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Leaders of the Army

27 What follows is a list of Israelite family leaders and commanders of units of a thousand and a hundred, as well as their officers who served the king in various matters. Each division was assigned to serve for one month during the year; each consisted of 24,000 troops.[a]

Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge of the first division, which was assigned the first month. His division consisted of 24,000 troops. He was a descendant of Perez; he was in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of the division assigned the second month; Mikloth was the next in rank.[b] His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

The third army commander, assigned the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest. He was the leader of his division, which consisted of 24,000 troops. Benaiah was the leader of the thirty warriors and his division; his son was Ammizabad.[c]

The fourth, assigned the fourth month, was Asahel, brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah succeeded him.[d] His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

The fifth, assigned the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth the Izrahite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

The sixth, assigned the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

10 The seventh, assigned the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

11 The eighth, assigned the eighth month, was Sibbekai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

12 The ninth, assigned the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjaminite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

13 The tenth, assigned the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

14 The eleventh, assigned the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

15 The twelfth, assigned the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, a descendant of Othniel. His division consisted of 24,000 troops.

16 The officers of the Israelite tribes:

Eliezer son of Zikri was the leader of the Reubenites,

Shephatiah son of Maacah led the Simeonites,

17 Hashabiah son of Kemuel led the Levites,

Zadok led the descendants of Aaron,

18 Elihu, a brother of David, led Judah,

Omri son of Michael led Issachar,

19 Ishmaiah son of Obadiah led Zebulun,

Jerimoth son of Azriel led Naphtali,

20 Hoshea son of Azaziah led the Ephraimites,

Joel son of Pedaiah led the half-tribe of Manasseh,

21 Iddo son of Zechariah led the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead,

Jaasiel son of Abner led Benjamin,

22 Azarel son of Jeroham led Dan.

These were the commanders of the Israelite tribes.

23 David did not count the males twenty years old and under, for the Lord had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky. 24 Joab son of Zeruiah started to count the men but did not finish. God was angry with Israel[e] because of this, so the number was not recorded in the scroll[f] called The Annals of King David.

Royal Officials

25 Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the king’s storehouses;

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the towns, and in the towers.

26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land.[g]

27 Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards;

Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the wine stored in the vineyards.[h]

28 Baal Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the foothills;[i]

Joash was in charge of the storehouses of olive oil.

29 Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the cattle grazing in Sharon;

Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the cattle in the valleys.

30 Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels;

Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys.

31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the sheep.

All these were the officials in charge of King David’s property.

32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a wise adviser and scribe;[j]

Jehiel son of Hacmoni cared for[k] the king’s sons.

33 Ahithophel was the king’s adviser;

Hushai the Arkite was the king’s confidant.[l]

34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.

Joab was the commanding general of the king’s army.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 27:1 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel according to their number, heads of the fathers and the commanders of the thousands and the hundreds and their officers who served the king with respect to every matter of the divisions, [that which] comes and goes out month by month according to all the months of the year, one division [was] twenty-four thousand.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 27:4 tn Heb “and his division and Mikloth, the leader.”
  3. 1 Chronicles 27:6 tn Heb “That [was the] Benaiah [who was] a warrior of the thirty and over the thirty, and his division, Ammizabad his son.”
  4. 1 Chronicles 27:7 tn Heb “[was] after him.”
  5. 1 Chronicles 27:24 tn Heb “anger was on Israel.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 27:24 tc The Hebrew text has “in the number,” but מִסְפַּר (mispar) is probably dittographic—note that the same word appears immediately before this. The form should be emended to בְּסֵפֶר (besefer, “in the scroll”).
  7. 1 Chronicles 27:26 tn Heb “with respect to the work of the land.” The phrase refers to agricultural labor; see HALOT 776-77 s.v. עֲבֹדָה.
  8. 1 Chronicles 27:27 tn Heb “and over [that] which is in the vineyards, with respect to the storehouses of the wine, [was] Zabdi the Shiphmite.”
  9. 1 Chronicles 27:28 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  10. 1 Chronicles 27:32 tn Heb “was an adviser, a man of insight, and he was a scribe.”
  11. 1 Chronicles 27:32 tn Heb “[was] with” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “tutored”; NRSV “attended”; NLT “was responsible to teach.’
  12. 1 Chronicles 27:33 tn Heb “friend.”

Military Commanders and Divisions

27 This is the list of Israelite generals and captains,[a] and their officers, who served the king by supervising the army divisions that were on duty each month of the year. Each division served for one month and had 24,000 troops.

Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was commander of the first division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the first month. He was a descendant of Perez and was in charge of all the army officers for the first month.

Dodai, a descendant of Ahoah, was commander of the second division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the second month. Mikloth was his chief officer.

Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest was commander of the third division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the third month. This was the Benaiah who commanded David’s elite military group known as the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was his chief officer.

Asahel, the brother of Joab, was commander of the fourth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fourth month. Asahel was succeeded by his son Zebadiah.

Shammah[b] the Izrahite was commander of the fifth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the fifth month.

Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa was commander of the sixth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the sixth month.

10 Helez, a descendant of Ephraim from Pelon, was commander of the seventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the seventh month.

11 Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was commander of the eighth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eighth month.

12 Abiezer from Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin was commander of the ninth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the ninth month.

13 Maharai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was commander of the tenth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the tenth month.

14 Benaiah from Pirathon in Ephraim was commander of the eleventh division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the eleventh month.

15 Heled,[c] a descendant of Othniel from Netophah, was commander of the twelfth division of 24,000 troops, which was on duty during the twelfth month.

Leaders of the Tribes

16 The following were the tribes of Israel and their leaders:

TribeLeader
ReubenEliezer son of Zicri
SimeonShephatiah son of Maacah
17 LeviHashabiah son of Kemuel
Aaron (the priests)Zadok
18 JudahElihu (a brother of David)
IssacharOmri son of Michael
19 ZebulunIshmaiah son of Obadiah
NaphtaliJeremoth son of Azriel
20 EphraimHoshea son of Azaziah
Manasseh (west)Joel son of Pedaiah
21 Manasseh in Gilead (east)Iddo son of Zechariah
BenjaminJaasiel son of Abner
22 DanAzarel son of Jeroham

These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

23 When David took his census, he did not count those who were younger than twenty years of age, because the Lord had promised to make the Israelites as numerous as the stars in heaven. 24 Joab son of Zeruiah began the census but never finished it because[d] the anger of God fell on Israel. The total number was never recorded in King David’s official records.

Officials of David’s Kingdom

25 Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the palace treasuries.

Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the regional treasuries throughout the towns, villages, and fortresses of Israel.

26 Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers who farmed the king’s lands.

27 Shimei from Ramah was in charge of the king’s vineyards.

Zabdi from Shepham was responsible for the grapes and the supplies of wine.

28 Baal-hanan from Geder was in charge of the king’s olive groves and sycamore-fig trees in the foothills of Judah.[e]

Joash was responsible for the supplies of olive oil.

29 Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Sharon Plain.

Shaphat son of Adlai was responsible for the cattle in the valleys.

30 Obil the Ishmaelite was in charge of the camels.

Jehdeiah from Meronoth was in charge of the donkeys.

31 Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the king’s flocks of sheep and goats.

All these officials were overseers of King David’s property.

32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a wise counselor to the king, a man of great insight, and a scribe. Jehiel the Hacmonite was responsible for teaching the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the royal adviser. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s friend. 34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king’s army.

Footnotes

  1. 27:1 Hebrew commanders of thousands and of hundreds.
  2. 27:8 Hebrew Shamhuth, a variant spelling of Shammah; compare 11:27 and 2 Sam 23:25.
  3. 27:15 Hebrew Heldai, a variant spelling of Heled; compare 11:30 and 2 Sam 23:29.
  4. 27:24 Or never finished it, and yet.
  5. 27:28 Hebrew the Shephelah.