David’s Army at Hebron

²³ What follows is a listing of the divisions of battle-ready troops who joined David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, in accordance with what the Lord had spoken. ²⁴ The army of Judah, equipped with both shields and spears, numbered 6,800 warriors, ²⁵ the elite warriors of Simeon numbered 7,100, ²⁶ and the descendants of Levi numbered 4,600.

²⁷ Jehoiada, a senior officer^[a] in the house of Aaron, brought^[b] with him 3,700. ²⁸ Zadok, a young and valiant soldier, brought 22 commanders from his own ancestral house.

²⁹ The tribe of^[c] Benjamin, relatives of Saul numbered 3,000, of whom most had remained allied to what remained of^[d] Saul’s dynasty.

³⁰ The tribe of Ephraim supplied^[e] 20,800 valiant soldiers who were well known in their ancestral households.

³¹ The half-tribe of Manasseh supplied 18,000, who had been appointed specifically to come and establish David as king.

³² The tribe of Issachar supplied 200 leaders, along with all of their relatives under their command. They kept up-to-date in their understanding of the times and knew what Israel should do.

³³ The tribe of Zebulun supplied 50,000 experienced troops, trained in the use of every kind of war weapon, in order to help David^[f] with undivided loyalty.

³⁴ The tribe of Naphtali supplied 1,000 commanders, accompanied by 37,000 troops armed with shields and spears.

³⁵ The tribe of Dan supplied 28,600 battle-ready troops.

³⁶ The tribe of Asher supplied 40,000 experienced, battle-ready troops.

³⁷ The tribes of Reuben and Gad, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh east of^[g] the Jordan supplied 120,000 men armed with every kind of war weapon.

³⁸ All these warriors arrived in battle order at Hebron, fully intending to establish David as king over all Israel. Furthermore, all of the rest of Israel were united in their intent to make David king. ³⁹ They spent three days eating and drinking with David, since their relatives had supplied provisions for them.

⁴⁰ Their neighbors came from as far away as the territories of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, bringing provisions loaded on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought^[h] abundant provisions of meal, fig bars, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, because there was joy in Israel.