1 Chronicles 20

Introduction

First Chronicles 20 is one of the book's shortest chapters, only eight verses long, yet it bears theological significance because of what it leaves unsaid. The chapter recounts the end of the Ammonite war with the capture of Rabbah (vv. 1-3) and then turns to a series of battles against Philistine giants (vv. 4-8). In 2 Samuel, the parallel material appears in 2 Samuel 12:26-31 and 2 Samuel 21:15-22. Between those two passages, however, stands the Bathsheba narrative (2 Samuel 11:1 through 2 Samuel 12:25) -- David's adultery, Uriah's murder, Nathan's rebuke, and the death of the child. Chronicles passes over all of it in silence.

That silence is not accidental, nor is it simply an attempt to sanitize David. The Chronicler writes with a clear theological purpose for a post-exilic community rebuilding its life around the temple. For that audience, David matters chiefly as the founder of Israel's worship order and the king who received the pattern for the sanctuary. He is presented not as a flawless man, but as a royal and liturgical figure whose story is told with Israel's worship in view. David's sins were already known and preserved elsewhere in Scripture. Chronicles does not deny them; it narrows its focus to other concerns.

The Capture of Rabbah (vv. 1-3)

¹ In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it. ² Then David took the crown from the head of their king. It was found to weigh a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David's head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city. ³ David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

¹ At the turn of the year, at the time when kings go out to war, Joab led the army's forces and laid waste to the land of the Ammonites. He came and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Then Joab struck Rabbah and tore it down. ² David took the crown from the head of their king -- it was found to weigh a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone set in it -- and it was placed on David's head. He also carried out a very great quantity of plunder from the city. ³ He brought out the people who were in it and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. David did this to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

Notes

The opening phrase לְעֵת צֵאת הַמְּלָכִים ("at the time when kings go out to war") is the same phrase that opens 2 Samuel 11:1. In Samuel it introduces the Bathsheba episode: David remains in Jerusalem when he should have been with the army. The Chronicler retains both the phrase and the notice that "David stayed in Jerusalem" (וְדָוִיד יֹשֵׁב בִּירוּשָׁלִָם), but omits everything between David's staying behind and Rabbah's fall. Readers who know Samuel will notice the omission. The Chronicler's interest here is the campaign's outcome: Joab takes Rabbah, and David receives the spoils.

The verb וַיַּשְׁחֵת ("ravaged" or "laid waste") in v. 1 comes from the root שָׁחַת, "to destroy, corrupt, ruin." It suggests systematic devastation of Ammonite territory, not merely a march through it.

In v. 2, the Hebrew מַלְכָּם ("their king") is ambiguous. The consonants could also be read as "Milcom," the chief Ammonite deity (1 Kings 11:5, 1 Kings 11:33). If so, David took the crown from Milcom's idol, symbolizing victory over both the nation and its god. The crown's weight, a talent of gold (about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms), seems too heavy for ordinary wear. That detail favors the "Milcom" reading, since the crown may have adorned a statue. Other interpreters suggest it was placed on David's head only briefly in a ceremony, or that the phrase means it was added to the royal treasury.

Verse 3 describes David putting the conquered Ammonites to forced labor with מְגֵרָה ("saws"), חֲרִיצֵי הַבַּרְזֶל ("iron picks" or "iron cutting tools"), and מְגֵרוֹת ("axes" or perhaps another kind of saw). Because of a slight verbal difference, some readers take the parallel in 2 Samuel 12:31 as describing torture rather than labor. The Chronicler's wording more naturally suggests forced work with these implements, meaning that the Ammonites were conscripted for labor, likely in construction or quarrying. That was a common practice in the ancient Near East.

Interpretations

The Chronicler's omission of the Bathsheba narrative (2 Samuel 11:1 through 2 Samuel 12:25) has prompted several common lines of interpretation:

Idealization for liturgical purposes. Many scholars argue that the Chronicler is not denying David's sin, but writing a kind of "temple history" in which David's role as founder and patron of Israel's worship is central. The narrative is shaped around what matters for post-exilic worship. The Bathsheba episode, though grave in David's personal life, does not directly advance that concern.
The canon as a whole. Many Protestant interpreters note that the audience likely already knew the books of Samuel. The omission, then, would not have misled anyone; it reflects a different rhetorical purpose. The Chronicler can be selective because the fuller account stands elsewhere in Scripture. No single biblical book tells the whole story in the same way.
Typological reading. Some interpreters, especially in the Reformed tradition, see the Chronicler's portrait of David as deliberately typological, pointing forward to the greater David, the Messiah, who is truly without sin. By emphasizing David's royal and liturgical role apart from the Bathsheba episode, the Chronicler offers a portrait that more nearly foreshadows the ideal Davidic king.
Not whitewashing. The Chronicler does not suppress every failure of David. The census sin in 1 Chronicles 21:1-17 appears in full because it bears directly on the future temple site, the threshing floor of Ornan/Araunah. The principle of selection is thematic, not simply hagiographic.

Battles with Philistine Giants (vv. 4-8)

⁴ Some time later, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim, and the Philistines were subdued. ⁵ Once again there was a battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. ⁶ And there was also a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot -- twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha, ⁷ and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David's brother Shimei killed him. ⁸ So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.

⁴ After this, war arose at Gezer against the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, who was one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and they were subdued. ⁵ There was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. ⁶ And there was yet another battle at Gath, where there was a man of great size whose fingers and toes numbered six on each hand and six on each foot -- twenty-four in all. He too had been born to the Rapha. ⁷ When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. ⁸ These were born to the Rapha in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Notes

This section parallels 2 Samuel 21:15-22 and records three clashes with Philistine warriors descended from רָפָא -- the Rephaim, an ancient race of giants associated with Canaan's pre-Israelite inhabitants (cf. Deuteronomy 2:11, Deuteronomy 2:20-21). In the Old Testament, the Rephaim become a byword for unusual size and strength. By including these battles, the Chronicler shows that David's defeat of Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 was not an isolated triumph, but the beginning of a broader victory over a whole line of giant warriors.

In v. 4, the location is גֶּזֶר ("Gezer"), while 2 Samuel 21:18 reads "Gob." Gezer was a strategically important city on the border of the Philistine lowlands and the Judean hills. Sibbecai the Hushathite (סִבְּכַי הַחֻשָׁתִי) also appears among David's mighty men (1 Chronicles 11:29). His opponent Sippai (סִפַּי) is called "Saph" in Samuel.

Verse 5 contains a notable textual difference between Chronicles and Samuel. Here Elhanan son of Jair kills לַחְמִי אֲחִי גָּלְיָת, "Lahmi the brother of Goliath." In 2 Samuel 21:19, however, Elhanan appears to kill "Goliath the Gittite," which would conflict with 1 Samuel 17, where David kills Goliath. Chronicles resolves the tension by naming Lahmi as Goliath's brother. Scholars disagree about whether the Chronicler is preserving the better reading, correcting a corruption in Samuel, or harmonizing the accounts. The name לַחְמִי may plausibly reflect a corruption of בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי ("the Bethlehemite") in Samuel. The note that Lahmi's spear shaft was "like a weaver's beam" (כִּמְנוֹר אֹרְגִים) deliberately echoes Goliath's description in 1 Samuel 17:7.

The unnamed giant in vv. 6-7 stands out: a man of great size with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, a condition now called polydactyly. The detail marks him as unusual and underscores his link to the Rephaim. He וַיְחָרֵף ("taunted" or "defied") Israel, using the same verb applied to Goliath's challenge in 1 Samuel 17:10, 1 Samuel 17:25-26. In this setting, the verb חָרַף conveys a public challenge marked by contempt. Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, kills him; this Jonathan is David's nephew, not Jonathan son of Saul.

The summary in v. 8 is emphatic: "these were born to the Rapha in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants." The phrase בְּיַד דָּוִיד וּבְיַד עֲבָדָיו credits the victories to David and his men together, even though David does not personally appear in these encounters. That is a standard royal idiom: the king acts through his servants. It also completes the arc that began with Goliath's defeat in David's youth. Under David's reign, the giant line that once terrorized Israel is brought down.