Chapter 27

Commanders of the Army. ¹ This is the list of the leaders of the ancestral clans of the Israelites, the captains of the thousands and the hundreds, the officials who served the king in anything concerning going out or coming in as they were on duty from month to month, all throughout the year. Each division had twenty-four thousand men.

² Ishbaal, the son of Zabdiel, was in charge of the first division for the first month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ³ He was a descendant of Perez, and he was the leader of all of the captains of the army for the first month.

⁴ Dodai the Ahohite was in charge of the division for the second month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁵ Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, was the third leader of the army for the third month. He was the leader, and there were twenty-four thousand men in his division. ⁶ This was the same Benaiah who was a brave warrior from among the Thirty and the leader of the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was in charge of his division.

⁷ Asahel, the brother of Joab, was the fourth for the fourth month. Zebadiah, his son, succeeded him. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁸ Shamhuth the Zerahite was the fifth leader for the fifth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

⁹ Ira, the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite was the sixth for the sixth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁰ Hellez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite, was the seventh for the seventh month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹¹ Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite, was the eighth for the eighth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹² Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjaminite, was the ninth for the ninth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹³ Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite, was the tenth for the tenth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁴ Benaiah the Pirathonite, an Ephraimite, was the eleventh for the eleventh month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁵ Heldai the Netophathite from the family of Othniel was the twelfth for the twelfth month. There were twenty-four thousand men in his division.

¹⁶ Tribal Heads. The leaders of the tribes of Israel were: for the Reubenites: Eliezer, the son of Zichri; for the Simeonites: Shephatiah, the son of Maacah; ¹⁷ for the Levites: Hashabiah, the son of Kemuel; for the Aaronites: Zadok; ¹⁸ for the Judahites: Eliab, the brother of David; for the Issacharites: Omri, the son of Michael; ¹⁹ for the Zebulunites: Ishmaiah, the son of Obadiah; for the Naphtalites: Jeremoth, the son of Azriel; ²⁰ for the Ephraimites: Hoshea, the son of Azaziah; for one-half of the tribe of Manasseh: Joel, the son of Pedaiah; ²¹ for the other half of the tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo, the son of Zechariah; for the Benjaminites: Jaasiel, the son of Abner; ²² and for the Danites: Azarel, the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders in charge of the tribes of Israel.

²³ David did not take stock of those who were younger than twenty years old because the Lord had said that Israel would increase to be as many as the stars in the heavens. ²⁴ Joab, the son of Zeruiah, began to count them, but he did not finish when wrath fell upon Israel because of it. Therefore the number was not entered into the chronicles of King David.

²⁵ Administrators. Azmaveth, the son of Adiel, was responsible for the royal treasury. Jonathan, the son of Uzziah, was in charge of the storehouses in the fields, the cities, the villages, and the watchtowers. ²⁶ Ezri, the son of Chelub, was in charge of the field workers who farmed the land. ²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards. Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of the harvest from the vineyards for the wine cellars. ²⁸ Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees on the western slopes. Joash was in charge of the olive oil supply in the cellars. ²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the grazing herds in Sharon. Shaphat, the son of Adlai, was in charge of the herds 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 flocks.

These were all officials in charge of King David’s possessions. ³² Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor. He was an insightful man, and he was a scribe. Jehiel, the son of Hachamoni, was in charge of the king’s sons. ³³ Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion.^{[a] 34} Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah, and by Abiathar.^[b] Joab was the commander of the king’s army.