Text -- 1 Chronicles 18:1-5 (NET)

David Conquers the Neighboring Nations

18:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. He took Gath and its surrounding towns away from the Philistines. 18:2 He defeated the Moabites; the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. 18:3 David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah as far as Hamath, when he went to extend his authority to the Euphrates River. 18:4 David seized from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 charioteers, and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of Hadadezer’s chariot horses. 18:5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ch 18:1

¹ tn 2 Sam 8:1 identifies this region as “Metheg Ammah.”

² tn Heb “from the hand of the Philistines.” Here “hand” is figurative language for “control.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 18:2

¹ tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 18:3

¹ tn Heb “hand.”

² tn Heb “when he went to set up his hand at the Euphrates River.” The Hebrew word יָד (yad, “hand”) is usually understood to mean “control” or “dominion” here. However, since יָד does occasionally refer to a monument, perhaps one could translate, “to set up his monument at the Euphrates River” (i.e., as a visible marker of the limits of his dominion). For another example of the Hiphil of נָצַב (natsav) used with יָד (“monument”), see 1 Sam 15:12.

NET Notes: 1Ch 18:4

¹ tn Or “horsemen.”

² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Hadadezer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them one hundred chariot horses.”