1 Chronicles 18

The latter part of 1 Chronicles deals with the reign of David. This chapter comes immediately after 1 Chronicles 17, in which David receives the Davidic covenant through Nathan, and it records David's conquest of the surrounding nations. The account of his wars continues through chapters 19–20. Its content is nearly identical to that of 2 Samuel 8.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 David defeats the Philistines and takes Gath and its towns. He then defeats Moab and receives tribute.
• Verses 3–4 When Hadarezer king of Zobah seeks to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River, David strikes him as far as Hamath. He captures a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrings the chariot horses, reserving only enough for a hundred chariots.
• Verses 5–6 David kills twenty-two thousand of the Syrians of Damascus who came to help Hadarezer, and he places garrisons there.
• Verses 7–8 David brings the shields of gold carried by Hadarezer's servants to Jerusalem and takes a great quantity of brass from Tibhath and Chun. Solomon later uses this brass to make the brazen sea, the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
• Verses 9–11 Tou king of Hamath sends his son Hadoram to greet David, bringing vessels of gold, silver, and brass. David dedicates these to the LORD together with the silver and gold he had taken from Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines, and Amalek.
• Verses 12–13 Abishai the son of Zeruiah kills eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. David places garrisons in Edom, and the Edomites become David's servants.
• Verses 14–17 David reigns over all Israel with judgment and justice. The chapter then lists the offices held by Joab, Jehoshaphat, Zadok, Abimelech, Shavsha, Benaiah, and David's sons.

Key Verses

• 1 Chronicles 18:6 "Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went." — Repeated in verse 13, this is the thematic statement of the chapter, attributing David's victories to God.
• 1 Chronicles 18:8 "wherewith Solomon made the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass." — This explanatory note is absent from the Hebrew text of 2 Samuel 8. It links the war narrative to the preparations for building the temple.
• 1 Chronicles 18:14 "So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people." — This verse sums up in a single line the character of David's reign after his conquests.

People and Places

• Hadarezer (Hadadezer): King of Zobah, an Aramean kingdom located north of Damascus.
• Tou: King of Hamath, who had waged war against Hadarezer many times.
• Hadoram: Son of Tou, called "Joram" in 2 Samuel 8.
• Abishai: Son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab.
• Jehoshaphat: Son of Ahilud; he was the recorder, the official responsible for keeping the records of the kingdom.
• Zadok and Abimelech: Priests in the time of David.
• Shavsha: The scribe.
• Benaiah: Son of Jehoiada; he was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites, soldiers of foreign origin known as the king's bodyguard.
• Gath: One of the principal cities of the Philistines.
• Hamath: A city of a kingdom located north of Zobah.
• Tibhath and Chun: Cities ruled by Hadarezer.
• Valley of Salt: Thought to be in the region south of the Dead Sea.

Points for Reflection

• Differences from 2 Samuel 8: 1 Chronicles omits the scene in which the Moabite captives are measured with a line and put to death (2 Samuel 8:2). The two accounts also differ on the following points:
• Number of horsemen: 2 Samuel 8:4 reads "one thousand seven hundred horsemen" in the Korean Revised Version (the KJV reads "seven hundred horsemen"), whereas this chapter gives seven thousand.
• Name of the priest: 2 Samuel gives "Ahimelech."
• Name of the scribe: 2 Samuel gives "Seraiah."
• The wording used for the office held by David's sons.

Some regard these differences as having arisen in the course of scribal transmission, while others explain them as reflecting the editorial purposes of the Chronicler.

• Who won the victory over Edom: This chapter credits the victory over Edom in the Valley of Salt to Abishai. 2 Samuel 8:13 records the same victory in David's name, and the superscription of Psalm 60 states that Joab killed twelve thousand Edomites. A common interpretation harmonizes these accounts by appeal to the practice of recording the names of both the king and his commanders.
• Hamstringing the horses: Some read this in connection with the command in Joshua 11:6 or with Deuteronomy 17:16, which forbids the king to multiply horses. The text itself gives no reason.
• War and the temple: In 1 Chronicles 22, David is told that he may not build the temple because he has shed much blood. Yet in this chapter the spoils of those very wars become materials for the temple.
• Connection to the New Testament: The portrait of King David ruling with judgment and justice carries over, through prophecies such as Isaiah 9:7, into messianic expectation. The New Testament introduces Jesus as "the son of David" (Matthew 1:1).