1 Chronicles 12:18

18 Then the Spirit gave Amasai, the leader of the thirty, the strength [to say], "We are yours, David. We are with you, son of Jesse. Success, success to you! Success to those who help you, because your God is helping you." So David welcomed them and made them officers over his troops.

1 Chronicles 12:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 12:18

Then the spirit came upon Amasai
Or "clothed" ^F6 him; a spirit of fortitude, as the Targum, of strength, courage, and presence of mind, with which he was endowed, covered, and clothed as with a garment; this was a sister's son of David's, see ( 2 Samuel 17:25 )

who was chief of the captains;
of them that came at this time with him to David; he was afterwards Absalom's general, and designed to be David's, but was murdered by Joab:

and he said, thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse;
which being spoken in this short and concise manner, as the supplement shows, denotes the vehemency with which he spake, and is expressive of their cordial fidelity to him, and their resolution to abide by him at all events:

peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers;
wishing all prosperity, temporal and spiritual, to him and all his confederates and auxiliaries, among whom they reckoned themselves:

for thy God helpeth thee;
which they perceived by the remarkable deliverances of him out of the hand of Saul, when in imminent danger; the Targum is,

``for the Word of the Lord is for thy help:''

then David received them;
into the hold, and admitted them as his friends:

and made them the captains of the band;
they brought with them; or in later times, when he came to the throne.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (hvbl) "induit", Pagninus, Montanus

1 Chronicles 12:18 In-Context

16 Some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the fortified camp.

17 David went to meet them. He told them, "If you've come to help me as friends would, then you may join me. But if you've come to betray me to my enemies, even though I haven't committed a crime, may the God of our ancestors see this and judge you."

18 Then the Spirit gave Amasai, the leader of the thirty, the strength [to say], "We are yours, David. We are with you, son of Jesse. Success, success to you! Success to those who help you, because your God is helping you." So David welcomed them and made them officers over his troops.

19 Some men from Manasseh had deserted [Saul's army] to join David when he went with the Philistines to attack Saul. (However, David didn't help the Philistines because their rulers sent him away after considering the matter. They said, "It will cost us our heads when he deserts and joins his master Saul.")

20 When David went to Ziklag, these men from Manasseh deserted to join him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai. Each one was an officer over 1,000 men in Manasseh.