Sibbechai

Biblical Record

Sibbechai appears four times in the Old Testament, in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. In every instance the Bible calls him "the Hushathite."

• Slayer of a descendant of the giants: According to 2 Samuel 21:18, when Israel fought the Philistines at Gob, Sibbechai "slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant." The parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20:4 places the battle at Gezer, gives the slain man's name as Sippai, and adds that the Philistines "were subdued" after this event. Where older Korean translations read "the tall one," the Korean New Revised Version renders the term as "the race of giants." Immediately after this passage comes the account of Elhanan killing Lahmi, the brother of Goliath (1 Chronicles 20:5).
• One of David's mighty men: 1 Chronicles 11:29 includes Sibbechai in the list of David's mighty men.
• Army commander: In the record of David's army organized into twelve divisions that served in monthly rotation, 1 Chronicles 27:11 names the captain for the eighth month as "Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites," and records that his division numbered twenty-four thousand men.

Beyond these references, Scripture records nothing about his family or life.

Significance Within the Bible

The account of Sibbechai forms part of the record (2 Samuel 21:15-22) showing that during David's long wars with the Philistines, it was not David alone but also his servants who defeated the descendants of the giants one after another. The designation "of the Zarhites" indicates that he was a descendant of Zerah, the son of Judah, and thus belonged to the tribe of Judah. Because the name Hushah also appears in the genealogy of Judah's descendants in 1 Chronicles 4:4, Hushah is commonly regarded as a place name in the territory of Judah. Sibbechai is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Gob and Gezer, Saph and Sippai: 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles record the same event but give different place and personal names. Some regard the differing place names as alternative names for the same location, while others attribute the discrepancy to scribal transmission. Saph and Sippai are often regarded as variant spellings of the same name.
• Relationship to Mebunnai: The list of David's mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:27 has "Mebunnai the Hushathite" in place of Sibbechai. Because the two names look similar in Hebrew script, some hold that they refer to the same person, though this is not certain.

In the Korean Church

Sermons and teaching materials devoted specifically to Sibbechai are relatively rare. He is mentioned mainly in passages on the battles against the giants that follow the story of David and Goliath, or in introductions to David's mighty men.