1 Chronik 5:21

21 Und sie führten ihr Vieh hinweg: fünfzigtausend Kamele, und zweihundertfünfzigtausend Stück Kleinvieh, und zweitausend Esel, und hunderttausend Menschenseelen.

1 Chronik 5:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 5:21

And they took away their cattle
Which they brought with them, and they found in their camp when they fled, or in their fields:

of their camels fifty thousand;
with which Arabia abounded, and were fit to travel with in those hot and desert countries, being strong to carry burdens, and able to bear much thirst. The Arabians, as Diodorus Siculus ^F1 reports, brought up camels, for almost all the uses of life; as for the sake of their milk and flesh to feed upon, as well as for carrying burdens in common; and which in time of war they loaded with provisions for the army, and fought upon, one of them carrying two archers with their backs to each other, the one to meet the enemy in front, the other to annoy those that pursued them; and so the Parthians made use of camels both to fight on, and to carry provisions for their soldiers ^F2:

and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand;
which these Hagarites kept both for food and clothing, and some of them might be now taken with them to supply their army; the Spartans carried sheep with them in their expeditions, as sacrifices to their gods ^F3; but it need not be supposed that these creatures, and those that follow, were in such large numbers with the Hagarites in the battle, but were afterwards found, partly in their camp, and partly in the places inhabited by them:

and of asses two thousand;
used to ride on, and carry loads, and also to plough with; and in all these lay the wealth of men in those times and countries, see ( Job 1:1 Job 1:3 )

and of men one hundred thousand;
so that they took captive above as many more as their army consisted of.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F1 Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 137. & l. 3. p. 178. Vid. Plin. l. 8. c. l8.
F2 Tacit. Annal. l. 15. c. 12. Herodian. l. 4. c. 28, 30.
F3 Pausan. Boeotica, sive, l. 9. p. 561.

1 Chronik 5:21 In-Context

19 Und sie führten Krieg mit den Hageritern und mit Jetur und Naphisch und Nodab;

20 und es wurde ihnen wider sie geholfen; und die Hageriter wurden in ihre Hand gegeben samt allen, die mit ihnen waren; denn sie schrieen zu Gott im Streit, und er ließ sich von ihnen erbitten, weil sie auf ihn vertraut hatten.

21 Und sie führten ihr Vieh hinweg: fünfzigtausend Kamele, und zweihundertfünfzigtausend Stück Kleinvieh, und zweitausend Esel, und hunderttausend Menschenseelen.

22 Denn es fielen viele Erschlagene, weil der Streit von Gott war. Und sie wohnten an ihrer Statt bis zur Wegführung. -

23 Und die Kinder des halben Stammes Manasse wohnten im Lande, von Basan bis Baal-Hermon und bis zum Senir und bis zum Berge Hermon; sie waren zahlreich.