them], and had a name among the three." I Chronicles 11:21 "Of
the three, he was more honourable than the two; for he was their
captain: howbeit he attained not to the [first] three."

     Abishai was the one who had volunteered to go into the camp of
Saul at night with David. He was a very brave man. There are so many
accounts of bravery of Abishai, it would be difficult to name them
here. We might even come to the conclusion from his acts, that he was
the bravest of the three mighty men. He was one of the three captains
who were over David's army.

     I Chronicles 11:22 "Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a
valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike
men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy
day." I Chronicles 11:23 "And he slew an Egyptian, a man of [great]
stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand [was] a spear
like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and
plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his
own spear." I Chronicles 11:24 "These [things] did Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties."

     Benaiah was son of the high priest Jehoiada. David set Benaiah
over his guard. The person five cubits high means that he was seven
and one half feet tall. Benaniah was over 24,000 fighting men.

     I Chronicles 11:25 "Behold, he was honourable among the thirty,
but attained not to the [first] three: and David set him over his
guard."

     We mentioned above, that he was over the personal guard of David.

     I Chronicles 11:26  "Also the valiant men of the armies [were],
Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem,"

     Asahel was the nephew of David. He was swift of foot and outran
Abner after the battle at Gibeon. Abner threw a lance through him and
killed him. We dealt with Dodo earlier in the lessons. The list that
follows, including Asahel and Elhanan, would be 31, but is called
thirty because of the early death of Asahel. He is still honored by
being listed as one of the thirty. He was replaced at his death, and
that makes the list 31. There are actually 48 listed in this chapter,
but some of them are replacements for others who died, or were added
later.

     I Chronicles 11:27 "Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,"
I Chronicles 11:28 "Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abi-ezer the
Antothite," I Chronicles 11:29 "Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the
Ahohite," I Chronicles 11:30 "Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son
of Baanah the Netophathite,"  I Chronicles 11:31 "Ithai the son of
Ribai of Gibeah, [that pertained] to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah
the Pirathonite," I Chronicles 11:32 "Hurai of the brooks of Gaash,
Abiel the Arbathite," I Chronicles 11:33 "Azmaveth the Baharumite,
Eliahba the Shaalbonite," I Chronicles 11:34 "The sons of Hashem the
Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite," I Chronicles 11:35
"Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur,"
I Chronicles 11:36 "Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite,"
I Chronicles 11:37 "Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai,"
I Chronicles 11:38 "Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of
Haggeri," I Chronicles 11:39 "Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the
Berothite, the armourbearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah,"  I Chronicles
11:40 "Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite," I Chronicles 11:41 "Uriah
the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai,"

     The Uriah, mentioned above, is the same as the husband of
Bathsheba. David had him killed to get his wife. Beginning with verse
42, the list seems to be additions. They are not included in 2 Samuel
chapter 23.

     I Chronicles 11:42 "Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a
captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him," I Chronicles 11:43
"Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite," I Chronicles
11:44 "Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the
Aroerite," I Chronicles 11:45 "Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his
brother, the Tizite," I Chronicles 11:46 "Eliel the Mahavite, and
Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite,"
I Chronicles 11:47 "Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel the Mesobaite."
                      1 Chronicles 14 Questions


1.  What did all Israel say to David at Hebron?
2.  Who did Abner anoint as king in Saul's place?
3.  Who had previously anointed David king?
4.  How long did Ishbosheth reign?
5.  What happened to him?
6.  How long did David reign in Hebron, over Judah?
7.  Who is "all Israel" speaking of in verse 1?
8.  Why had David gone to Hebron?
9.  Where was Hebron located?
10. How is verse 2 prophetic?
11. Who is the great Shepherd?
12. David was a ____________.
13. Who did David make a covenant with at Hebron?
14. Who anointed David king over Israel at Hebron?
15. Who were the acting priests at that time?
16. What was the ancient name for Jerusalem?
17. How many years, after David became king of Judah, did he go to
    Jerusalem?
18. What did the castle of Zion become?
19. Who went up first to smite the Jebusites?
20. Why had Joab been out of favor with David?
21. Why was Jerusalem called the city of David?
22. Why did David wax greater and greater?
23. How long did David reign in Hebron, and in Jerusalem?
24. Who killed 300 enemies of David by himself?
25. Eleazar, in verse 12, is the same as ________.
26. What does "Pas-dammim" mean?
27. How many captains went down to the rock to David?
28. What does "Rephaim" mean?
29. Who went to Beth-lehem through the Philistines, and got water for
    David?
30. Why did David not drink the water?
31. Who might we assume to be the bravest of the three mighty men?
32. Who was Asahel?
33. Who are listed in verses 27 through 41?
34. Who was the Uriah listed here?
35. Which, of all of these men, are not listed in 2 Samuel chapter 23?