1-Chronicles - 12:22



22 For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like the army of God.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Chronicles 12:22.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God.
For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great host, like the host of God.
Moreover day by day there came some to David to help him till they became a great number, like the army of God.
For day by day there came men to David to help him, until it was a great camp, like the camp of God.
for at that time, day by day, they come in unto David to help him, till it is a great camp, like a camp of God.
And from day to day more supporters came to David, till he had a great army like the army of God.
And they helped David against the troop, for they were all mighty men of valour, and were
Then, too, some came to David throughout each day, in order to help him, until they became a great number, like the army of God.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Like the host of God - "That is, a very numerous army; like the army of the angel of God." - T.

For at [that] time day by day there came to David to help him, until [it was] a great host, like the host of (h) God.
(h) Meaning, mighty or strong, for the Hebrews say a thing is of God when it is excellent.

For at that time, day by day, there came to David to help him,.... Particularly after the defeat of Saul by the Philistines, unto the time that David came to Hebron:
until it was a great host, like the host of God; the heavenly host, the angels; so the Targum.

the host of God--that is, a great and powerful army.

"For every day" (בּיום יום לעת, at the time of each day) "came (people) to David to help him, until to a great host, like a host of God," i.e., until his band grew to a camp like to a host of God. אלהים מחנה, a host which God has formed, and in which the power of God shows itself; cf. hills and cedars of God, Psalm 36:7; Psalm 80:11. In these concluding remarks to the enumeration by name of the valiant men who during Saul's lifetime went over to David, there is no exaggeration which would betray an idealizing historian (Movers, S. 270). The greatness of a host of God is to be estimated according to the power and the spirit, not according to the number, of the warriors, so that we need not take the words to mean a host of thousands and tens of thousands. David had at first 400, afterwards 600, valiant warriors, against whom Saul with his thousands could accomplish nothing. The increase in their number from 400 to 600 shows that the host increased from day to day, especially when we keep in mind the fact that after Saul's defeat considerable bands of fugitives must certainly have gone over to David before he was anointed in Hebron to be king over Judah. The expression is only rhetorical, not idealizing or exaggerating.

That time - While he was at Ziklag, and in his march to Hebron, and principally at Hebron. Like - Innumerable, like the stars or angels, both which are called God's hosts.

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