This list of great warriors reflects the greatness of David. We know something about a man or woman by the company he or she keeps. The writer identified three groups: the chiefs among David's mighty men (11:10-25), the mighty men in David's army (11:26-47), and the mighty men who joined David at Ziklag (ch. 12).
There are several discrepancies between the numbers in Chronicles and those in parallel passages in Samuel, Kings, and elsewhere. A case in point is 11:11 where 2 Samuel 23:8 has 800. The number in Samuel is apparently the correct one in this case, and the difference was evidently due to a scribal error in copying.46
David was a leader who had won the confidence and support of the strongest men in Israel as well as Judah. The episode in 11:15-19 shows why men such as these pledged their loyalty to David. He showed unusual sensitivity to the dangers his men faced.
Chapter 12 has no parallel in Samuel. Its unique emphases are these. Men from Israel as well as Judah followed David, and there was a very large number of them (v. 22). David also had many other supporters (vv. 39-40). Even the kinsmen of Saul followed him (vv. 2, 16, 29).47God sanctioned the plan of these men to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him (v. 23).
Popular enthusiasm for David was overwhelming (v. 38; cf. v. 18). The writer named all the tribes proving broad-based support (vv. 24-37). This emphasis is much stronger in Chronicles than in the parallel section of Samuel.
Chapters 11 and 12 give evidence of what God told David later in 17:8, namely, "I have been with you wherever you have gone."They also provide hope that God would do for David what He promised in 17:10, namely, "I will subdue all your enemies."
