1 Chronicles 12:18

18 Just then Amasai chief of the Thirty, moved by God's Spirit, said, We're on your side, O David, We're committed, O son of Jesse; All is well, yes, all is well with you, And all's well with whoever helps you. Yes, for your God has helped and does help you. So David took them on and assigned them a place under the chiefs of the raiders.

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 There were also men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah who joined David in his wilderness fortress.

17 When David went out to meet them, this is what he said: "If you have come in peace and to help me, you are most welcome to join this company; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies, innocent as I am, the God of our ancestors will see through you and bring judgment on you."

18 Just then Amasai chief of the Thirty, moved by God's Spirit, said, We're on your side, O David, We're committed, O son of Jesse; All is well, yes, all is well with you, And all's well with whoever helps you. Yes, for your God has helped and does help you. So David took them on and assigned them a place under the chiefs of the raiders.

19 Some from the tribe of Manasseh also defected to David when he started out with the Philistines to go to war against Saul. In the end, they didn't actually fight because the Philistine leaders, after talking it over, sent them home, saying, "We can't trust them with our lives - they'll betray us to their master Saul."

20 The men from Manasseh who defected to David at Ziklag were Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, all leaders among the families of Manasseh.