1 Chronicles 18:1-17

10. WAR WITH MOAB, PHILISTIA, AND SYRIA
(Chapter 18)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 18:1. And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. 2. And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

3. And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah unto Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 4. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.
5. And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadarezer king of Zobah, David smote of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. 6. Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went. 7. And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8. And from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9. And when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah, 10. he sent Hadoram his son to king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him (for Hadarezer had wars with Tou); and he had with him all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass. 11. These also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he carried away from all the nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.
12. Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand. 13. And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.
14. And David reigned over all Israel; and he executed justice and righteousness unto all his people. 15. And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16. and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe; 17. and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and the sons of David were chiefs about the king.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 18:1. David finally subdued the Philistines and conquered Gath and its surrounding towns. 2. He also conquered Moab and required its people to send him a large sum of money every year.

3. He conquered the dominion of King Hadadezer of Zobah (as far as Hamath) at the time Hadadezer went to tighten his grip along the Euphrates River. 4. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand troops. He crippled all the chariot teams except a hundred that he kept for his own use.
5.When the Syrians arrived from Damascus to help King Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them; 6. then he placed a garrison of his troops in Damascus, the Syrian capital. So the Syrians, too, were forced to send him large amounts of money every year. And the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went. 7. He brought the gold shields of King Hadadezer's officers to Jerusalem, 8. as well as a great amount of bronze from Hadadezer's cities of Tibhath and Cun. (King Solomon later melted the bronze and used it for the Temple. He molded it into the bronze tank, the pillars, and the instruments used in offering sacrifices on the altar.)
9. When King Tou of Hamath learned that King David had destroyed Hadadezer's army, 10. he sent his son Hadoram to greet and congratulate King David on his success and to present him with many gifts of gold, silver, and bronze, seeking an alliance. For Hadadezer and Tou had been enemies and there had been many wars between them. 11. King David dedicated these gifts to the Lord, as he did the silver and gold he took from the nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, and the Philistines.
12. Abishai (son of Zeruiah) then destroyed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13. He put garrisons in Edom and forced the Edomites to pay large sums of money annually to David. This is just another example of how the Lord gave David victory after victory.
14. David reigned over all of Israel and was a just ruler. 15. Joab (son of Zeruiah) was commander-in-chief of the army; Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the historian; 16. Zadok (son of Ahitub) and Ahimelech (son of Abiathar) were the head priests; Shavsha was the king's special assistant; 17. Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was in charge of the king's bodyguardthe Cherethites and Pelethitesand David's sons were his chief aides.

COMMENTARY

The record at this point provides occasion for the student to recall how David the shepherd became commander-in-chief of a great army. The purpose of the present chapter is to summarize David's early military victories as king of Israel. The Philistines, Israel's ancient foe, had challenged David's army on two occasions in the Valley of Rephaim. Once the Philistines fled leaving behind their broken gods. Again, Jehovah caused the Philistines to hear the sounds of a mighty army coming down upon them through the tops of the mulberry trees. No doubt, David followed the Philistines into their own country occupying Gath and other villages. Gath was about thirty five miles southwest of Jerusalem and about fifteen miles from the coast. It was one of the key Philistine cities. Israel's armies moved against the Moabites whose country was just to the east of the Dead Sea. Ruth, David's great great grandmother on his father's side, had come from Moab. 1 Samuel 22:3-4 records how David had requested the Moabites to provide a place of refuge for his parents while he tried to avoid Saul. 2 Samuel 8:2 describes David's war with the Moabites indicating that he dealt with them in a very cruel manner. It is possible that the Moabites had not been faithful in the matter of caring for David's parents. The Moabites began to pay tribute to David. These people were the descendants of Lot.

The Hadarezer of verse three is called Hadadezer in other references in the Bible. His kingdom was called Zobah and was located between Damascus and the Euphrates River. With the rise of this new power of Israel, Hadarezer moved to extend his kingdom even as far west as Hamath. This city was located on the Orontes River about 250 miles north of Jerusalem. The region involved would mark the northern-most part of the territory to be controlled by David. In subduing Hadarezer David extended the boundaries of his kingdom to the Euphrates River. This was a military victory of considerable proportions. One thousand chariots represented a fortune in military equipment. Solomon (1 Kings 10:29) brought chariots out of Egypt at a price of six hundred shekels of silver each. This may be estimated at about four hundred dollars for each chariot. A horse in Solomon's day could be bought for one hundred fifty shekels of silver, or about one-fourth the price of a chariot. David may already have had all of the horses he needed and for this reason he hocked the enemy's horses. A sharp slash of the sword at the back of the horse's hoof cut the tendon and made the animal unfit for service. David did select from among all of the horses taken in this battle one hundred choice animals to be added to his stables. Seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers were taken. These most likely were simply taken as prisoners of war and were subjected to task work.

When Hadarezer found himself in real difficulty contesting Israel's power, the Syrians called out their army to help him. The ancient capital of Syria was Damascus. This important city was about one hundred and thirty miles north northeast of Jerusalem. Through this city a very important trade route passed between the east and the west. Abraham had traveled this road when he had come to Canaan. There he had purchased Eliezer who became his chief servant. In the days of Ahab, more than a hundred years after David's time, the kings of Syria once more would trouble Israel. However, Damascus and the Syrians could not withstand David's power. Twenty two thousand enemy warriors fell before Israel's onslaught. To make certain that the Syrians were kept in their place, David stationed detachments of Hebrew warriors at Damascus. At regular intervals tribute was collected from the conquered people. David did not set out to conquer the world. Whatever territories were annexed to his kingdom were within the limits of the original promises to Abrahambetween the Great Sea and the Euphrates River. Within these limits Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went (1 Chronicles 18:6). David knew that it was not his work to build the Temple; but from the time he first thought about it until he died, preparations for the Temple were of primary importance. The gold taken in battle from the Syrians was laid up in Jerusalem. The fact that the warriors of Zobah had shields of gold indicates the remarkable wealth of that nation. Tibhath and Cun are identified as cities of Hadarezer. Their exact location is not known. From them the armies of Israel took a great amount of brass. This brass (or copper) was used for the brazen sea which was set in the court of priests at the Temple. It measured ten cubits (about 15 feet) in diameter. It was five cubits high (about 7½ feet). It was a hand-breadth in thickness (three or four inches). The capacity of the vessel has been estimated at about twenty four thousand gallons. The pillars were located at the entrance to the Holy Place, one on either side (1 Kings 7:15-22). Each pillar with its capital was twenty three cubits high. Each had a circumference of twelve cubits (about 18 feet). The vessels of brass included ten lavers used in connection with the great sea of brass. The bases for these lavers measured four cubits by four cubits by three cubits in height (1 Kings 7:27). Each contained about four hundred eighty gallons. In addition to these, bowls, flagons, spoons, pans and many other instruments were made of this material. So much brass was used in the construction of the Temple that no attempt was made to weigh or evaluate it. In his wars David was concerned with preparing a stockpile of materials out of which a splendid Temple could be built.

The king who is here called Tou is called Toi in other references. He is identified as king of Hamath. Tou had engaged Hadarezer in battle on previous occasions and had formed no real obstacle in the king of Zodah's move toward the Great Sea. When Tou learned that David had overpowered the great king to the East, he decided not to challenge David. His son, Hadoram, elsewhere called Joram, came with precious gifts of gold, silver, and brass. Abundant wealth flowed into David's treasuries and he dedicated all of it to Jehovah. Edom paid tribute to Israel. This was a reversal of what happened when Jacob had sent gifts to Esau upon Jacob's return from Haran (Genesis, chapter 33). The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. Moab and Ammon, sons of Lot, often contested the right of Israel to live in Palestine. In David's day they, too, bring their tribute. David continually maintained military superiority over the Philistines. The Amalekites, like the Edomites, were descendants of Esau. Like the other nations, this ancient enemy, which sent the first army to attack Israel after the Hebrews left Egypt, is forced to pay tribute to David. Jehovah blessed David in all of his enterprises.

Abishai (1 Chronicles 18:12) was one of three sons of Zeruiah, David's sister. Joab and Asahel, Abishai's brothers, were great warriors. The Valley of Salt, sometimes called the Vale of Siddim, was located at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. A valley, called the Arabah, extended south of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Valley of Salt was in the Edomite country. At some time in David's day Abishai led an expedition against the Edomites which conflict resulted in the deaths of eighteen thousand of the enemy. As David had done at Damascus in stationing garrisons of soldiers to hold conquered territory, so he did in the land of Edom. This guaranteed the collection of the tribute.

David's remarkable ability in subduing Israel's enemies magnified his reputation as a great king. At this point in the history David was making good progress as he ushered in Israel's golden age. The expanding kingdom not only brought power and fame to David as king, but it also magnified the importance of each office in the government under David. The kingdom was united as it had never been before. David's rule was characterized by justice and righteousness. He ruled by Jehovah's Law. He was no respecter of persons. His reign was to become the model for all who followed him. Joab was the chief military leader under David. From this time every Hebrew king had a man on his cabinet called a recorder whose responsibility was to write an accurate account of the king's reign. Jehoshaphat held this responsible position in David's court. We are indebted to the work of these recorders for the accurate records of the life and times of the kings of Israel and Judah. Shavsha was the scribe or secretary. He probably held the responsible position of secretary of state and would serve as chief diplomat in all foreign relations. Zadok and Abimelech (or Ahimelech) served as the chief priests. One most likely served at the Tabernacle, the other at the ark in Jerusalem. Benaiah had the chief responsibility over the Cherethites and Pelethites who served as David's personal bodyguard. They formed his secret service corps. David practiced nepotism in that he set his own sons in certain offices of trust. The expanding kingdom necessitated a more highly developed government than that which would have been required in king Saul's day.