1 Chronicles 12:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Chronicles 12:3
The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite.
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Azmaveth
עַזְמָ֑וֶת'az.Ma.vet
H5820
Azmaveth · proper noun, a man's name
Berachah
וּבְרָכָ֕הu.ve.ra.Khah
H1294
Berakah · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Jehu
וְיֵה֖וּאve.ye.Hu'
H3058
Jehu · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
Antothite
הָעֲנְּתֹתִֽיha.'a.ne.to.Ti
H6069
a Antothite or inhabitant of Anathoth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Chronicles 11:28 Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abi-ezer the Antothite,
1 Samuel 11:4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and w…
2 Samuel 21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Chronicles 12:1-22
We have here an account of those that appeared and acted as David's friends, upon the death of Saul, to bring about the revolution. All the forces he had, while he was persecuted, was but 600 men, who served for his guards; but, when the time had come that he must begin to act offensively, Providence brought in more to his assistance. Even while he kept himself close, because of Saul (Ch1 12:1), while he did not appear, to invite or encourage his friends and well-wishers to come in to him (not foreseeing that the death of Saul was so near), God was inclining and preparing them to come over to him with seasonable succours. Those that trust God to do his work for them in his own way and time s…
of Saul's brethren of Benjamin--that is, of the tribe of Benjamin (compare Ch1 12:29), but some of them might be relatives of the king. This movement to which the parties were led, doubtless by the secret impulse of the Spirit, was of vast importance to the cause of David, as it must have been founded on their observation of the evident withdrawal of God's blessing from Saul, and His favoring presence with David, to whom it was universally known the Divine King of Israel had given the crown in reversion. The accession of the Benjamites who came first and their resolution to share his fortunes must have been particularly grateful to David. It was a public and emphatic testimony by those who h…
Came to David to Ziklag - Achish, king of Gath, had given Ziklag to David, as a safe retreat from the wrath of Saul.
John Gill on 1 Chronicles 12:3
The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite,.... Who was of Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, sometimes called Gibeah of Benjamin, and of Saul, it being his birthplace, see 1 Samuel 11:4 and so these might be some of his kindred:
and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; there is one of this name in the posterity of Jonathan, 1 Chronicles 8:36 who might be so called after some of his relations:
and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite; or Anethothite, as the Vulgate Latin version, who was of Anathoth, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, the native place of Jeremiah the prophet.
Dictionary and topics
Ahiezer — Brother of help; i.e., “helpful.” (1.) The chief of the tribe of Dan at the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:12; 2:25; 10:25). (2.) The chief of the Benjamite slingers that repaired to David at Ziklag (1…
Anathoth — The name of one of the cities of refuge, in the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 21:18). The Jews, as a rule, did not change the names of the towns they found in Palestine; hence this town may be regarded as…
Anethothite — (2 Samuel 23:27) Anet’othite, (1 Chronicles 27:12) and An’tothite, (1 Chronicles 11:28; 12:3) an inhabitant of Anathoth, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Antothite — An inhabitant of Anathoth, found only in 1 Chr. 11:28; 12:3. In 2 Sam. 23:27 it is Anethothite; in 1 Chr. 27:12, Anetothite. (R.V., “Anathothite.”)
Berachah — Blessing. (1.) A valley not far from Engedi, where Jehoshaphat overthrew the Moabites and Ammonites (2 Chr. 20:26). It has been identified with the valley of Bereikut. (R.V., “Beracah.”) (2.) One of…
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
Jehu — Jehovah is he. (1.) The son of Obed, and father of Azariah (1 Chr. 2:38). (2.) One of the Benjamite slingers that joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3). (3.) The son of Hanani, a prophet of Judah (1…
Jeziel — Assembled by God, a son of Azmaveth. He was one of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3).
Joash — Whom Jehovah bestowed. (1.) A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon (Judg. 6:11, 29; 8:13, 29, 32). (2.) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3). (3.) One of…
Pelet — Deliverance. (1.) A descendant of Judah (1 Chr. 2:47). (2.) A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr. 12:3).
Shemaah
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Chronicles 12:3
The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite,.... Who was of Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, sometimes called Gibeah of Benjamin, and of Saul, it being his birthplace, see Sa1 11:4 and so these might be some of his kindred:
and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; there is one of this name in the posterity of Jonathan, Ch1 8:36 who might be so called after some of his relations:
and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite; or Anethothite, as the Vulgate Latin version, who was of Anathoth, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, the native place of Jeremiah the prophet.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Chronicles 12:1-22
Support for making David king did not begin with Saul’s demise. When Saul was king and David was a fugitive, warriors went to David and eventually became a vast camp of various tribes, representing all of Israel. Even relatives of Saul deserted to David and supported him as king (12:2). Of course, David was prudent about such deserters (12:17), making sure they were not traitors who would betray him to Saul. Before David’s actual anointing took place at Hebron, the will of the people reflected the will of God that David should become king.
Rashi on 1 Chronicles 12:2
Armed with bows armed with a bow and with arrows and shooting in front of them and behind them. And they would even place stones on the bowstring and shoot. I personally saw many like these.
of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin Since they were all descended from one man, from Benjamin, they are all called brethren, and in honor of David’s greatness, the Chronicler says, “of Saul’s brethren,” [saying] that even Saul’s brethren came to him while Saul was still living.
— Rumour, a Benjamite whose sons “came to David to Ziklag” (1 Chr. 12:3).
Ahiezer · 2. One of David’s valiant men — 2. One of David’s valiant men
Anathoth · .Birthplace of Jehu — .Birthplace of Jehu
Benjamin, Tribe Of · Some of, assisted David — Some of, assisted David
Berachah · 1. An Israelite who joined David at Ziklag — 1. An Israelite who joined David at Ziklag
Jehu · 5. A Benjamite — 5. A Benjamite
Jeziel · A d — A d
Joash · 8. One of David’s officers — 8. One of David’s officers
Pelet · 2. — 2.
Shemaah · Father of two of David’ s mighty men — Father of two of David’ s mighty men
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
