Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 12:16
And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
16 18. Amasai and his Companions
16. to the hold ] See 1Ch 12:8, notes.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Ch 12:16; 1Ch 12:18
And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
Recruits for King Jesus
I want to run a parallel between the case of David and that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I. Here is a very commendable example. Many of these men of Judah and Benjamin went to join themselves to David.
1. Because they bad heard that he was the Lords anointed If Jesus be Gods anointed, let Him be your beloved.
2 Because of his personal excellences.
3. Because he was so misrepresented and abused by his enemies.
4. Because they believed that he had a great future before him.
II. A. cautious inquiry. See what David said to them.
1. He set before them the right way; He said, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you. Here are three questions–
(1) Do you come to Christ and accept Him?
(2) Do you come with a desire to maintain peace among your Christian brethren?
(3) Do you come with the intent of helping the Lord Jesus Christ to spread abroad His truth?
2. He set before them the wrong way: But if ye be come to betray me to my enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it.
Some betray the Lord Christ to His enemies–
1. By giving up the doctrines of the gospel.
2. By their inconsistent lives.
3. By apostasy.
III. A cordial enlistment. Thine are we, David, and on thy side, etc. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
David and his helpers
Man is not an independent being. He is dependent for his life, his thought, his feeling–dependent upon God his Creator and his Preserver. He is dependent for the comforts and conveniences of life–dependent upon his fellow-men. And he that seems perhaps to be the most independent amongst us, is after all the most dependent upon his fellows. Man was never made to be independent here. He was never made to be alone. Some such circumstances as these gave rise to the peculiar position of the son of Jesse, as we read of him in the text. David was then combating against a twofold enemy–Saul, the king, his predecessor in office, and the Philistines, the hereditary foes of Israel. Let us mark the concurrent circumstances of these times. Davids cause was not the winning side when these secessions broke off from the strength of Saul and attached themselves to the cause of the son of Jesse. He was as yet in point of numbers and of strength in a very small minority. He was not in power; and, so far as human appearances went, he was very far from power. Every appearance was against him. He himself, though the captain of a band, was a fugitive. And Saul was in power, for Saul was king. David is possessed of but scanty resources, but Saul can command the ways and the means and the supplies of a kingdom. And yet these men come, and they volunteer their services to the son of Jesse. They came not to the throne of one that rules, but they came to the cave of one that hides himself. No marvel that David should have suspected their proper aim, and should have inquired, inquisitively, as to the motive of their coming, as to the object of their visit in this the day of his distress and of his darkness. And this accounts for his inquiry in the verse preceding my text. We would learn from this text the value and the estimate to be set upon Christian co-operation. The downcast and the down-trodden may be rallied by a sympathising word, and may be aroused; and thus arise to his work and to his labour from the very consciousness that he is not altogether alone. Christian co-operation was given to Elijah. The assurance that God one day gave the Tishbite, that there were still seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee to Baal, mightily reassured the prophet. And when we come to inquire into the circumstances of this case a little further, respecting David, we are enabled to find out what was the kind of help, the quality of the help that he obtained. This may be judged of by considering the time in which the help was vouchsafed. As I have said, it was not in the time of his prosperity, but it was some time anterior to that, and in the time of his greatest adversity. Now, it is a law, or axiom, a practical law, that those men are most to be trusted in prosperity that have stood the firmest in the day of adversity. And verily, in practice, these men receive the reward of their fidelity. These men came and chose not the winning side; but there was a mark about even that declining interest–Thy God helpeth thee. That decided the question. If God be for David, what can Saul do against him? If God be for us, who can be against us? God is not forgetful of your work and labour of love which you have showed toward His name. Mark, for instance, His twelve–His chosen ones. They had attached themselves to the person of the lowly Jesus, when there was no mark of distinction, of royalty, of kingly power: at His call they obeyed. Never were there purer days in the Christian faith than when the Christian faith was persecuted. Thus was it with Davids auxiliaries: they looked not to the present adversity, but to the future glory. Thy God helpeth thee, was sufficient as an indication of what would be. These were powerful men. Their faces were like the faces of lions; bold as a lion; and they were as swift as the roes upon the mountains. They were able to ford the depths of Jordan at its full, and in its overflowing, and to rout their enemies to the east and to the west. Truly, with such auxiliaries, David might well thank God, and take courage. But this was not all. His hopes begin to brighten, his prospects begin to look up. Day after day added its gradual increase to his army, until by and by it became a mighty host like unto the host of God. That is what the Scripture says. Each tribe sent its proportion. Thousands, tens of thousands, flocked to the standard of David, and enlisted in defence of the cause of the son of Jesse, until well-nigh half a million of men may be counted, from the enumeration of our context, as having resorted to his cause. This, from beginnings small, but good; this, from incipient stages scanty, yet hopeful. And all these men are well spoken of. They were mighty men of valour; they were ready armed; they were famous throughout the house of their fathers; they were no anonymous helpers, but it is said they were expressed by name to come and make David king. And the value of that help was great because it was a right hearty help–such a help as we need, such a help as is indispensable if we are to be helped at all. We want no halfhearted men, but we want men of God–they are the best, they are the surest, they are the safest, they are the most and the longest to be depended upon. Our experience of human helpers has been a chequered experience. Some that began with us have not continued; some from whom we expected much, perhaps, have broken down midway, departed from us, and went not with us to the work; some that promised nothing, and from whom we expected nothing, have been the most ready, and have been the foremost to come and say, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers. (R. Maguire, M. A.)
Fitness for the service of the great King
I. Intelligence is required.
II. Courage is required.
III. Unity is required.
IV. Enthusiasm is required. (J. Wolfendale.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
To the same hold mentioned 1Ch 12:8, See Poole “1Ch 12:8”
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. the children of Benjamin andJudahIt is probable that the Benjamites invited the Judahitesto accompany them, in order to prevent David being suspicious ofthem. Their anticipations, as the result showed, were well founded.He did suspect them, but the doubts of David as to their object inrepairing to him, were promptly dispelled by Amasai or Amasa, who, bythe secret impulse of the Spirit, assured him of their strongattachment and their zealous service from a unanimous conviction thathis cause was owned and blessed of God (1Sa18:12-14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there came of the men of Benjamin, and of Judah,…. Besides those before mentioned, 1Ch 12:2,
to the hold unto David; the same as in 1Ch 12:8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There came to David in the mountain-fastness also men of Benjamin and Judah (cf. 1Ch 12:8). Their names are not in the lists, possibly because they were not handed down in the historical works made use of by the chronicler. At their head, as we learn from 1Ch 12:18, stood Amasai, chief of the thirty, i.e., of the corps formed of the thirty heroes (see 1Ch 11:11), although his name does not occur in the catalogue, 1 Chron 11. According to this, Amasai must have occupied a very important position under David; but since the name is not elsewhere mentioned in the history of David, the older commentators have conjectured that may have been the same person as , son of Abigail (1Ch 2:17), whom Absalom made captain in Joab’s place, and whom David, after the victory over the rebels, wished to make commander-in-chief in the room of Joab, and whom for that reason Joab afterwards murdered (2Sa 17:25; 2Sa 19:14; 2Sa 20:4, 2Sa 20:8.); or identical with the son of Zeruiah, 1Ch 2:16 and 1Ch 11:20. Of these conjectures the first is much more probable than the second. To meet these men, David went forth from his fastness, and asked them with what purpose they came to him. “If for peace,” to stand by him, “then shall there be to me towards you a heart for union,” i.e., I will be with you of one heart, be true to you. is plainer than , 1Ch 12:38. “But if , to practise deceit against me (to be guilty of a ) for mine enemies (to deliver me to them), although there be no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon and punish;” cf. 2Ch 24:22. The God of our fathers, i.e., of the patriarchs (cf. Ezr 7:27; 2Ch 20:6, and Exo 3:13.), who rules in and over Israel, who shields the innocent and punishes the guilty.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Newcomers, l Chronicles 12:16-18
This passage gives insight into the plight of David often voiced in his psalms, the times when he was uncertain of his friends, when those he had trusted turned against him (see, e.g., Psalms 41). David met them with hesitation, saying his heart would be knit with theirs in gratitude if they came in peace, but that the Lord would rebuke them if they had not. God’s people of the same mind and heart should be knit together in perfect harmony (Act 4:32).
The chief captain, Amasai, answered. “Amasai” is the same name as Amasa, so he may well be the famous captain of Absalom’s host in later years (2Sa 17:25). He was a nephew of David, son of David’s sister, and if the same man, later betrayed his king. On this occasion, however, he was moved by the spirit of the Lord to answer for the men who had come to join David in exile from Saul. He said, “We belong to you, David, and we are on your side.” He then expressed desire for peace on David’s part and on the part of those who helped him. He expected this because he believed David was helped by God. Peace should be characteristic of God’s people (Rom 12:18). These early adherents to David’s cause became captains in his band.]
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(16) To the hold.See Note on 1Ch. 12:8.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(16-18) Some Benjamite and Judan accessions. The names are not given, why we cannot tell.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
David seemed to have good ground for his enquiry of the Benjamites, for Saul was of that tribe. But the Lord was better to him than all his fears. Is there not a sweet spiritual lesson veiled under this address of David to the Benjamites, and the answer of Amasai? Are we come to Jesus in sincerity and truth! Can we appeal to the God of our fathers in his covenant-love, and say, His chosen is our chosen, and God the Father’s Christ our Christ. Thine we are, blessed Jesus, and to thee we vow allegiance and love forever! Oh! how delightful it is to feel as Ruth felt, and to yield ourselves to the Lord, as his servants, in affection. Rth 1:16-17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 12:16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
Ver. 16. Then came the children of Benjamin and Judah. ] The Benjamites might have been suspected to have come for a mischief to David, had they not brought the men of Judah with them, to attest their integrity.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Ch 12:16-18
1Ch 12:16-18
MEN OF BENJAMIN AND JUDAH COME TO DAVID IN THE STRONGHOLD
“And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the stronghold unto David. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you; but if ye be come to betray me to mine adversaries, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the thirty, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be on thy helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.”
David had every right to fear betrayal by those who approached him in this episode. He had suffered betrayal by Doeg the Edomite (1 Samuel 21-22), by citizens of Keilah (1 Samuel 23), and by the Ziphites (1 Samuel 26).
It is of special interest that the Holy Spirit reassured David in the words of Amasai.
E.M. Zerr:
1Ch 12:16. Judah and Benjamin were adjoining tribes, and men from their territories went over to the land of the Philistines to offer their services to David.
1Ch 12:17. Since Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, it is understandable why David would question these men as to their purpose in coming.
1Ch 12:18 – Amasai was spokesman for the group- He assured David that they wished him peace, and indicated they were ready to fight for him. He then received them and enlisted them in his service.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the children: 1Ch 12:2
the hold: 1Ch 12:8
Reciprocal: 1Sa 22:4 – in the hold 2Sa 23:14 – an hold Psa 68:27 – little