1 Crônicas 20

1 Crônicas 20

MacArthur - David imposed hard labor on the Ammonites. But these verses can also be translated with the sense that the Ammonites were cut with saws, indicating that David imposed cruel death on the captives in accordance with Ammonite ways (cf. 1Sa 11:2; Am 1:13). (Borrow The MacArthur Study Bible) Wycliffe Bible Commentary (borrow) - Hebrew, way-yāʾsar. This word should be corrected to a form very similar to it in the original, way-yāʾsem. Read, "And he put (them to work) with saws," etc. David could be ruthless (cf. 2 Sam 8:2), but he was not cruel. Some like Rod Mattoon favor that David in fact did afflict the Ammonites with cruel deaths - The Ammonites were brutal. Now they reap the consequences of their sin. The word "cut" means "to reduce to pieces." In the worship of Molech, a brazen idol was heated. The belly was stocked with a fire and the extended arms of the idol were heated till they were red hot. Children were then laid on top of the glowing arms. Cymbals and drums would drown out the screams of the children as they died. David made the Ammonites pass through the furnaces of the brick kilns. The Ammonites confronted the coffin without God. Will you? And thus David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon - Either he put them all to work or he killed them (see above). I favor the former interpretation. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem - The enemy was defeated so David returns to his throne. Iain Duguid makes a good point - The example of God’s grace, continuing to give victory with much spoil to David after his horrific sins, would have spoken powerfully to post-exilic hearers who were only too conscious of the nation’s sin that had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and to exile. Omanson on meaning of cut them with saws as stated in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 20:3 - The main difficulty in translating this verse lies in deciding what David did to the people of the city of Rabbah. Did he torture them, or did he force them to do hard labor with tools? This verse as it stands in the MT most likely should be understood as meaning that David tortured the Ammonites with the tools mentioned here. KJV, for example, says that David “cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes” (similarly NASB, NJPSV). ITCL also follows the MT, saying “and tortured them with saws, iron picks and axes.” Since the MT does not have an object after the verb “sawed,” it is also possible to understand the object to be the fortified places in the conquered city. A translation reflecting this interpretation reads “and he ripped the city apart with saws, and iron cutting tools, and axes” (Klein). However, most interpreters correct the MT to agree with the parallel text of 2 Sam 12:31 and understand this clause to mean that David forced the people to do different kinds of work, using these tools for that work (so RSV, GNT, and nearly all modern versions, including even NKJV). They change the Hebrew verb wayyasar (“and he sawed”) to read wayyasem (“and he put [to work]”). Despite this decision of most modern versions, CTAT gives an {A} rating to the MT and recommends that translators not change the text to agree with the parallel in 2 Sam 12:31. If the reading of most versions is followed, it is not clear whether the conquered people were forced to further destroy their own city, whether they were forced to rebuild it, or whether they were forced to do work for King David’s city. Forced labor of a defeated army was not unusual in Old Testament times (see Deut 20:11; Josh 16:10; Jdg 1:28–35). The Hebrew word for saws is megerah. It now seems probable that translations have been inaccurate in rendering this word as “saw[s].” Archaeology knows of no use of saws either to quarry or to shape stones in the time period described. Many building stones have been found which were finely smoothed, but these stones show none of the marks that would have been left by a saw. It has been proposed that the megerah was a heavy metal instrument with a wide rough surface, like that of a file. This instrument was pushed and pulled across the surface of the stone until it was quite smooth. For a good description of the megerah, see WTH, pages 68–69. The Hebrew word for picks (charits) occurs also in the parallel text of 2 Sam 12:31. It comes from a verb meaning “to cut” and refers to a “cutting thing” or “sharp instrument.” The same word is used for “cuts of milk” or “cheeses” in 1 Sam 17:18, but this should not affect the translation here. Peregrino says “chisels,” and SEM reads “harrows.” NJPSV and SPCL translate “threshing boards,” apparently reading the Hebrew word charuts. Instead of axes, the MT has “saws” (megeroth, which is the plural of megerah in Hebrew). CTAT gives a {C} rating to the MT here. However, RSV follows the parallel text in 2 Sam 12:31, which has the Hebrew word magzeroth. The word magzeroth is found only there in all the Old Testament, but most scholars are agreed that it refers to a blade or cutting instrument. If translators follow the parallel in 2 Samuel as RSV has done, in some languages the picks and axes may have to be translated by a single term since there may not be equivalents to distinguish the two terms. However, many languages do have different words for “hoes” and “axes” and these may be used here. For the three tools REB has “saws and other iron tools, sharp and toothed.” (Omanson - A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles) Norman Geisler - 2 SAMUEL 12:31—How can we justify David’s cruelty to his enemies? (When Critics Ask) PROBLEM: This passage implies that David tortured his enemies, since he “put them under saws, and under axes or iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln” (KJV). But torture is wrong, and Jesus said “love your enemies” (Luke 6:35). SOLUTION: Several things should be observed in response to this criticism. First, the KJV translation is open to this misinterpretation here. More recent translations clear up the difficulty. The NKJV correctly renders it, David “put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works.” Likewise, the NIV says, David “brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brick-making.” Second, the writer is merely relating these events here—he is not necessarily placing his stamp of approval on them. As noted earlier (see Introduction), not everything recorded in the Bible is condoned by the Bible. Third, the punishment of forced labor given to these vicious enemies of God’s people is not extreme. Considering the cruelties they unleashed on the children of Israel (cf. 1 Sam. 11:2; Amos 1:13), by comparison, their treatment was humane (Borrow When critics ask : a popular handbook on Bible difficulties) 1 Chronicles 20:4 Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued. Now it came about after this. 2Sa 21:15 Gezer: or, Gob, Jos 12:12 16:3 2Sa 21:18-22 Sibbechai: 1Ch 11:29 Sippai: 2Sa 21:18, Saph Related Passages: 2 Samuel 21:18-22 (PARALLELS 1 CHRONICLES 20:4-8) Now it came about after this that there was war again with the Philistines at Gob; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph (AKA Sippai), who was among the descendants of the giant. 19 There was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20There was war at Gath again, where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also had been born to the giant. 21 When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. PHILISTINE WARS J A Thompson - To conclude his survey of David’s wars, the Chronicler returns to further victories over the Philistines. His material is based on 2 Sam 21:18–22. Three episodes are mentioned in these verses, but there doubtless were many skirmishes during the early part of David’s reign. One by one David subdued centers of trouble. Each of the three incidents mentioned in these verses features the “giants” of the area. (1,2 Chronicles - New American Commentary) Martin Selman - The account of David’s wars is completed by three cameos taken from the Philistine wars. All three incidents are probably associated with David’s assault on Gath (1Ch 18:1), since two of his three opponents came from that city (vv. 5, 6, 8). The Philistine warriors are also all called ‘Rephaites’ (RSV) or descendants of Rapha (‘giants’, NRSV), who were one of the pre-Israelite groups in Canaan (e.g. Gen. 15:20) and famous for their size (cf. 1Ch 20:6). These people were known elsewhere as the ‘Avvites’ (or Avvim), whom the first Philistines had driven out (Deut. 2:23, where Caphtorites, i.e. Cretans, certainly = Philistines), and as the ‘Anakites’ (or Anakim), who had also presumably been overrun by the Philistines since Joshua removed them from all but three Philistine towns, including Gath (Josh. 11:22). (Borrow TOTC 1,2 Chronicles - page 198) Frederick Mabie: These brief summaries of battles with the Philistines underscore David’s continued dominance over even the formidable champions of the Philistine city-states. Each of these champions is directly or indirectly associated with the Rephaites (descendants of Rapha), an ethnic group noted for their massive physical size. Recall that Goliath was over nine feet tall, while the bed of King Og (who was “left of the remnant of the Rephaites” [Dt 3:11]) was thirteen feet long and six feet wide. While God is not specifically mentioned in these short vignettes, nor is David the one defeating these champions, the victory of David’s men nonetheless reflects the Chronicler’s earlier note that “the LORD gave David victory everywhere he went” (1Ch 18:6). Thus to oppose David or Israel was to oppose God (cf. Dt 20:4) Now it came about after this, that war broke out at Gezer (called Gob in 2Sa 21:8) with the Philistines - In 2Sa 5:25+ David had struck down the Philistines from Geba (Gibeon in the map above) to Gezer. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued. - Sibbecai (2Sa 21:18; 1Ch 11:29, 20:4, 27:11) was one of David's heroes (1Ch 11:29), general of the eighth division of the army (1Ch 27:11). He slew the giant Saph in the battle of Gob (2Sa. 21:18). August Konkel: The first battle was at Gezer, located at the entrance to the Aijalon Valley in the Shephelah, to the west of Gibeon [Shephelah, p. 467]. This may have served as the Philistine boundary. Sibbekai the Hushathite was one of the valiant warriors who came to be in charge of one of the military divisions (1Ch 11:29; 27:11). Elhanan is also one of David’s valiant warriors (1Ch 11:26), who killed the brother of Goliath (1Ch 20:5).