And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;

From Gaddi also there went over to David, when he lay hid in the wilderness most valiant men, and excellent warriors, holding shield and spear: whose faces were like the faces of a lion, and they were swift like the roebucks on the mountains.

And of the Gadites, there separated themselves to David in the stronghold in the wilderness mighty men of valour, men fit for the service of war, armed with shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as the gazelles upon the mountains:

And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David to the hold in the wilderness, mighty men of 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;

And of the Gadites there separated themselves to David in the hold in the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;

And of the Gadite there have been separated unto David, to the fortress, to the wilderness, mighty of valour, men of the host for battle, setting in array target and buckler, and their faces the face of the lion, and as roes on the mountains for speed:

And of the Gadites there separated themselves to David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes on the mountains;

And some of the Gadites, siding with David, went to his strong place in the waste land, great and strong men, trained for war, expert in the use of arms, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were quick-footed like roes on the mountains;

and Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of the troop.

Then too, from Gad, there went over to David, when he was hiding in the desert, very robust men, who were excellent fighters, taking hold of shield and spear; their faces were like the faces of a lion, and they were swift like the roe deer upon the mountains.

Into the hold to the wilderness - Rather, "into the hold toward the wilderness." Some understand by this Ziklag, some En-gedi 1-Samuel 24:1-2; but it seems most probable that here and in 1-Chronicles 12:16 the stronghold of Adullam is intended 1-Chronicles 11:15-16.

And were as swift as the roes - That swiftness was considered to be a grand accomplishment in a warrior, appears from all ancient writings which treat of military affairs.

And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, [and] men of war [fit] for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces [were like] the faces of (c) lions, and [were] as swift as the roes upon the mountains;
(c) Meaning, fierce and terrible.

And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David, into the hold to the wilderness,.... Men of the tribe of Gad, who lived on the other side Jordan; these separated themselves from the rest of their tribe, from their families and dwellings, and from the government of Saul, and came over to David, and joined him either when he was in some strong hold in the wilderness of Ziph, or Maon, 1-Samuel 23:14, or, as some think, when he was at Ziklag, in the hold there, said to be in the wilderness of Judah:
men of might, and men of war, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler; warlike, valiant, and courageous men, well skilled in military discipline: whose faces were like the face of lions; bold, stern, and fierce. The philosopher observes (d), that of all creatures the lion most resembles a man, having a great mouth, a square face and forehead, large eye brows, &c.
and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; which are remarkable for their swiftness on the mountains, see Song 2:17. Aelianus (e) speaks of one sort of them that run as swift as a tempest. These Gadites, as with their undaunted looks and courage, intimidated their enemies, and put them to flight, so they were swift to pursue them, and overtake them.
(d) Aristot. Physiognom. c. 5. (e) De Animal. l. 14. c. 14.

of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David--that is, from the service of Saul and from the rest of the Gadites who remained steadfast adherents of his cause.
into the hold--or fortress, that is, of Ziklag, which was in the wilderness of Judah.
whose faces were like the faces of lions, &c.--A fierce, lion-like countenance (2-Samuel 1:23), and great agility in pursuit (2-Samuel 2:18), were qualities of the highest estimation in ancient warfare.

The Gadites, Benjamites, and men of Judah who joined themselves to David during his sojourn in the mountain fastness. - 1-Chronicles 12:8. David's sojourn in the mountain hold falls in the first years of his flight from Saul, 1-Samuel 22:1. מצד, pointed with Pathach instead of with Kamets (מצד, cf. 1-Chronicles 12:16), on account of its intimate connection with מדבּרה, is synonymous with מצוּדה (1-Samuel 24:22, etc.). The addition מדבּרה, "towards the wilderness," shows that מצד denotes a mountain-top or mountain-fortress in the wilderness of Judah. If we compare the account in 1 Sam 22-24, we learn that David at that time did not hide himself in one single definite mountain-fortress, but sought and found resting-places, now here, now there, in the wilderness, on the summits of the hills (cf. בּמּצדות בּמּדבּר, 1-Samuel 23:14; 1-Samuel 24:1); so that מצד here is to be understood, as המּצוּדה, 1-Samuel 24:3, also is, generally of the fastnesses in the mountains of Judah. At that time there gathered round David a great company of discontented and oppressed men, to the number of about 400, - men dissatisfied with Saul's rule, whose leader he became, and who soon amounted to 600 men (1-Samuel 22:2 and 1-Samuel 23:13). To these belong the Gadites, and the men out of Benjamin and Judah, whose adhesion to David is noticed in our verses. נבדּלוּ, they separated themselves from the other Gadites who were on Saul's side, "strong heroes," as in Joshua 8:3; cf. חיל גּבּורי, 1-Chronicles 5:24; 1-Chronicles 7:2, 1-Chronicles 7:9, etc. למּלחמה צבא אנשׁי, men for service in the host for the war, i.e., combatants practised in war. ורמח צנּה ערכי, preparing shield and spear, i.e., wielding shield and spear, practised in their use: the preparing of these weapons includes the handling of them. Instead of ורמח, Veneta and many of the older copies have וּמגן; but it is not supported by MS authority, and moreover is not congruous with the passage. Lions' faces their faces, i.e., lion-like in appearance, thoroughly warlike figures; cf. 2-Samuel 1:23. "As roes running swiftly on the mountains;" cf. 2-Samuel 2:18. This description of the strength and swiftness of these warriors recalls, as Bertheau remarks, the similar expressions used in the historical books concerning heroes of David's time. It has manifestly been drawn from the original documents, not added by the chronicler. In 1-Chronicles 12:9-13 the names are enumerated individually. עשׂר עשׁתּי, at the end of a series of ordinal numbers, denotes the eleventh; cf. 1-Chronicles 24:12.