David’s Time in the Wilderness^(A)

12 Here’s a list of those who came to David at Ziklag when he was unable to travel freely due to Saul son of Kish. They were among the elite soldiers who assisted him in battle. ² Equipped as archers, they could use both their right and left hands to shoot arrows and hurl stones. As descendants of Benjamin, they were Saul’s relatives. ³ Their leaders were Shemaah’s sons Ahiezer and Joash from Gibeah, Azmaveth’s sons Jeziel and Pelet, Beracah, Jehu from Anathoth, ⁴ Ishmaiah from Gibeon (who was one of the elite among the Thirty and in charge over them),^[a] Jeremiah,^[b] Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad from Gederah, ^5 [c]Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶ Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the descendants of Korah, ⁷ and Jeroham’s sons Joelah and Zebadiah from Gedor.

⁸ Mighty and experienced warriors from the descendants of Gad joined David at his wilderness stronghold. They were expert handlers of both shield and spear, with hardened looks^[d] and as agile^[e] as a gazelle on a mountain slope. ⁹ Their leader was Ezer, Obadiah was second, Eliab third, ¹⁰ Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹¹ Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹² Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹³ Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁴ These descendants of Gad were army leaders. The least of them^[f] was equal to a hundred other soldiers^[g] and the greatest to a thousand. ¹⁵ These men^[h] crossed the Jordan in the first month of the year^[i] during flood season and chased out everyone in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

¹⁶ Later, some descendants of Benjamin and Judah approached David at his stronghold, ¹⁷ and David went out to meet them. He told them, “If you’ve come in peace to be of help to me, then you’ll have my commitment.^[j] But if you’ve come to betray me to my enemies, even though I’m innocent of wrongdoing, then may the God of our ancestors watch and judge.”

¹⁸ Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, leader of the Thirty, and he said,

So David received them and assigned them to be officers over troops. ¹⁹ Some of the descendants of Manasseh joined^[k] David when he was going to fight against Saul, accompanied by the Philistines. Even so, David was of no help to them, because the Philistine rulers were counseled to send him away. They told themselves, “He’s going to go over to his master Saul at the cost of our heads.”

²⁰ As he traveled toward Ziklag, these descendants of Manasseh joined^[l] him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, leaders in charge thousands in Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against raiders, since they were all warriors and commanders in the army. ²² Indeed people kept coming to David every day to help him, until his army became a great, vast army.^[m]

David’s Army at Hebron

²³ What follows is a listing of the divisions of battle-ready troops who joined David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, in accordance with what the Lord had spoken. ²⁴ The army of Judah, equipped with both shields and spears, numbered 6,800 warriors, ²⁵ the elite warriors of Simeon numbered 7,100, ²⁶ and the descendants of Levi numbered 4,600.

²⁷ Jehoiada, a senior officer^[n] in the house of Aaron, brought^[o] with him 3,700. ²⁸ Zadok, a young and valiant soldier, brought 22 commanders from his own ancestral house.

²⁹ The tribe of^[p] Benjamin, relatives of Saul numbered 3,000, of whom most had remained allied to what remained of^[q] Saul’s dynasty.

³⁰ The tribe of Ephraim supplied^[r] 20,800 valiant soldiers who were well known in their ancestral households.

³¹ The half-tribe of Manasseh supplied 18,000, who had been appointed specifically to come and establish David as king.

³² The tribe of Issachar supplied 200 leaders, along with all of their relatives under their command. They kept up-to-date in their understanding of the times and knew what Israel should do.

³³ The tribe of Zebulun supplied 50,000 experienced troops, trained in the use of every kind of war weapon, in order to help David^[s] with undivided loyalty.

³⁴ The tribe of Naphtali supplied 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 troops armed with shields and spears.

³⁵ The tribe of Dan supplied 28,600 battle-ready troops.

³⁶ The tribe of Asher supplied 40,000 experienced, battle-ready troops.

³⁷ The tribes of Reuben and Gad, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh east of^[t] the Jordan supplied 120,000 men armed with every kind of war weapon.

³⁸ All these warriors arrived in battle order at Hebron, fully intending to establish David as king over all Israel. Furthermore, all of the rest of Israel were united in their intent to make David king. ³⁹ They spent three days eating and drinking with David, since their relatives had supplied provisions for them.

⁴⁰ Their neighbors came from as far away as the territories of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, bringing provisions loaded on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought^[u] abundant provisions of meal, fig bars, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, because there was joy in Israel.