In the first part of 1 Chronicles 11:11, the Chronicler introduces a characteristic idea, which the King James Version renders well: And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had.
1 The parallel in 2 Samuel 23:8 reads, These are the names,
which shows that the primary interest there is in the identity of the individuals. Here, by contrast, the writer prefers the word number,
the emphasis being on the scale of support: tiny to begin with, but gradually rising.2
The lists of soldiers in both Samuel and the Chronicles parallel refer to the three
and the thirty
(2 Samuel 23:8, 2 Samuel 23:13, 2 Samuel 23:17, 2 Samuel 23:23; 1 Chronicles 11:15, 1 Chronicles 11:20, 1 Chronicles 11:25). The three
are identified as the chiefs
of the rest of the mighty men. The term probably signifies the role of general or commander within the cohort of the mighty men. The designation of the thirty
is an idealized title for the complete unit of mighty men. No doubt these esteemed tags were intended to differentiate and elevate the best warriors from the rest of the professional military and the Israelite militia.3
The list of names in 2 Samuel 23:8–11 contains the names of three mighty men, namely, Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, Eleazar the son of Dodo, and Shammah the son of Agee. The name of Shammah, however, is omitted by the Chronicler, and most commentators regard this as a copyist’s error. It is more likely, according to Eveson, that the Chronicler has purposefully headed his list of worthies with just two named heroes rather than the three in the Samuel text. This balances the two named heroes in 1 Chronicles 11:20–25.4 The reference to the three heroes is retained in 1 Chronicles 11:12.
The first of David's mighty men is Jashobeam (1 Chronicles 11:11),5 whose name ironically means, Let the people return.
It would seem that he came from an unknown place called Hachmon and had a father called Zabdiel (1 Chronicles 27:2). Another Hachmonite is found in a high position at David's court in 1 Chronicles 27:32. Nor is any information given about the circumstances or the identity of the three hundred men whom he slew, whether Israelites who followed Saul, or Philistines, as was the case with the following mighty man, Eleazar. Given the context, the latter seems more likely. The parallel passage in 2 Samuel 23:8 states that the number was eight hundred. The reason why the Chronicler reduced the number is unknown. The success of the warrior in the Lord's service against overwhelming odds, however, is the point he is making in line with what is stated in the Torah: Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand
(Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30).
Jashobeam is described as chief of the thirty
in the Hebrew text (see the NASB, CSB). The term can also be translated chief of the officers
(NIV, KJV, NKJV). In some ancient versions there is evidence that the original term may have referred to three
rather than thirty,
given that the parallel in 2 Samuel 23:8 described Jashobeam as chief of the three.
It is possible that the scribe misread שְׁלשָׁה (three) as שְׁלֹשִׁים (thirty), or vice versa. It is probably that the Hebrew thirty
is the original, but the ESV's three
is possible. The lists of men in both Samuel and Chronicles make reference to the three
and the thirty
(2 Samuel 23:8, 2 Samuel 23:13, 2 Samuel 23:17, 2 Samuel 23:23; 1 Chronicles 11:15, 1 Chronicles 11:20, 1 Chronicles 11:25). The three
are identified as the chiefs
of the rest of the mighty men,6 probably denoting a form of chief of staff or chief of the chiefs. The thirty
is an idealized title for a complete unit of mighty men. These labels are used to elevate the warriors above the other military personnel and Israelite militia.
The next mighty man to be mentioned is Eleazar son of Dodo, the Ahohite. His place of origin was likely a location named Ahoah, though there is an Ahoah who was a descendant of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:4). Eleazar was with David at a place called Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle
(1 Chronicles 11:13). Pas-dammim is called Ephes-dammim
in 1 Samuel 17:1, the site of the Philistine camp in the famous encounter between David and Goliath. This most likely refers to a different battle that took place at this location.7 The same is said of Shammah except that the confrontation took place in a field of lentils (2 Samuel 23:11). While great courage and unfailing determination are acknowledged, in the end it was the Lord who brought victory (2 Samuel 23:12; 1 Chronicles 11:14).
The question arises as to why Joab is conspicuously missing from this list of mighty men. We can conclude, based on 1 Chronicles 11:6, that Joab is the chief and commander
of all David's forces. On the other hand, David’s mighty men were not only men of great valour, but they were also extremely devoted to their king (1 Chronicles 11:10). This was not the case with Joab; he only appears on the scene in the battle for Jerusalem. He did not honour his king’s commands, even going contrary to what he had been told. He murdered Saul’s general Abner (2 Samuel 3:25–30), David’s son Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14–15), and later his cousin and military replacement Amasa (2 Samuel 20:1–26), all against David’s wishes. David never forgot Joab’s crime, and expected God to punish him (2 Samuel 3:39; 1 Kings 2:5–6, 1 Kings 2:28–34). In appointing Joab as the one to lead the attack on the Jebusite stronghold, David could possibly have been scheming that he would be killed in the frontline of battle. But Joab lived, and David kept his word, perhaps explaining why he became head
and commander in chief
(2 Samuel 8:16 and 1 Chronicles 18:15; 2 Samuel 11:1 and 1 Chronicles 20:1).8
11 This is an account of David’s mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.