Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/153

88 valour, men trained for war, that could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third; Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth; Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh; Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth; Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. These of the sons of Gad were captains of the host: he that was least was equal to an hundred, and the greatest to a thousand. These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all its banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. And David went out to meet them,

shield and spear] The reference is to the manner of fighting in David's day. At the threat of an attack an army was drawn up in close array, shield touching shield and spears carried at the charge. Only in a high state of discipline could men quickly and effectively handle shield and spear thus (1 Sam. xvii. 2, 8, 21). (The A. V., "shield and buckler," follows a mistake of several early editions of the printed Heb. text.)

as the roes] In David's lament (2 Sam. i.) Jonathan is compared to a lion (ver. 23) and to a gazelle (ver. 19 marg., the same Heb. word as for roe here).

10. Jeremiah, the fifth] Cp. ver. 13, Jeremiah the tenth. A very slight difference of spelling distinguishes the two words in the Heb.

14. he that was least thousand] Cp. Lev. xxvi. 8; Is. xxx. 17.

15. in the first month] In Nisan (the month of harvest) when the snow was melting and filling all streams; cp. Josh. iii. 15.

all them of the valleys] i.e. all inhabitants of the valleys who in the interest of Saul sought to bar their march westward to join David.

16—18.&emsp;

16—18. These interesting and beautiful passages are so different in style and sentiment from what precedes and what follows that they would seem to be drawn from another source. It is quite possible that they were inserted thus between Gad and Manasseh by the Chronicler himself; but that they are a later addition is probable from the fact that the adherents who came from Benjamin and perhaps Judah (vv. 5—7, see note on Gederathite) are given above, vv. 1—7.

16. to the hold] See ver. 8, notes.

17. David went out to meet them] Instead of letting himself be