Chapter Nineteen

1–15. David’s war with the Ammonites and their allies. 16–19. War with the Arameans (see chapter 2 Sam 10).

1 Chronicles 19:3. But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun: Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Have not his servants come to you to search out the land, to spy it out, and to overthrow it? In 2 Sam 10:3 the words: “to examine, to destroy, and to go around,” are arranged in better order: “to examine, to look at, and to destroy.” Furthermore, according to the indication in the book of Kings, the object of examination, etc., is not the whole land, but only the city, that is, the capital of the Ammonites.

1 Chronicles 19:6. When the Ammonites realized that they had become odious to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and chariot drivers from Mesopotamia Aram, and from Aram-Maacah, and from Zobah. The book of Kings 2 Sam 10:6 does not mention the amount of money the Ammonites spent to hire their allies. But there it is more probably represented the number of hired troops – 33,000 warriors, whereas here 32,000 chariots and a whole people are mentioned 1 Chr 19:7.

1 Chronicles 19:7. And they hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his forces, who came and pitched camp before Medeba. And the Ammonites mustered from their cities and came out for battle. In the book of Kings there is entirely lacking the indication of the position of the hired troops before Medeba, and likewise about the mustering of the Ammonites from their cities for war. Both pieces of information are borrowed, as it seems, from an ancient source common to the authors of both books. According to the indication of Josh 13:16, Medeba is a city in the territory of the tribe of Reuben.