Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 20:5
And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff [was] like a weaver’s beam.
5. Elhanan slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath ] In 2Sa 21:19 Elhanan the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath (R.V.). The difference between the two sentences in Heb. is very small, and the Chronicler, or any copyist, might feel that he was making a certain emendation in substituting the brother of Goliath for Goliath himself, who, according to 1 Samuel 17, was slain by David before he became king. But it is not certain that there is a discrepancy between 2 Samuel 21 and 1 Samuel 17, for Goliath may be, not a personal name, but a descriptive title of some kind; e.g. “Goliath the Gittite” might mean “the Gittite champion.” “Tartan,” “Rabsaris” and “Rabshakeh” (2Ki 18:17) were once taken as proper names, but are now known to be descriptions of Assyrian officers.
whose spear staff) R.V. the staff of whose spear.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 5. Elhanan the son of Jair] 2Sa 21:19. The Targum says, “David, the son of Jesse, a pious man, who rose at midnight to sing praises to God, slew Lachmi, the brother of Goliath, the same day on which he slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear-staff was like a weaver’s beam.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Gill “1Ch 20:1”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5) There was war again.Samuel adds, in Gob. The proper name is probably a transcribers repetition; the Syriac and Arabic there are without it.
Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite.The Hebrew text and LXX. of Samuel have the very different statement: And Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite slew Goliath the Gittite. There are good critics who maintain that we must recognise here a proof that popular traditions fluctuated between David and the less famous hero Elhanan as slayer of Goliath: an uncertainty, supposed to be faithfully reflected in the two accounts preserved by the compiler of Samuel (1 Samuel 17; 2Sa. 21:19). Other not less competent scholars believe that the text of Samuel should be corrected from the Chronicles. As regards the name Jaar-oregim (forests of weaversan absurdity), this is plausible. Whether we proceed further in the same direction must depend on the general view we take of the chroniclers relation to the Books of Samuel. It is easy, but hardly satisfactory, to allege that he felt the difficulty, which every modern reader must feel, and altered the text accordingly. The real question is whether he has done this arbitrarily, or upon the evidence of another document than his MS. of Samuel. Now, it is fair to say that (1) hitherto we have observed no signs of arbitrary alteration; (2) we have had abundant proof that the chronicler actually possessed other sources besides Samuel. There is no apparent reason why Lahmi (i.e., Lahmijah) should not be a nomen individui. (Comp. Assyrian Lahm, the name of a god, Tablet I., Creation Series.) It is, however, quite possible that Elhanan is another, and, in fact, the original name of David. The appellative David. the beloved (comp. Dido), may have gradually supplanted the old Elhanan in the popular memory. Solomon we know was at first named Jodidiah, and it is highly probable that the true designation of the first king of Israel has been lost, the name Saul (the asked) having been given in allusion to the fact that the people had ashed for a king. We may compare, besides, the double names Jehoahaz-Shallum, Mattaniah-Zedekiah, and perhaps Uzziah-Azariah. The Targum on Samuel partly supports this suggestion (see the Note there). I would add that Jaare in Hebrew writing is an easy corruption of Jesse; so that the original reading of 2Sa. 21:19 may have been, And Elhanan the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, slew Goliath, &c. In that case, the reading of Chronicles must be considered an unsuccessful emendation, due probably to the compiler whose work the chronicler followed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jair: 2Sa 21:19, Jaare-oregim
Goliath: 1Sa 17:4, 1Sa 21:9, 1Sa 22:10, 2Sa 21:19
Reciprocal: 1Sa 17:7 – the staff 1Ch 11:23 – a spear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
20:5 And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew {c} Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff [was] like a weaver’s beam.
(c) Read 2Sa 21:19.