1 Chronicles 12:18

18 But the spirit came upon Amasai the chief among thirty, and he said: We are thine, O David, and for thee, O son of Isai: peace, peace be to thee, and peace to thy helpers. For thy God helpeth thee. So David received them, and made them captains of the band.

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.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (hvbl) "induit", Pagninus, Montanus

1 Chronicles 12:18 In-Context

16 And there came also of the men of Benjamin, and of Juda to the hold, in which David abode.
17 And David went out to meet them, and said: If you are come peaceably to me to help me, let my heart be joined to you: but if you plot against me for my enemies whereas I have no iniquity in my hands, let the God of our fathers see, and judge.
18 But the spirit came upon Amasai the chief among thirty, and he said: We are thine, O David, and for thee, O son of Isai: peace, peace be to thee, and peace to thy helpers. For thy God helpeth thee. So David received them, and made them captains of the band.
19 And there were some of Manasses that went over to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to fight: but he did not fight with them: because the lords of the Philistines taking counsel sent him back, saying: With the danger of our heads he will return to his master Saul.
20 So when he went back to Siceleg, there fled to him of Manasses, Ednas and Jozabad, and Jedihel, and Michael, and Ednas, and Jozabad, and Eliu, and Salathi, captains of thousands in Manasses.
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