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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.

Bible Chapter Studies

I CHRONICLES CHAPTER 19

Our last Chapter, I Chronicles 18, saw David expanding his and Israel’s kingdom by, beginning his conquests against Father’s and our forefathers’ enemies. He had the Israelite Army first overrun and whoop the Philistines, taking Gath and her towns. Next they turned their attention to the Moabites; subduing them and putting them to tribute. After conquering the Moabites, David next set his sights on Hadarezer — king of Zobah, then the Edomites, and finally the Syrians of Syria-danascus.

Once these nations were subdued, he did several things: first, he put them to tribute, requiring them to pay Israel a handsome tax every year, thereby expanding Israel’s status in the world and their wealth; and secondly, he put garrisons of men as defensive forces in each of their towns and strongholds; these forward deployed men ensured Israel’s safety because, being forward deployed, had anybody tried to come to attack Israel, these garrisons of men were the first line of defense and should they become overrun, then they could send back to Israel for re-enforcements.

With all that was taken care of, David then turned his attention inward in order to rule Israel with righteous justice and judgment. That was all well and good but, sadly, maybe not in this Chapter, but shortly here-after he’ll turn from that righteousness and sadly, he’ll sort of fall from Father’s favor because, though he rules the Nation righteously, he doesn’t do so well ruling his own family, namely, his sons, which will end up costing him.

This then brings us current, and where we’ll read of David setting out to “make nice” to someone; only to have that kindness thrown back into his face. That one as we’ll discover, is none other than an old adversary’s son. The son’s name is Hanun, and his father was one who had encamped against Israel right after Saul became the first man king of Israel. The one was also a “type” for our adversary: — satan. They even have names which closely mirror each other: satan — serpent, and Nahash — serpent. So, let’s see how the serpent’s son rejects the kindness of David.

With that introduction being said, let’s go to Father and ask Him for His Blessings on our Study of His Word: “Father, we come to you right now to thank you for inviting us to Your table in order that we might be able to partake of and receive Your Spiritual Meat, and Father, as we prepare to dine on the sustenance which sustains our inner man, we ask that You Oh LORD open our ears and eyes, that we might be able to hear and see your Truths, open our hearts and minds and prepare us in order that we may receive Your Truth. We Pray for Your Understanding of Your Word, we seek Your Knowledge in Your Word, and most importantly Father, we Pray for and desire Your Wisdom from Your Word, in Jesus’ Precious name we Pray, thank You Father, Amen.”

I Chronicles 10:1-
   II Chronicles 36:21
   HISTORY (UP TO THE
   CAPTIVITY.) (Division.)
11:1-II Chronicles 36:21
   THE HOUSE OF David
   ESTABLISHED. (Division.)
11:1-29:25 EVENTS IN
   DETAIL. (Introversion.)
11:1-29:30 DAVID. (Division.)
17:1-22:19 The Temple.
   David’s preparation for
   it.
17:1-22:19 THE TEMPLE.
   DAVID’S PREPARATION
   FOR IT. (Introversion.)
19:1-20:8 CONQUESTS.
   (Division.)
19:1-5 The provocation.
19:1-5 THE PROVOCATION.
   (Introversion.)
19:1-5 David’s kindness.
19:1-5 DAVID’S KINDNESS.
   (Division.)
19:1-5 KINDNESS TO
   Hanun (Repeated Alternation.)
19:1-5 David’s purpose.
   Formed.
19:1 David hears of
   Hanun’s bereavement.

I Chronicles 19:1 Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash (serpent; and, serpent) (naw-khawshי) the king of the children of Ammon (tribal that is, inbred; or, sons of renown, mountaineers) (am-oneי) died, and his son reigned in his stead.   —>   A little background on who the Ammonites were: — They were the descendants of Lot and the—unnamed in Father’s Word—younger of his two daughters — who had, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by Father YHVH, and, after witnessing her mother being turned to a pillar of salt, thought that the entire world had been destroyed. Therefore, repopulating the earth would have to be accomplished by her copulating with her father—her older sister thought and did the same also. The Ammonites, being the descendants of Lot — makes them Adamic, and therefore, kin to our forefathers — the Israelites. The occurrence of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of Lot’s daughters laying with their father took place thousands of years ago, as did the incident of when Father was leading our forefathers up out of their bondage to the Egyptians and He told our forefathers not distress the Ammonites when they denied their request to cross the Ammonites territory. Since those events, there have been many conflicts between the Ammonites and our forefathers—one such conflict—one which took place in the not too distant past, when Israel’s first man king: Saul, had just taken over the throne—was when Nahash—the same king who has just died—encamped against our forefathers at Jabesh-gilead, and the man of Jabesh had proposed a a covenant with Nahash, who replied that the only way he would consider a covenant with Jabesh, was if they allowed him to pluck out the right eye of every man of Jabesh. The men replied that they needed to think Nahash’s reply over for seven days in order to see if they could find someone who would help them fight against Nahash and the Ammonites. During that respite, word reached king Saul and Father’s Spirit came upon him, and he took a yoke of oxen and break it into twelve—one for each of the twelve Tribes—pieces and sent them into all the territories of Israel and said, “Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen.” Well, our forefathers responded and 330,000 men showed up to war against Nahash and his army, and they put a whooping on the Ammonites—and we’re about to read of another; not because of what David does, but because of what Hanun—the son of Nahash—is told by his servants and then does to the messengers whom David sends to greet the Ammonite king.

His son reigned in his stead=This son’s name as we’re about to read is: Hanun.

Nahash=Nahash was an Ammonite king. He came and encamped against our forefathers at Jabesh-gilead just after Saul became king of Israel—roughly in the year 1,000 B.C.. The men of Jabesh responded by seeking to make a treaty with the king, however, Nahash told the men of Jabesh that the only way he would consider their offer was if they allowed him to pluck out every man’s right eye. The men of Jabesh next told Nahash that they would consider his offer but, first wanted to see if they could find someone who would lead them into battle against him. Quite surprisingly, Nahash agreed to this delay and request. Sure enough, king Saul was just returning from the field when the men of Jabesh entered into his city, and they told him of their predicament. Saul took a yoke of oxen and broke it into 12 pieces and sent the pieces to the 12 Tribes with a decree that whoever did not show up, the same would happen to that man’s oxen. Over 330,000 Israelites showed up for the war and our forefathers put a serous hurting on Nahash and the Ammonites. Nahash himself did not die in this war against our forefathers; no, he lived for another 30 plus years and even became an ally with David—Israel’s second man king. Nahash had a son named Hanun who, when his father Nahash died and he took over the Ammonite kingdom, treated the Israelite messengers whom king David sent in order to offer condolences at Nahash’s death roughly — i.e., shaving off half of their beards, and cutting their garments up to where half of their buttocks were showing. † The etymology of the name Nahash comes from the root group נחש: For a meaning of the name Nahash, both New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read Serpent.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H5176, - נָחָשׁ, - nâchâsh, pronounced - naw-khawshי, and means: The same as H5175; i.e., a snake (from its hiss): - serpent; Nachash, the name of two persons apparently non Israelites: - Nahash. Total KJV occurrences: 9.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “King of the Ammonites who dictated to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead that cruel alternative of the loss of their right eyes or slavery which roused the swift wrath of Saul, and caused the destruction of the Ammonite force I Samuel 11:2-11. “Nahaph” would seem to have been the title of the king of the Ammonites rather than the name of an individual. Nahash the father of Hanun had rendered David some special and valuable service, which David was anxious for an opportunity of requiting II Samuel 10:2.”.

Ammon (Ammonites)=Ammon was the son of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, by his younger—un-named in Father’s Word—daughter — Genesis 19:38. This then, made Ammon and his descendants of Adamic lineage. As far as Lot’s two daughters getting their father drunk and laying with him in order to repopulate the earth after Father destroyed Sodom and Gommorah, it’s best to draw a veil over such an incestuous union as, it sure does testify as to the corrupt influence that Sodom had over Lot and his daughters—and his wife too as, don’t forget that she died when she stopped and turned to look back on that filthy lifestyle, knowing and longing for what they were leaving behind. The descendants of the Ammonites and Moabites—Ammon’s half brother by lot’s older daughter, and his descendants—were closely related, and covered many chief places in Judah, the Salt Sea and Reuben Genesis 36:35; Exodus 15:15; Judges 3:28. The Israelites were commanded to have no dealings with the Ammonites, they weren’t even to engage them in battle when the Ammonites refuse our forefathers request to cross their land when Father brought them up out of the land of Egypt. Many years later they did engage them in battle — many times: Judges 3; Judges 10, to name just two. The Ammonites honored, served and worshipped several false gods, namely: milchom and molech. † The etymology and original meaning of the name Ammon derives of the assumed root עמם: The ון upon which the name Ammon ends is a common construction to localize or personify the root. For a meaning of the name Ammon, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads A People. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Great People, taking the ון extension as an intensitive. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary doesn’t translate the name Ammon, but refers to the noun עם, meaning kinsman.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H5983, - עַמּוֹן, - ‛ammôn, pronounced - am-moneי, and means: From H5971; tribal, that is, inbred, Ammon, a son of Lot; also his posterity and their country: - Ammon, Ammonites. Total KJV occurrences: 105.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(sons of renown, mountaineers), Amיmonites, Children of Ammon, A people descended from Ben-ammi, the son of Lot by his younger daughter Genesis 19:38. Compare Psalms 83:7,8. The Ammonites are frequently mentioned with the Moabites (descendants of Ben-ammi’s half-brother), and sometimes under the same name. Compare Judges 10:6; II Chronicles 20:1, Zephaniah 2:8 etc. The precise position of the territory of the Ammonites is not ascertainable. In the earliest mention of them, Deuteronomy 2:20>, they are said to have dwelt in their place, Jabbok being their border Numbers 21:24; 2:37; 3:16) (i.e. Land or country is, however, but rarely ascribed to them. Their capital city was Rabbath, called also Rabbath Ammon on the Jabbok. We find everywhere traces of the fierce habits of maranders in their incursions) I Samuel 11:2; Amos 1:13) and a very high degree of crafty cruelty to their toes Jeremiah 41:6,7; Judges 17:11,12. Moab was the settled and civilized half of the nation of Lot, and Ammon formed its predatory and Bedouin section. On the west of Jordan they never obtained a footing. The hatred in which the Ammonites were held by Israel is stated to have arisen partly from their denial of assistance Deuteronomy 23:4, to the Israelites on their approach to Canaan. But whatever its origin the animosity continued in force to the latest date. The tribe was governed by a king Judges 11:12, etc.; I Samuel 12:12; II Samuel 10:1; Jeremiah 40:14, and by “princes” II Samuel 10:3; I Chronicles 19:3. The divinity of the tribe was Molech [MOLECH], and they were gross idolaters.”.

19:2 David hears of
   Hanun’s bereavement.
19:2 Condolence sent to
   Hanun via messengers.

I Chronicles 19:2 And David (loving; or, well-beloved) (Daw-veedי) said, “I will shew kindness unto Hanun (favored; and, favored) (khaw-noonי) the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me.”
And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.   —>   For reasons not explained in Father’s Word, David himself could not make the journey to comfort Hanun. So, in his place, he sent ambassadors who could express David’s sorrow to Hanun, while at the same time, try and comfort him for the loss of his father.

His father showed kindness unto me=It is not written what Nahash did, or could have done to have shown kindness to David, to warrant this return kindness by David; however, it would only make sense then to figure that when David was on the run from Saul, the two crossed paths, and possibly, with David fleeing Saul, Nahash thought — any enemy of the king of Israel is a friend of mine.

Brethren, again I remind you of what transpired in I Samuel 11 and 12, i.e., Nahash and the Ammonites had encamped against Israel in Jabesh-gilead, and were about to put a serious hurting on the Israelites, so the Israelites at that time sent ambassadors to Nahash and asked to make a league between the two nations. Nahash replied that the only way he would make a league with the people of Jabesh, would be if they first allowed him and his men to thrust out the right eye of all the people of Jabesh. What happened? War ensued and our forefathers put a beat-down on the Ammonites. — The point I’m trying to make and point out is that, I wouldn’t trust the Ammonites, and I find it hard to believe that David is going to trust them, even to the point that he is sending comforters to Nahash’s son. Of course, having read Father’s Word, I already know what is about to take place, and David is about to find his gesture of kindness thrown back in his face and his ambassadors mistreated. Noble intentions aren’t always so well received and accepted.

David=I could spend days discussing David and his life; literally, an entire Book—II Samuel—covered most of what David accomplished as king of Israel. David was a man after Father’s own heart, and though he made a few mistakes, David always tried to please Father in all that he did; therefore, Father loved David; so much so that, He chose David as the Line to bring forth the Branch, The Bright Morning Star, Immanuel\Emmanuel, God in the Flesh: Jesus. Even though Father chose David, it doesn’t mean that David never sinned as, David indeed did sin. He committed adultery with the wife of one of his soldiers; and, then had that soldier murdered by ordering his being put on the front lines of the hottest part of the battle. David was not perfect; however, he was obedient in the end; and, in the end, he left judgment in Father’s hand. All the other kings of Judah and some of the kings of Israel will be judged; or, compared to David; and, the one thing which can always be said of David, is that, not one time had David ever fallen away into idolatry. But, what else can we take away from David? If you sin: repent to Father and then leave the correction and judgment in Father’s hands. † While researching the etymology of the name David we find that most Bible translators and commentator will render the name David as Beloved; but, as always with important names, the etymology of the name David is disputed. However, we can’t help noticing the distinct similarity of this name with the Hebrew root דוד (dwd) that yields דוד (dod), generally meaning beloved. This word is also the Hebrew word for uncle — I Chronicles 27:32, for instance, speaks of דוד־דויד, or “David’s uncle”: The distinct difference between the name דוד (David) and the word דוד (dod) is that in the name David the letter waw counts for a consonant, while in the word dod it counts for a vowel. A consonant and a vowel are completely different entities and they’ll never mean the same, no matter how many times you write them with the same symbol (in this case the waw). If the name was meant to mean Beloved, then it was perhaps given to David after he became king and beloved. In his father’s household he wasn’t much of a hit, after all. But then, if this name was meant to mean Beloved, why hasn’t history given us the tales of King Dod? Harris Archer Waltke (HAW) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament lists David under dod but admits that “the name is conjectured to come from dod, beloved, but the etymology is uncertain. It has been compared with the Mari term dawidum, Lsquo;leader,’ but this too is unsure.” Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary too lists the name David under the derivations of the root dod, but also makes mention of A.H. Sayce’s note of a sun-god named Dodo — דודה — which was worshipped in East-Jordan Israel. Zion, now known as the city of David, was then apparently known as the city of the god Dod. But where Dod went the way of the dodo, king David is eternally remembered as the beloved king. And this is curious for more than one reason. But whatever the reason, Israel’s identity of a Kingdom is associated with a king whose name is not a regular Hebrew word, but which is spelled identical to the word for Beloved, and pronounced completely different. Perhaps, and this is a wild guess, the name Dod was altered to David to charge it with the tone of the word דוה (dawa), meaning infirmity.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1732, - דּוד, or דּויד, - dâvid, or dâvı̂yd, pronounced - daw-veed’, or daw-veed’ and means: From the same as H1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse: - David. Total KJV occurrences: 1076.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we find that the description of David in the Smith’s Bible Dictionary is extensive and too long to post here; so, I’ll instead just post the link to it: David.

Hanun=An Ammonite king who inherited his kingdom when his father Nahash died. † Hanun ruled his nation approximately 950B.C. after David’s third anointing as King of Israel but, while still early in his reign as king. † Hanun sort of reminds me of Israel’s forth king, king Solomon’s son: king Rehoboam. I say this because, like Rhehoboam, Hanun was young and foolish and took bad counsel from his counselors. David had sent a delegation of comforters to Hanun as an offer of good-will when Hanun’s father Nahash died. Hanun’s princes falsely told Hanun that David’s delegation was there to spy in the strength of Hanun and his nation in order to come against the Ammonites in war, therefore, Hanun shaved off half of each man’s beard and cut their garments half way up their body and leaving half their buttocks exposed. When David’s ambassadors returned to Israel, David told them to hide themselves away until their beards were regrown; at the same time he gathered his Army and brought devastating war to the Ammonites. † The etymology of the name Hanun comes from the verb חנן (hanan), meaning to be gracious: How the name Hanun would have been perceived by a Hebrew audience is hard to say. Perhaps this name was considered to be an expression of the verb, with the letter ו (waw) thrown in for flavor. Or else it may have been construed as the noun חן (hen), meaning favor or grace, extended with the waw-nun couple to make a personification of it: Grace-Man. Note that our name is identical to the adjective חנון (hannun), meaning gracious. For a meaning of the name Hanun, both New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary read Favored. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Giving For Nought.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H2586, - חָנוּן, - chânûn, pronounced - khaw-noonי, and means: From H2603; favored; Chanun, the name of an Ammonite and of two Israelites: - Hanun. Total KJV occurrences: 11.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “Son of Nahash II Samuel 10:1-2; I Chronicles 19:1-2. King of Ammon, who dishonored the ambassadors of David in II Samuel 10:4, and involved the Ammonites in a disastrous war II Samuel 12:21; I Chronicles 19:6.”.

19:3 Suspicion.

I Chronicles 19:3 But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?”   —>   When David’s delegation of ambassadors arrive to offer David’s condolences and sympathies to Hanun, Hanun’s inner-circle of counselors incorrectly tells him that David’s comforters are there under false pretenses; that what they really seek is, to spy out their city in order to determine the Ammonites war making capability by deducing their numbers in strength, the easiest routes into the city and whether they’ll encounter any guard forces and\or strongholds etc., so as make war against the Ammonites. Further telling him in essence that, what Israel truly seeks in the long run, is to put the Ammonites under the Israel’s thumb—as they have to all the other nations on Israel’s border—in order to use them as free labor, to collect tribute from the Ammonites; or even more importantly, to expand Israel’s border by taking their lands.

How does Hanun respond to his advisors and what will they do to Israel’s ambassadors because of their misguided mistrust?

19:4 Condolence requited
   with indignity.
19:4 Servants insulted.

I Chronicles 19:4 Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away.   —>   At this time, a Hebrew man’s beard was an ornament of pride. In almost every other nation around Israel, the men were clean shaven, so to shave off an Israelite man’s beard was an major insult to an him, and to only shave off one half of his beard, well, that was the ultimate insult as, it was to show him as being only half a man. To cut their garments—remember, at this time men wore garments much like a skirt—so to cut off a man’s, or for that, matter a women’s skirt in the middle, and show off their privates, was the height of mockery of a person. There was very little that Hanun could have done more to try and further insult David’s Ambassadors than what the Ammonites did. Hanun was trying to insult the king of Israel through the treatment that he had shown these Ambassadors of David.

Whether or not he was seeking war against Israel, me thinks he is about to have one.

19:5 David hears of
   Hanun’s actions.
19:5 David’s purpose.
   Defeated.

I Chronicles 19:5 Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, “Tarry at Jericho ( fragrant ; and, place of fragrance ) ( Yer-ee-kho י) until your beards be grown, and then return.”   —>   The men were greatly ashamed=Too ashamed even, to face their own families. These men could have done nothing to prevent what happened to them, they were in supposed friendly territory, at least, that was what David thought. They were outnumbered, and most likely, being ambassadors, they were unarmed. So, to have this insult heaped upon them really was nothing to be ashamed of, but yes, I can sympathize with their feelings.

Along the way home, they obviously came across another Israelite who, they then send to David explaining what happened, and the treatment they received at the hands of the Ammonites. After hearing what had happened, David sent the messenger back to them, telling them to stop in Jericho and allow their beards to grow back, before returning to their families. Now, that didn’t mean that if they wanted to, the family members could have gone to Jericho to see them, but I’m thinking that the men would have been too embarrassed because of their condition to have been seen by their loved ones.

Jericho=There is very, very much history with our forefathers and the city of Jericho. The first time our forefathers had any association\dealings with the city was when Father was leading them up, out of Egypt toward the Promised Land and while they wandered the wilderness for those 38 years. several times they were “in the plains of Moab near—on this side—Jordan, by Jericho.” According to Deuteronomy 32:49 it stood opposite Nebo, while in Deuteronomy 34:3 it is called a “city grove of palm trees.” It was surrounded with a wall Joshua 2:15, and provided with a gate which was closed at night Joshua 2:5, and was ruled over by a king—this wall though, was no match for our Father as, He told our forefathers to march around the city wall once every day for six days, then, on the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times and then blow the horns and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, and our forefathers went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. When the city was taken, there were vessels of brass and iron, large quantities of silver and gold, and “the accursed thing” which a man named Achan thought to be “a goodly Babylonish garment” found in it Joshua 7:21—for which Achan and his family paid a heavy price—i.e., their lives. It was on the western side of the Jordan, not far from the camp of Israel at Shittim, before crossing the river Joshua 2:1. The city—and its wall—was on the “plains” Joshua 4:13, but so close to “the mountain” on the West—probably “the high mountain” satan took Jesus up to in Luke 4, the traditional scene of Jesus’ temptation—that it was within easy reach of the spies, whom Rahab lowered down in order to effect their escape. It was in the lot of Benjamin Joshua 18:21, the border of which ascended to the “slope (English versions of the Bible “side”) of Jeremiah on the North” Joshua 18:12. † The etymology of the name Jericho: The meaning of the name Jericho is unclear, and that’s probably because in the Old Testament, the name Jericho comes in three differing variations: As ירחו (Jerיcho) in Numbers, Deuteronomy, II Samuel, II Kings 25, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Jeremiah. As יריחו (Jericho) in Joshua and II Kings 2. As יריחה (Jerichah) in I Kings 16:34. There’s no way to say which form was the original one, and which two are playful variations, or even whether there aren’t two different names for the same city (forms 2 and 3 are linguistically related). brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List appear to assume that forms 2 and 3 are the original and take the name Jericho from the noun ריח (reah) meaning scent or fragrance: And Jericho is indeed called Ir-hatamarim, or the City Of Palms (Deuteronomy 24:3, II Chronicles 28:15) and apparently its district was ‘abounding in palms, rose-gardens, balsam, etc’ (says BDB Theological Dictionary). Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names, on the other hand, appears to be most enthusiastic about form 1, and relates the name Jericho to the noun ירח (yareah) meaning moon as time indicator; month. The etymology of this word is lost but some scholars suggest it has to do with the verb ארח ss(יarah), meaning to wander or journey, as the moon is the most ambulant body in the night sky: The name Jericho may mean City Of The Moon (Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) or Place Of Fragrance ([NOBSE] Study Bible Name List). And of course, the authors of the Bible probably were very much aware that they gave Jericho its two different names, suggesting that this city was known for both moon worship and fragrances.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3405, - יריחו ירחו, or יריחה, - Yerı̂ychô, Yerêchô or Yerı̂ychôh, pronounced – Yer-ee-khoי, Yer-ay-khoי, or Yer-ee-khoי, and means: Perhaps from H3394; its mouth; or else from H7306; fragrant; Jericho or Jerecho, a place in Palestine: - Jericho. Total KJV occurrences: 57.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a plain traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where that river was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua Joshua 3:16. It was five miles west of the Jordan and seven miles northwest of the Dead Sea. It had a king. Its walls were so considerable that houses were built upon them Joshua 2:15. The spoil that was found in it betokened its affluence. Jericho is first mentioned as the city to which the two spies were sent by Joshua from Shittim Joshua 2:1-21. It was bestowed by him upon the tribe of Benjamin Joshua 18:21, and from this time a long interval elapses before Jericho appears again upon the scene. Its second foundation under Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in I Kings 16:34. Once rebuilt, Jericho rose again slowly into consequence. In its immediate vicinity the sons of the prophets sought retirement from the world; Elisha “healed the spring of the waters;” and over against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah “went up by a whirlwind into heaven” II Kings 2:1-22. In its plains Zedekiah fell into the hands of the Chaldeans II Kings 25:5; Jerremiah 39:5. In the return under Zerubbabel the “children of Jericho,” 345 in number, are comprised Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36. Under Herod the Great it again became an important place. He fortified it and built a number of new palaces, which he named after his friends. If he did not make Jericho his habitual residence, he at last retired thither to die, and it was in the amphitheater of Jericho that the news of his death was announced to the assembled soldiers and people by Salome. Soon afterward the palace was burnt and the town plundered by one Simon, slave to Herod; but Archelaus rebuilt the former sumptuously, and founded a new town on the plain, that bore his own name; and, most important of all, diverted water from a village called Neaera to irrigate the plain which he had planted with palms. Thus Jericho was once more “a city of palms” when our Lord visited it. Here he restored sight to the blind Matthew 20:30, Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35. Here the descendant of Rahab did not disdain the hospitality of Zaccaeus the publican. Finally, between Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the scene of his story of the good Samaritan. The city was destroyed by Vespasian. The site of ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr. Robinson in the immediate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha; and that of the second (the city of the New Testament and of Josephus) at the opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith), half an hour from the fountain. (The village identified with jericho lies a mile and a half from the ancient site, and is called Riha. It contains probably 200 inhabitants, indolent and licentious and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin says it is the “meanest and foulest village of Palestine;” yet the soil of the plain is of unsurpassed fertility. --ED.)”.

How will David and Israel respond to this insult to gesture of kindness? Let’s read on and find out.

19:6-20:8 Wars and events.
19:6-20:8 WARS AND
   EVENTS. (Division.)
19:6-19 First and second
   wars.
19:6-19 FIRST AND SECOND
   WARS (Repeated Alternation.)
19:6-20:8 The wars.
19:6-8 THE WARS. (Division.)
19:6-19 Wars with Ammon
   and Syrians.
19:6-19 WARS WITH
    AMMON AND SYRIANS
   (Extended Alternation.)
19:6-13 Assemblage of
   armies.

I Chronicles 19:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia (Amram of (the) two rivers; or, between the rivers) (ar-amי nah-har-ahיyim), and out of Syria-maachah (depression; or, oppression) (mah-ak-awי), and out of Zobah (to station; or, station) (tso-bawי).   —>   That they had made themselves odious=This is a Hebrew idiom which means that, — even hearing the name of Ammon was insult to David, caused a stink in his nostrils, and he abhorred Ammon.

David gathered and mustered the Israelite Army, and then marched them right on up to Ammon’s border to engage them in war which David never sought. Seeing this mighty force coming at them, frightened Ammon enough to know that they didn’t stand a chance alone against our forefathers; so they had to send and hire mercenaries, horses and chariots to come to their defense. Some of them from Mesopotamia, or in the Hebrew — Aram-Naharaim, which translated means: Syria of the two rivers.

Mercenaries are nothing more than hirelings and hirelings can sometimes be a good thing; but this is not always the case. Take example today: today, many churches have a hireling—called a preacher, priest, father, reverend, or some other such title—in their pulpit. He stands behind the podium saying the words that the church organization hires him to say, paying no heed to Father’s Word, the purpose is to give an appearance of something that they are not; but they sure do sound “oh so religious.” You think you have an army girded for spiritual battle, with their spiritual armor on, and in place; however what you really have, is nothing but a bunch of hirelings who flip-flop in ignorance, and are just out to give a big show of force, forces that are there in body only, while their minds are off doing something else. Yes, the servant is worthy of his hire; but there was no dedication to this mission at hand. The hireling or anyone else who is doing their job just for the money is worthless when the battle begins. When things get tough, they are out of here. When the battle gets tough, they evaluate the cost, and see it isn’t worth dying for. Hanun’s paycheck that they will not be around to enjoy, when their hides are rotting on the battle field. This is the type of army that Hanun has put together to fight David and the Israelites. All of these people though are Syrian people, a very proud people, and they are hiring kin to go out and fight their battle for them. Notice that these men did not come with their nations backing them, but as hired individuals taking a job for a paycheck.

Mesopotamia=While researching the name Mesopotamia, I found that the name does not occur in the Massoretic Text nor the Peshitta of the Old Testament—The Syriac version of the Bible. The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition. The consensus within biblical scholarship, though not universal, is that the Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD—but is found in the Septuagint, in the Peshitta of the New Testament—for those of you who are not familiar with Peshitta Primacy, it is the belief that the Syriac Peshitta (the Syriac Bible) is the original text of the New Testament—and in the Mishna—the Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”—In the Septuagint it represents “Aram” in all its combinations, as in — Aram-zobah, etc. The name Mesopotamia itself first appears in Herodotus vii.63, where he says that “Syrians” and “Assyrians” were the Greek and barbarian designations of the same people. Otherwise he is quite vague in his use of the term. Xenophon is clearer when he (Anab; vii.8, 25) distinguishes between Syria and Phoenicia. Syria is undoubtedly an extension of the name “Suri” the ancient Babylonian designation of a district in North Mesopotamia, but later embracing regions beyond the Euphrates to the North and West, as far as the Taurus. Under the Seleucids, Syria was regarded as coextensive with their kingdom, and the name shrank with its dimensions. Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy give its boundaries as the Taurus Mountains, the Euphrates, the Syro-Arabian desert and the Mediterranean, and the territory within these limits is still politically designated Syria, though popularly Palestine is generally named separately. † Abarim Publications where I get the etymologies did not have the etymology for Mesopotamia. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H763, - אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם, - 'ăram nahărayim, pronounced - ar-amי nah-har-ahי-yim, and means: From H758 and the dual of H5104; Amram of (the) two rivers (Euphrates and Tigris) or Mesopotamia: - Aham-naharaim, Mesopotamia. Total KJV occurrences: 6.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(between the rivers), the entire country between the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. This is a tract nearly 700 miles long and from 20 to 250 miles broad, extending in a southeasterly direction from Telek to Kurnah. The Arabian geographers term it “the Island,” a name which is almost literally correct, since a few miles only intervene between the source of the Tigris and the Euphrates at Telek. But the region which bears the name of Mesopotamia, par excellence, both in Scripture and in the classical writers, is the northwestern portion of this tract, or the country between the great bend of the Euphrates, lat. 35 degrees to 37 degrees 30’, and the upper Tigris. We first hear of Mesopotamia in Scripture as the country where Nahor and his family settled after quitting Ur of the Chaldees Genesis 24:10. Here lived Bethuel and Laban; and hither Abraham sent his servants to fetch Isaac a wife. Ibid. ver. 38. Hither too, a century later, came Jacob on the same errand; and hence he returned with his two wives after an absence of twenty-one years. After this we have no mention of Mesopotamia till the close of the wanderings in the wilderness Genesis 23:4. About half a century later we find, for the first and last time, Mesopotamia the seat of a powerful monarchy Judges 3:1. ... Finally, the children of Ammon, having provoked a war with David, “sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah” I Chronicles 19:6. According to the Assyrian inscriptions Mesopotamia was inhabited in the early times of the empire, B.C. 1200-1100, by a vast number of petty tribes, each under its own prince, and all quite independent of one another. The Assyrian monarchs contended with these chiefs at great advantage, and by the time of Jehu, B.C. 880, had fully established their dominion over them. On the destruction of the Assyrian empire, Mesopotamia seems to have been divided between the Medes and the Babylonians. The conquests of Cyrus brought it wholly under the Persian yoke; and thus it continued to the time of Alexander. Since 1516 it has formed a part of the Turkish empire. It is full of ruins and mounds of ancient cities, some of which are now throwing much light on the Scripture.”.

Syria-Maachah=Syria-Maachah was part of the territory of Bashan, which was part of the kingdom of the giant Og, whom our forefathers defeated when they moved into the Promised Land. It was a small Syrian kingdom adjoining that of Geshur on the western border of Bashan, the inhabitants of which were called Maachathites; whose territory was given to the Tribe of Manasseh and more specifically, by the people of Jair, Deuteronomy 3:14 and Joshua 12:5. The territory itself lay between Geshur on the South and Hermon on the North, being probably bounded by Jordan on the West, although no certain indication of boundaries is now possible. They would thus be hemmed in by Israel, which accounts for “Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel” Joshua 13:13. It is possible that Abel-beth-maacah may have been a colony founded by men from Maacah. Sadly, when our forefathers moved into the territory of Syria-maachah, it appears that the inhabitants of these kingdoms were not driven out by our forefathers, I say this because we read in Joshua 13:13: Joshua 13:13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day., and we also know that at a later time in our history, the children of Ammon hired mercenaries from Maacah for their war with David—to no avail as, our forefathers still put a major butt-whooping on them. The armies met near Medeba when the “Syrians” from Maacah found themselves opposed to Joab. David’s nephew and Commanding General completely routed them as we read in II Samuel 10:6; though, there they are called the Amalek, but in I Chronicles 19:6 the territory is called Syria-maachah. † The etymology of the name Syria-maachah: The name מעכת (Maacath) is really the same as מעכה (Maacah). The name Maacath was composed in a time when the letter ת (taw) was used in much the same way as the letter ה (he) was in the time when the Bible was written in its final form. Sometimes the editors of the Bible chose to incorporate the older but genuine spelling (מעכת), and sometimes they chose to use to updated form (מעכה). But both forms come from the verb מעך (maיak) meaning press, squeeze: The name Maacah means Squeezer or Pusher. Both New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read the more descriptive Oppression.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H4601, - מַעֲכָה or מַעֲכָת, - ma‛ăkâh or ma‛ăkâth, pronounced – mah-ak-awי or mah-ak-awthי, and means: From H4600; depression; Maakah (or Maakath), the name of a place in Syria, also of a Mesopotamian, of three Israelites, and of four Israelitesses and one Syrian woman: - Maachah, Maachathites. See also H1038. total KJV occurrences: 23.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(oppression.” The Smith’s Bible Dictionary, only lists peoples names who are Maachah, and does not give a description of the town\territory named Maachah, or Syria-maachah.

Zobah=A Syrian province or kingdom to the south of Coele-Syria, and extending from the eastern slopes of Lebanon north and east toward the Euphrates. We can also read that it was an early Aramean state which extended from the Beqaa Valley along the eastern side of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains reaching Hamath to the north and Damascus to the south, and at one time it was of considerable importance. Both Saul and David had war with the kings of Zobah I Samuel 14:47; II Samuel 8:3; II Samuel 10:6. † The etymology of the name Zobah probably comes from a language other than Hebrew, possibly Arabic. Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) sees relations with an Arabic verb that means to incline or depress, and (in his article on Aram-zobah) presumes that the area known as Zobah was somewhat shaped like an amphitheatre. A Hebrew audience, on the other hand, would probably have linked the name Zobah to the word צבא (sabaי), meaning division or army, or to צבי (sabi), meaning beauty or honor: For a meaning of the name Zobah, Alfred Jones’ Dictionary reads Depression, which is rather peculiar because for Aram-zobah Jones reads Syria Of The Theatre. A Hebrew audience would possibly have heard a meaning of War or Beauty.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H6678, - צוֹבָא, צוֹבָה, or צֹבָה, - tsôbâ', tsôbâh, or tsôbâh, pronounced - tso-bawי, tso-bawי, or tso-bawי, and means: From an unused root meaning: to station; a station; Zoba or Zobah, a region of Syria: - Zoba, Zobah. Total KJV occurrences: 12.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(station), the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in the time of the Jewish monarchs Saul, David and Solomon. It probably was eastward of Coele-Syria, and extended thence northeast and east toward, if not even to, the Euphrates. We first hear of Zobah in the time of Saul, when we find it mentioned as a separate country, governed apparently by a number of kings who owned no common head or chief I Samuel 14:47. Some forty years later than this we find Zobah under a single ruler Hadadezer son of Rehob. He had wars with Toi king of Hamath, II Samuel 8:10, and held various petty Syrian princes as vassals under his yoke II Samuel 10:19. David in Samuel 8:3, attacked Hadadezer in the early part of his reign, defeated his army, and took from him a thousand chariots, seven hundred (seven thousand) I Chronicles 18:4, horsemen and 20,000 footmen. Hadadezer’s allies, the Syrians of Damascus, were defeated in a great battle. The wealth of Zobah is very apparent in the narrative of this campaign. A man of Zobah, Rezon son of Eliadah, made himself master of Damascus where he proved a fierce adversary to Israel all through the reign of Solomon I Kings 11:23-25. Solomon also was, it would seem engaged in a war with Zobah itself II Chronicles 8:3. This is the last that we hear of Zobah in Scripture. The name however, is found at a later date in the inscriptions of Assyria, where the kingdom of Zobah seems to intervene between Hamath and Damascus.”.

I Chronicles 19:7 So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba (water of quiet; and, water of rest) (may-deb-awי). And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.   —>   Hanun and his generals knew they had bitten off more than they could chew so to speak, sort of like the film quote—notice I said film quote as, there is no printed evidence that this was ever voiced—of Admiral Yamamoto declaring after attacking Pearl Harbor, I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant.

The Ammonites knew that they could not defeat Israel by themselves; therefore, they hired hirelings to fight their battle for them, and with the knowledge of their hirelings fighting for them, they gathered themselves and made ready for war.

Thirty and two thousand chariots=This is not to say the Syrians actually hired 32,000 horse and chariot teams as, that would be an extraordinary amount of chariot teams. What it is saying, is that, the Syrians hired a combination of foot-soldiers, single horse and rider—what we today would call cavalry soldiers—plus some horse and chariot teams, the combination of which totaled 32,000. We’ll read in V19:18 below that, our forefathers slay 7,000 soldiers who were fighting from these chariots.

Medeba=The name Medeba may mean “gently flowing water,” but, the sense is doubtful. † The city was an ancient Moabite town which lay on the eastern side of the Jordan River and is first mentioned along with Heshbon and Dibon in the account of Israel’s conquests Numbers 21:30 when it was assigned to the Tribe of Reuben as an inheritance upon moving into the Promised Land Joshua 13:9. † It lay in the Mishor, or the high pasture land of Moab. The district in which the city stood is called “the Mishor,” or “plain of Medeba” Joshua 13:16. † It was here where our forefathers fought the great battle against the Ammonites’ Syrian hirelings, and Joab soundly defeated the Ammonites and their allies I Chronicles 19:7-15. The city exchanged hands between our forefathers and our enemies several times as, we can read in Father’s Word that it was called the city of Moab and we can also read that it was in the possession of Moab in Isaiah 15:2. † Abarim Publications where I get the etymologies I post in the description, did not list an etymology for Medeba. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H4311, - מֵידְבָא, - mêydebâ', pronounced - may-deb-awי, and means: From H4325 and H1679; water of quiet; Medeba, a place in Palestine. Total KJV occurrences: 5.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(water of rest), a town on the eastern side of Jordan, first alluded to in Numbers 21:30. Here it seems to denote the limit of the territory of Heshbon. It next occurs in the enumeration of the country divided among the transjordanic tribes Joshua 13:9, as giving its name to a district of level downs called “the Mishor of Medeba” or “the Mishor on Medeba.” At the time of the conquest Medeba belonged to the Amorites, apparently one of the towns taken from Moab by them. In the time of Ahaz Medeba was a sanctuary of Moab Isaiah 15:2. It has retained its name down, our own times, and lies four miles southeast of Heshbon, on it rounded but rocky hill.”.

I Chronicles 19:8 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab (YHVH-fathered); or, whose father is YHVH) (yo-awbי), and all the host of the mighty men.   —>
David heard of it=In other words, when David heard that the Ammonites had to hire outside help to fight against Israel; David then sent his top General, sounding the trumpets and the battle cry of war. Time to gather all the Israelite Army to this engagement against the Ammonites.

Joab=Of the 125 verses mentioning him, and the 146 matches for his name and the Strong’s Hebrew word number—H3097—associated with his name, Joab, is the most spoken about of David’s three nephews by his sister Zeruiah; three of those 125 verses and 146 matches—Ezra 2:6; 8:9; and Nehemiah 7:11—are of Joab’s descendants. Joab was Zeruiah’s middle son, with Abishai being the older, and Asahel being the younger. † Some of Joab’s more notable facts are: Before David became king of the entire House of Israel; while Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was king of the divided House of Israel, appointed by Saul’s captain Abner, Joab and a contingency of men met to face off with Abner and his men at the Pool of Gibeon. The men had gathered to conduct mock-war in order to prevent all-out war between the two nations; however, sadly, their simulated war of sending out 12 men from each side to fend against each other in a “winner take all” mock war sport quickly escalated into something more sinister: war, as each man grabbed his foe by the beard and they all thrust each other through with their weapons of war, killing each other. That little war-play intensified and worsened; and, the next thing they all knew, they were engaging in real war, with Joab’s 600 battle-tested warriors overpowering Abner’s men who had just suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Philistines. It was at this little mock-war which quickly turned into true war that Joab’s younger brother Asahel chased down the more experienced Abner, who warned him off three times to no avail, and when Asahel charged; Abner had no choice but to defend himself; and, he slew the younger, less experienced Asahel. Joab considered it murder, and later, he conspired and murdered Abner for it. † Because of his fearless courage and leading the assault on the fortress of Jebus, Joab was promoted to the rank of General as can be read in I Chronicles 11:4-6 and 27:34. † The etymology of the name Joab consists of two elements: The first one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHVH, or Yahveh, the sacred and personal name of our Father. This very short abbreviation of YHVH also occurs in the names Jochebed and Jonathan. The second element of the name Joab is אב (ab): The name Joab means Yah Is Father. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Yahveh Is Father. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Lord Father or Whose Father Is The Lord.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3097, - יוֹאָב, - yô'âb, pronounced - yo-awbי, and means: From H3068 and H1; Jehovah-fathered; Joab, the name of three Israelites: - Joab. Total KJV occurrences: 145.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The most remarkable of the three nephews of David, the children of Zeruiah, David’s sister. Joab first appears after David’s accession to the throne at Hebron. Abner slew in battle Asahel, the youngest brother of Joab; and when David afterward received Abner into favor, Joab treacherously murdered him. There was now no rival left in the way of Joab’s advancement, and at the siege of Jebus he was appointed for his prowess commander-in-chief — “captain of the host.” In the wide range of wars which David undertook, Joab was the acting general. He was called by the almost regal title of “lord," ”in II Samuel 11:11 and “the prince of the king’s army” in I Chronicles 27:34. In the entangled relations which grew up in David’s domestic life he bore an important part, successfully reinstating Absalom in David’s favor after the murder of Amnon (II Samuel 14:1-20). When the relations between father and son were reversed by the revolt of Absalom, Joab remained true to the king, taking the rebel prince’s dangerous life in spite of David’s injunction to spare him, and when no one else had courage to act so decisive a part II Samuel 18:2 and 11-15. The king transferred the command to Amasa, which so enraged Joab that he adroitly assassinated Amasa when pretending to welcome him as a friend in II Samuel 20:10. Friendly relations between himself and David seem to have existed afterward (II Samuel 24:2), but at the close of his long life, his loyalty, so long unshaken, at last wavered. “Though he had not turned after Absalom, he turned after Adonijah” (I Kings 2:28). This probably filled up the measure of the king’s long-cherished resentment. The revival of the pretensions of Adonijah after David’s death was sufficient to awaken the suspicions of Solomon. Joab fled to the shelter of the altar at Gibeon, and was here slain by Benaiah.”.

I Chronicles 19:9 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.   —>   The Ammonites set themselves right at the entrance of their city, while they sent their hirelings out to engage our forefathers and fight their fight. In other words, the Ammonites made sure that they could quickly close, and then hide behind, the city gate if the battle got too rough and their hirelings were taking a butt-whooping. This was why they hired the thirty two thousand warriors — to go out and get killed on the their behalf. The hirelings were out there to do the heavy work, so that when the going got tough, the men of Ammon could shut the city gate, and leave the hirelings to fend for themselves. What do you think the outcome will be, or better put, how do you think the hirelings will feel about what the Ammonites just did to them?

I Chronicles 19:10 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose out of all the choice of Israel (he will rule as YAH; or, the prince that prevails with YAH) (Yis-raw-ale’) (secondary map), and put them in array against the Syria (the highland (arawmי).   —>   Joab recognized that there were two separate and distinct fronts before him in this battle. A good military commander knows how to assess the battlefield, this is important because; if you happen to have a military commander who doesn’t know how to assess the field in front of him, things can get ugly pretty quickly. Just ask our previous “commander-in-chief,” — the “usurper-in-charge” obama, he incorrectly assessed what he was facing in this same country — Syria—how ironic is that—and “drew his red line in the sand.” In other words our previous president let his alligator mouth over-run his pissant keister, and almost took this nation to war against Syria, which could have possibly led to the start of WW III—without Congressional Approval, and after ignorantly degrading our once strong Military—and only by sheer luck, was he able to escape the situation he put himself into. Anyway, before I get too side-tracked — Joab saw what was happening, that the mercenaries were out there in the field alone, while the cowards of Ammon were at the gate ready to take cover. This is exactly why Joab took the best fighters to go up against the mercenaries, leaving the rest of the troops to chase the Ammonites back into their holes. Joab wanted his most disciplined troops by his side, allowing the others to handle the Ammonites without much trouble. Joab’s strategy was very sound militarily speaking. Joab and his men were well disciplined, and could use their head and think for themselves.

Israel=The kingdom of Israel consists and comprises of both a People, and a territory. The People were and are our Father’s, our Creator ELOHIM’s Chosen People. Chosen only in the sense that they were the lineage through which He Himself will\would be born in the flesh as His Only Begotten Son: Jesus Christ. That lineage began with Adam, then his son Seth, down to Noah, then his son Shem, down to Abram, then his son Isaac, and the his son Jacob whom Father renamed Israel, on to his two sons Levi—actually, Levi’s son Amram amd his son Aaron and his descendants—and Judah—and his son Pharez, then his son Hezron, then his son Aram, then his Amminadab, then his son Nashon, then his son Salmon, then his son Boaz, then his son Obed, then his son Jesse, then his son David. Both lineages culminated and terminated at Mary—cousin to Elisabeth, wife of Zacharias, whom the Holy Spirit overshadowed while she was yet a virgin, and after Michael the arch angel had told would come to pass. When Father had changed Jacob’s name to Israel and then he had his twelve sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin—who went into captivity to Egypt for those 200 plus years, when Father led them out by the hand of Moses, they became known collectively as, the House of Israel. As for the territory, see the links of the 2 maps in the verse to understand the land mass which comprised the territory of Israel. † As to the etymology of the name Israel, according to Abarim Publications, the meaning of the name Israel is not clear; but, yet, it’s huge. The meaning of Israel is not singular and distinct; but, consists of many nuances and facets and bulges with theological significance. Judging from Genesis 32:28, the form ישראל (Israel) appears to be a compilation of two elements. The first one is the noun אל, El, the abbreviated form of אלהים, Elohim, denoting the genus God: The second part of our name appears to be related to the verb שרה I (sara I): However, even though Genesis 32:28 uses the enigmatic verb שרה — which is assumed to mean to struggle but which might something else entirely — it’s by no means certain that this verb is etymologically linked to our name Israel. When we say, “we named him Bob because that seemed like a good idea,” we certainly don’t mean to say that the name Bob means “good idea.” The first part of the name Israel looks a lot like the verb שרה that explains this name; but, this apparent link is possibly a mere case of word-play. In fact, the name Israel may have more to do with the verb ישר (yashar), meaning to be upright. Note that the difference between the letter שׂ (sin) as found in the name ישׂראל (Israel) and the letter שׁ (shin) as found in the verb ישׁר (yashar) didn’t exist in Biblical times and as it was invented more than a thousand years after the Bible was written: For a meaning of the name Israel, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List, Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) unanimously go with the verb שרה of which the meaning is unsure. Undeterred, NOBSE reads God Strives, and BDB proposes El Persisteth or El Persevereth. Alfred Jones figures that the mysterious verb שרה might very well mean “to be princely,” and assumes that the name Israel consists of a future form of this verb, which hence would mean to become princely. And so Jones interprets the name Israel with He Will Be Prince With God.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3478, - ישׂראל, - Yiśrâ'êl, pronounced - Yis-raw-ale’, and means: From H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: - Israel. Total KJV occurrences: 2,576.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary: The description of Israel in the Smith’s Bible Dictionary is extensive and too long to post here; so, I’ll instead just post the link to it: Israel.

Syria (Syrians )=While researching the name Syria, I found that the name does not occur in the Massoretic Text nor the Peshitta of the Old Testament—The Syriac version of the Bible. The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition. The consensus within biblical scholarship, though not universal, is that the Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD—but is found in the Septuagint, in the Peshitta of the New Testament—for those of you who are not familiar with Peshitta Primacy, it is the belief that the Syriac Peshitta (the Syriac Bible) is the original text of the New Testament—and in the Mishna—the Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions known as the “Oral Torah”—In the Septuagint it represents “Aram” in all its combinations, as Aram-zobah, etc. The name itself first appears in Herodotus vii.63, where he says that “Syrians” and “Assyrians” were the Greek and barbarian designations of the same people. Otherwise he is quite vague in his use of the term. I’ll defer to the Smith’s Bible Dictionary below for a further description of Syria. † The etymology of the name Syria probably comes from the common Hebrew verb רום (rum), meaning to be high, rise up: Note the assumed Hebrew root ארם ss(יrm) that, according to Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary, may indeed have something to do with the Hebrew word רום (rum) and which is identical to our name Aram. The name Aram is possibly derived from the root that also gave us the word for citadel. It probably also means Elevated. For a meaning of the name Aram, Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads High, Elevated. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Elevated.. †Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H758, - אֲרָם, - 'ărâm, pronounced - arawmי, and means: From the same as H759; the highland; Aram or Syria, and its inhabitants; also the name of a son of Shem; a grandson of Nahor, and of an Israelite: - Aram, Mesopotamia, Syria, Syrians. Total KJV occurrences: 132.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “Is the term used throughout our version for the Hebrew Aram, as well as for the Greek Zupia. Most probably Syria is for Tsyria, the country about Tsur or Tyre which was the first of the Syrian towns known to the Greeks. It is difficult to fix the limits of Syria. The limits of the Hebrew Aram and its subdivisions are spoken of under ARAM. Syria proper was bounded by Amanus and Taurus on the north by the Euphrates and the Arabian desert on the east, by Palestine on the south, by the Mediterranean near the mouth of the Orontes, and then by Phoenicia on the west. This tract is about 300 miles long from north to south, and from 50 to 150 miles broad. It contains an area of about 30,000 square miles. General physical features. — The general character of the tract is mountainous, as the Hebrew name Aram (from a roof signifying “height”) sufficiently implies. The most fertile and valuable tract of Syria is the long valley intervening between Libanus and Anti-Libanus. Of the various mountain ranges of Syria, Lebanon possesses the greatest interest. It extends from the mouth of the Litany to Arka, a distance of nearly 100 miles. Anti-Libanus, as the name implies, stands lover against Lebanon, running in the same direction, i.e. nearly north and south, and extending the same length. [LEBANON] The principal rivers of Syria are the Litany and the Orontes. The Litany springs from a small lake situated in the middle of the Coele-Syrian valley, about six miles to the southwest of Baalbek. It enters the sea about five miles north of Tyre. The source of the Orontes is but about 15 miles from that of the Litany. Its modern name is the Nahr-el-Asi, or “rebel stream,” an appellation given to it on account of its violence and impetuosity in many parts of its course. The chief towns of Syria may be thus arranged, as nearly as possible in the order of their importance: 1, Antioch; 2, Damascus; 3, Apamea; 4, Seleucia; 5, Tadmor or Palmyra; 6, Laodicea; 7, Epiphania (Hamath); 8, Samosata; 9, Hierapolis (Mabug); 10, Chalybon; 11, Emesa; 12, Heliopolis; 13, Laodicea ad Libanum; 14, Cyrrhus; 15, Chalcis; 16, Poseideum; 17, Heraclea; 18, Gindarus; 19, Zeugma; 20, Thapsacus. Of these, Samosata, Zeugma and Thapsacus are on the Euphrates; Seleucia, Laodicea, Poseideum and Heraclea, on the seashore, Antioch, Apamea, Epiphania and Emesa (Hems), on the Orontes; Heliopolis and Laodicea ad Libanum, in Coele-Syria; Hierapolis, Chalybon, Cyrrhus, Chalcis and Gindarns, in the northern highlands; Damascus on the skirts, and Palmyra in the centre, of the eastern desert. History. — The first occupants of Syria appear to have been of Hamitic descent — Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc. After a while the first comers, who were still to a great extent nomads, received a Semitic infusion, while most Probably came to them from the southeast. The only Syrian town whose existence we find distinctly marked at this time is Damascus Genesis 14:15; 15:2, which appears to have been already a place of some importance. Next to Damascus must be placed Hamath Numbers 13:21; 34:8. Syria at this time, and for many centuries afterward, seems to have been broken up among a number of petty kingdoms. The Jews first come into hostile contact with the Syrians, under that name, in the time of David Genesis 15:18; II Samuel 8:3,4,13. When, a few years later, the Ammonites determined on engaging in a war with David, and applied to the Syrians for aid, Zolah, together with Beth-rehob sent them 20,000 footmen, and two other Syrian kingdoms furnished 13,000 II Samuel 10:6. This army being completely defeated by Joab, Hadadezer obtained aid from Mesopotamia, Ibid. ver. 16, and tried the chance of a third battle, which likewise went against him, and produced the general submission of Syria to the Jewish monarch. The submission thus begun continued under the reign of Solomon I Kings 4:21. The only part of Syria which Solomon lost seems to have been Damascus, where an independent kingdom was set up by Rezon, a native of Zobah I Kings 11:23-25. On the separation of the two kingdoms, soon after the accession of Rehoboam, the remainder of Syria no doubt shook off the yoke. Damascus now became decidedly the leading state, Hamath being second to it, and the northern Hittites, whose capital was Carchemish, near Bambuk, third. [DAMASCUS] Syria became attached to the great Assyrian empire, from which it passed to the Babylonians, and from them to the Persians, In B.C. 333 it submitted to Alexander without a struggle. Upon the death of Alexander, Syria became, for the first time the head of a great kingdom. On the division of the provinces among his generals, B.C. 321, Seleucus Nicator received Mesopotamia and Syria. The city of Antioch was begun in B.C. 300, and, being finished in a few years, was made the capital of Seleucus’ kingdom. The country grew rich with the wealth which now flowed into it on all sides. Syria was added to the Roman empire by Pompey, B.C. 64, and as it holds an important place, not only in the Old Testament but in the New, some account of its condition under the Romans must be given. While the country generally was formed into a Roman province, under governors who were at first proprietors or quaestors, then procounsuls, and finally legates, there were exempted from the direct rule of the governor in the first place, a number of “free cities” which retained the administration of their own affairs, subject to a tribute levied according to the Roman principles of taxation; secondly, a number of tracts, which were assigned to petty princes, commonly natives, to be ruled at their pleasure, subject to the same obligations with the free cities as to taxation. After the formal division of the provinces between Augustus and the senate, Syria, being from its exposed situation among the province principis, were ruled by legates, who were of consular rank (consulares) and bore severally the full title of “Legatus Augusti pro praetore.” Judea occupied a peculiar position; a special procurator was therefore appointed to rule it, who was subordinate to the governor of Syria, but within his own province had the power of a legatus. Syria continued without serious disturbance from the expulsion of the Parthians, B.C. 38, to the breaking out of the Jewish war, A.D. 66. in A.D. 44-47 it was the scene of a severe famine. A little earlier, Christianity had begun to spread into it, partly by means of those who “were scattered” at the time of Stephen’s persecution Acts 11:19, partly by the exertions of St. Paul Galatians 1:21. The Syrian Church soon grew to be one of the most flourishing Acts 13:1; 15:23, 35, 41 etc. (Syria remained under Roman and Byzantine rule till A.D. 634, when it was overrun by the Mohammedans; after which it was for many years the scene of fierce contests, and was finally subjugated by the Turks, A.D. 1517, under whose rule it still remains. — ED.)”.

I Chronicles 19:11 And the rest of the People he delivered unto the hand of Abishai (father of a gift (that is generous), or, father of a gift) (ab-shahיee) his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.   —>   Joab was going to take only his finest war-fighters with him in squaring off against the mercenary Syrians, who could not—like the Ammonites who hired them—get behind the city gates, he then separated out the rest of the Israelite Army to go with his brother Abishai, and set themselves against the Ammonites who were hiding behind the city walls. They’ll lay siege to the city. Remember, both Joab and Abishai—nephews of David—had joined with David while he was on the run from Saul, that has now been many years ago that they joined up with their uncle, so, today, they are both very seasoned warriors who are extremely adept at war-fighting, and therefore, should have no problem facing off against these mercenaries who are only on the field of battle because of the money they’re being paid. But, as we’ll see, fighting for your life, freedom, or Love of God and Country, and fighting for money are two separate items, and when you have no stock except money in the battle, we’ll you can find money elsewhere. So, there isn’t really any reason at all to fight then — especially when facing a formidable foe like these hardened Israelite Warriors. What I’m trying to say is, that, these mercenaries will quickly flee the battlefield.

Abishai=Abishai was the eldest of three nephews of David’s by his sister Zeruiah, his two brothers were Joab and Asahel. † As can be read in I Samuel 26, while David and his men were in the Wilderness of Ziph fleeing from Saul, Abishai was the only one who accompanied his uncle as he went to the camp of Saul and took the king’s spear and water bottle from Saul as he slept. He was a Captain under David, and as we read in II Samuel 18:2, he had the command of one of the three divisions of David’s army when they were engaging in the civil war against their brothers of the House of Israel of whom David’s own son Absalom was wanting to rule over. † He was the commander of the second rank of the three “mighty men,” and on one occasion, he withstood 300 men and slew them with his own spear. † We also read in II Samuel 21 that it was Abishai who slew the Philistine giant Ishbi-benob, who had threatened David’s life. His younger brother, Asahel, who could run as fast as a gazelle, fought in battle against Abner, the General of Israel’s army, who overpowered him and killed him by the back of his spear. Abishai, was so enraged at the death of Asahel that, he and his brother Joab later killed Abner to avenge their youngest brother’s death. Both mens deaths were needless and senseless as, Abner warned Asahel to not try and overtake him as he knew he was more powerful than the younger man; however, Asahel wouldn’t hear and charged toward the stronger Abner anyway, Abner he had no choice but to defend himself, thus killing Asahel in the process. Abishai and Joab later killed Abner wrongly, thinking he had purposefully killed their younger brother. † The etymology of the name Abishai is not directly clear how the name Abishai is constructed, but there are a few possibilities, and it’s also quite clear that the first part of the name Abishai consists of the common Hebrew word אב (ab), meaning father: But the second part of the name Abishai is disputed. One possibility is that it’s meant to be the same as name ישי, which is the name of Abishai’s grandfather Jesse. In English these names don’t really sound alike, but apparently they did in Bible times. The Septuagint lists these names as Ιεσσαι (Iessai) for Jesse, and Αβεσσαι (Abessai) for Abishai. To make matters worse: the meaning of the name Jesse is also disputed, but may mean either My Husband or Yah Exists. The name Abishai would thus mean both My Father Is My Husband or My Father Yah Exists. Another possibility comes when we recognize that in names the word אב is often followed by a yod in connection with names of places to express the lord of a country, city or village. The second part of the name Abishai would then be the masculine noun שי (shay), meaning a gift, or a gift offered as homage Isaiah 18:7, Psalm 68:30 and 76:12. This noun is a bit of an orphan; we have no idea from which root or what verb it derives. The name Abishai may thus mean My Father Is Jesse, as proposed by Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary; Father Of A Gift, as forwarded by New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List, or Father Of Gifts, as per Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H52, - אֲבִישַׁי or אַבְשַׁי, - 'ăbı̂yshay or 'abshay, pronounced - ab-ee-shahיee or ab-shahיee, and means: From H1 and H7862; father of a gift (that is, probably generous); Abishai, an Israelite: - Abishai. Total KJV occurrences: 25.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The eldest of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and brother to Joab and Asahel I Chronicles 2:16. Like his two brothers he was the devoted follower of David. He was his companion in the desperate night expedition to the camp of Saul I Samuel 26:6-9. On the outbreak of Absalom’s rebellion he remained true to the king, and commanded a third part of the army in the decisive battle against Absalom. He rescued David from the hands of the gigantic Philistine, Ishbi-benob II Samuel 21:17. His personal prowess on this, as on another occasion, when he fought single-handed against three hundred, won for him a place as captain of the second three of David’s mighty men II Samuel 23:18; I Chronicles 11:20.”.

I Chronicles 19:12 And he (Joab) said, “If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will help thee.   —>   Before parting company to go off in different directions and engage in combat, Joab tells his older brother that, should these mercenaries start to get the better of he and his men, then, you break-off from laying siege to the city and come and assist me; however, if I’m kicking the Syrians butts and I happen to see that the Ammonites have come out from behind the city walls and are getting the better of you, then I’ll finish off the Syrians and come and assist you and your men. A wonderful strategy as, they’ll only come to the others assistance if needed.

I Chronicles 19:13 Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our People, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight.   —>
Let us behave ourselves valiantly=Joab is telling his brother to show no fear so that any of our People who happen to hear of our fighting in these engagements, hear not of how we were sore afraid, remember also, Father ELOHIM is with us, and if it is good in His sight, He’ll give us the victory.

This entire scenario is, as Paul would tell us in I Corinthians 10:11 which reads: I Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.   —>   They happened and were written as examples for us today. Why? Because in all of Joab’s planning and strategizing for this encounter against the Syrian mercenaries and the Ammonites, he never once forgot Who was With and Leading his fighting men — Father ELOHIM, our Creator. This is how we too much approach our encounter with\against our enemy — satan, as well as those of the flesh. Always walk with and talk with our Father and never go anywhere without Him by your side. How do you ensure he is by your side? By meeting His conditions of hearing and doing His Commandments, Judgments, Laws, Ordinances and Statutes. By including Him in all of you planning seeking Him and asking Him to lead and guide you. This not only pleases Father, but it shows Him you respect Him and His advice and counsel.

19:14 Engagement with
   Syrians.
19:14 Flight of Syrians.

I Chronicles 19:14 So Joab and the People that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians unto the battle; and they fled before him.   —>   So far so good. As I mentioned a short time ago up a verse or two, paid mercenaries are not always the best soldiers as we’re witnessing here. Why? Because, first and foremost, since they’re only there for the money, there really is no loyalty to their cause, and as is in this case, when the army of Joab marched in their direction, the Syrians immediately saw that they were no match for Joab’s highly disciplined, and battle-hardened troops. Therefore, the mercenaries all ran from the battle field as, no paycheck, no matter how large it was, was worth their lives.

Are the Syrians mercenaries gone for good? No, they’ll be back, for as we’ll see when we get to verse v19:16, they are only falling back until they can increase their strength in numbers — with the Syrian Army.

19:15 Flight of Ammonites.

I Chronicles 19:15 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.   —>   Immediately after the Syrian mercenaries fled the battlefield, as previously planned and discussed by Joab and Abishai, Joab and his men turned to assist his brother and the rest of the Israelite Army. Upon seeing these great numbers coming at them, the Ammonites made a hasty retreat to safety, back behind the city gates and walls.

With the Syrians now over the horizon on their way back to Syria, and with the Ammonites put to bed back in their city, Joab takes the Israelite Army and returns to Jerusalem. This doesn’t mean that the rebuking of David’s Ambassadors by Hanun and the Ammonites is being forgotten about, on the contrary, as we’ll discover when we come to the beginning of I Chronicles 20 winter is getting close to being upon the region, and with the Ammonites behind their city walls, a siege is in order, and Joab knows that a siege will take time. So, he also knows that it would be better to wait out the winter and begin the siege in the spring, otherwise it would be a long hard winter for his troops — much like the situation that General Washington found himself in when fighting the Revolutionary War, and he and his men were at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778.

19:16 Assemblage.

I Chronicles 19:16 And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river (this would be the Euphrates River): and Shophach (poured); or, expansion) (sho-fawkי) the captain of the host of Hadarezer (Hadar (is his) help; or, Hadad’s help) (had-ar-ehי-zer) went before them.   —>   When the Syrian Army saw the mercenaries return without any men missing, they immediately knew and understood that the mercenaries had known that they would have been bested on the battlefield, and they therefore fled before Israel before any of them lost their lives. So, they now gather themselves together as a full Army to come against Israel. Being proud and having pride can be a good thing; however, we also know that “pride goeth before destruction” as is pointed out in the first part of Proverbs 16:18.

So now, the Syrians think they are going to show Israel that the hireling mercenaries did not represent Syria as a Nation, and now they as a whole would come up against David’s forces and prove just how strong the true Syrian fighting forces were.

Think they’ll be successful? Don’t bet your last dollar on it as, our forefathers have Father on their side and, when you have Father ELOHIM on your side, even if it’s only you and Him, you’re still in the majority! In the future—II Kings 6—to this time we’re reading of here in I Chronicles 19, when our forefathers are again fighting the Syrians, one of Father’s Prophets, Elisha, is with his servant and they’re looking out over the Syrian army and Elisha’s servant is nervous and scared at the number of men, horses and chariots the Syrians have mustered, and he relays his fear to Elisha. Elisha immediately does what any Father YHVH fearing man would do, he prays to Father, not for protection or anything he needed, but for Father to open his young servant’s eyes, that he might see the Company of the Heavenly Host of Angels who were standing by at the ready to defeat the Syrian army. Elisha further prayed that Father smite the Syrian army with a temporary blindness in order that he be able to lead them right into Israel’s midst.

Shobach=Also known as Shobach in II Samuel 10:16. † The only thing we know of this Shophach, or Shobach is that he was Captain of Hadarezer’s army and he died on the battlefield fighting against our forefathers as read in II Samuel 10:18 and I Chronicles 19:16. † Abarim Publications where I derive the etymology I post in the description, did not list an etymology for Shophach\Shobach. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H7780, - שׁוֹפָךְ, - shôphâk, pronounced - sho-fawkי, and means: From H8210; poured; Shophak, a Syrian: - Shophach. Total KJV occurrences: 2.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(expansion), the general of Hadarezer king of the Syrians of Zoba, who was defeated by David II Samuel 10:15-18. In I Chronicles 19:16, he is called SHOPHACH.”.

Hadarezer=Also known as Hadadezer in II Samuel 8:3,5,7,8,9,10,12; I Kings 11:23. † Hadarezer was the son of Rehob and king of Zobah. † He was hired by Hanun, the king of the Ammonites, in order to bring his army to assist him in his war against David and our forefathers. David with his nephew Joab, Commanding General of David’s Army, found Hanun and his army in double battle array — the Ammonities toward their capital of Rabbah, and the Syrian mercenaries near Medeba. When the battle ensued, the Syrians were scattered, and the Ammonites fled in horror to their capital. Shortly thereafter another battle followed with the Syrian army again recruited, this resulted in their being completely anniliated at Helam II Samuel 10:17. Shobach, Commanding General of the Syrian army, died on the field of battle. The Syrians of Damascus, who had come to help Hadarezer, were also thoroughly routed, and Damascus was made tributary to David. All the spoils taken in this war, i.e., the shields of gold, and very much brass, were taken back to Jerusalem and later Solomon had Hiram use them in the crafting of the brasen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass for Father’ Temple I Chronicles 18:8, were brought to Jerusalem and dedicated to Father YHVH. Thus the power of the Ammonites and the Syrians was finally broken, and David’s empire extended to the Euphrates II Samuel 10:15-19; I Chronicles 19:15-19. † The etymology of the name Hadarezer consists of two elements. The first part comes from the verb הדר (hadar), meaning to honor or adorn: The second part of our name Hadarezer comes from the verb עזר (azar), meaning to help or support: Of the sources we routinely consult only Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) recognizes Hadarezer as a unique name (and not a text error for Hadadezer). Jones translates our name with Majesty Of Help. Here at Abarim Publications, we like to propose that the name Hadarezer is a deliberate alteration of the name Hadadezer in the same way that the name Eshbaal was turned into Ish-bosheth. The name Eshbaal means Man / Fire Of Baal, and in order to hide the reference to Baal, it was turned into Ish-bosheth, meaning Man Of Shame. Via the same mechanism, the name Hadadezer (Hadad Is Help) was turned into Hadarezer, meaning The Majesty Is Help, with the Majesty-part referring to the God of Israel. That made the name Hadarezer of the same vein as the names Eleazar and Eliezer.. Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1928, - הֲדַרְעֶזֶר, - hădar‛ezer, pronounced - had-ar-ehי-zer, and means: From H1924 and H5828; hadar (that is, Hadad, H1908) is his help; Hadarezer (that is, Hadadezer, H1909) a Syrian king: - Hadarezer. Total KJV occurrences: 12.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(Hadad’s help), son of Rehob, II Samuel 8:3, the king of the Aramite state of Zobah, who was pursued by David and defeated with great loss I Chronicles 18:3,4. After the first repulse of the Ammonites and their Syrian allies by Joab, Hadarezer sent his army to the assistance of his kindred the people of Maachah, Rehob and Ishtob I Chronicles 19:16; II Samuel 10:15, compare II Samuel 10:8. Under the command of Shophach or Shobach, the captain of the host, they crossed the Euphrates, joined the other Syrians, and encamped at a place called Helam. David himself came from Jerusalem to take the command of the Israelite army. As on the former occasion, the route was complete.”.

19:17 Assemblage.
19:17 Engagement with
   Syrians.

I Chronicles 19:17 And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan (a descender; and, the descender (yar-daneי), and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.   —>   We read in II Samuel 10:17 that, when David and his army crossed over the Jordan River, they came to Helam, which means “fortress; or, stronghold”.

We also know from when we read I Chronicles 12:23-38 that, the number of men of the Israelite Army who joined with David in Hebron to make him king totaled: 339,822, thus making for an impressive army to be arrayed before the Syrians.

Hadarezer, Shobach, and the Syrian Army may have began this battle full of confidence that they’ll get the better of Israel; however, we’ll read in the next two verses that, that confidence not only quickly dissipated, but they fled the battlefield in terror, fearing for their lives.

Jordan=The Jordan river proper begins at the junction of four streams—the Bareighit, the Hasbany, the Leddan, and the Banias—in the upper part of the plain of Lake Huleh. The River flows from north to south, down a deep valley in the center of the country. The name descender, is significant of the fact that, there is along its whole course, a descent to its banks; or it may simply denote the rapidity with which the river “descends” to the Dead Sea. † As we can tell by the number of times it is mentioned in Father’s Word—179 verses with 197 matches for the name\word—there is a deep and rich history between the Jordan River and our forefathers. It begins with the account of Abram andhis nephew Lot and their separating from one another—Genesis 13:11—and the last mention is in John 10:40, when Jesus escaped out of those who were trying to harm Him before it was time for Him to allow for His Crucifixion. † Several of the more notable facts concerning the history between the Jordan and our forefathers are: “Lot beheld the plain of Jordan as the garden of the Lord.” Jacob crossed and recrossed “this Jordan” Genesis 32:10. When our forefathers came to the Jordan and were about to cross over it to get to Mount Ebal, Father commanded that they take up “great stones and plaister them with plaister and then write on them the Law of the Blessings and curses and then take more stones and make an altar of whole stones Deuteronomy 27:2-8. Our forefathers passed over it as “on dry ground” Joshua 3:17, Psalms 114:3. Twice afterwards its waters were miraculously divided at the same spot by Elijah and Elisha II Kings 2:8,14. The chief events in gospel history connected with it are: John the Baptist’s ministry, when “there went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and were baptized of him in Jordan” Matthew 3:6, Jesus also “was baptized of John in Jordan” Mark 1:9. † The etymology of the name Jordan comes from the common verb ירד (yarad), meaning to go down: The final letter nun upon which this name ends may be a remnant of the common waw-nun extension that personalizes or localizes a root. For a meaning of the name Jordan New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads The Descender. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names both propose Descending.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3383, - ירדּן, - yardên, pronounced - yar-dane’, and means: From H3381; a descender; Jarden, the principal river of Palestine: - Jordan. Total KJV occurrences: 182.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The one river of Palestine, has a course of little more than 200 miles, from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea. (136 miles in a straight line. --Schaff.) It is the river of the “great plain” of Palestine — the “descender,” if not “the river of God” in the book of Psalms, at least that of his chosen people throughout their history. There were fords over against Jericho, to which point the men of Jericho pursued the spies Joshua 2:7, with which we can compare with Judges 3:28. Higher up where the fords or passages of Bethbarah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites Judges 7:24, and where the men of Gilead slew the Ephraimites Judges 12:6. These fords undoubtedly witnessed the first recorded passage of the Jordan in the Old Testament Genesis 32:10. Jordan was next crossed, over against Jericho, by Joshua Joshua 4:12,13. From their vicinity to Jerusalem the lower fords were much used. David, it is probable, passed over them in one instance to fight the Syrians II Samuel 10:17;17:22. Thus there were two customary places at which the Jordan was fordable; and it must have been at one of these, if not at both, that baptism was afterward administered by St. John and by the disciples of our Lord. Where our Lord was baptized is not stated expressly, but it was probably at the upper ford. These fords were rendered so much more precious in those days from two circumstances. First, it does not appear that there were then any bridges thrown over or boats regularly established on the Jordan; and secondly, because “Jordan overflowed all his banks all the time of harvest” Joshua 3:15. The channel or bed of the river became brimful, so that the level of the water and of the banks was then the same. (Dr. Selah Merrill, in his book “Galilee in the Time of Christ” (1881), says, “Near Tarichaea, just below the point where the Jordan leaves the lake (of Galilee), there was (in Christ’s time) a splendid bridge across the river, supported by ten piers.” —ED.) The last feature which remains to be noticed in the scriptural account of the Jordan is its frequent mention as a boundary: “over Jordan,” “this” and “the other side,” or “beyond Jordan,” were expressions as familiar to the Israelites as “across the water,” “this” and “the other side of the Channel” are to English ears. In one sense indeed, that is, in so far as it was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, it was the eastern boundary of the promised land Numbers 34:12. The Jordan rises from several sources near Panium (Banias ), and passes through the lakes of Merom (Huleh) and Gennesaret. The two principal features in its course are its descent and its windings. From its fountain heads to the Dead Sea it rushes down one continuous inclined plane, only broken by a series of rapids or precipitous falls. Between the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea there are 27 rapids. The depression of the Lake of Gennesaret below the level of the Mediterranean Isaiah 653 feet, and that of the Dead Sea 1316 feet. (The whole descent from its source to the Dead Sea Isaiah 3000 feet. Its width varies from 45 to 180 feet, and it is from 3 to 12 feet deep. — Schaff.) Its sinuosity is not so remarkable in the upper part of its course. The only tributaries to the Jordan below Gennesaret are the Yarmuk (Hieromax) and the Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever crowned the banks of the Jordan. Still Bethshan and Jericho to the west, Gerasa, Pella and Gadara to the east of it were important cities, and caused a good deal of traffic between the two opposite banks. The physical features of the Ghor, through which the Jordan flows, are treated of under PALESTINE.”.

19:18 Flight of Syrians.

I Chronicles 19:18 But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host.   —>   David and the Israelite Army opened this battle with such an overwhelming force of might, that their initial engagement left over 7,000 of the cavalry soldiers, plus 40,000 foot-soldiers, including their Commanding General, General Shobach, dead. A crushing defeat and a devastating blow to the remaining troops morale; so much so that, the rest of these Syrian soldiers no longer wanted any part in this war, and forgetting all military protocol and bearing, they turned-tail and fled for their lives.

19:19 Submission of
   Syrians.

I Chronicles 19:19 And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.   —>   The entire Syrian chain-of-command, from Hadarezer the overall king of Syria, to his vassal kings, to the Generals and Captains, right on down to the troops, were soundly and convincingly thrashed. This decisive victory over the Syrians was so bad that, this will be the last engagement between Israel and the Syrians for many, many, years to come. David will never again in his life time face them on the battlefield, nor will his son, Israel’s third man king: king Solomon.

Nov 2018

This Bible Study was written by Scott Reis and is provided in order to be used as a private Bible Study Tool. Therefore, it may be copied in whole or in part and shared for private Bible Study; however, it may not be reproduced and published as an original work.

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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.