Eight verses hold the last campaigns: 'at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle,' Joab wastes the country of Ammon and smites Rabbah — 'But David tarried at Jerusalem.' The crown of Malcam, a talent of gold with precious stones in it, is set on David’s head. Then the end of the giants: at Gezer, Sibbecai slays Sippai, 'of the sons of the giants'; Elhanan slays 'Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam'; and at Gath, a man of great stature with six fingers on every hand and six toes on every foot falls too — 'These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And it came to pass, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it.
verse value 8231
Insights
Verse structure: 24 words, 109 letters. Notable word values: "and·he·smote" (וַיַּ֥ךְ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·time·of" (לְעֵת֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Ammon" (בְּנֵי־עַמּ֗וֹן, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 608: Rabbah, Rabbah. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "return·of" (תְּשׁוּבַ֨ת), "going·out·of" (צֵ֣את), "and·he·led" (וַיִּנְהַ֣ג). The root עת appears 2 times in this verse. 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "the·kings" (root מלך, 91x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שחת ("and·he·wasted") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 20 and 4 words.
Rashi
Now it came to pass at the time of the return of the year when there are grasses in the field to feed the horses.
Ralbag
And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it — It has already been explained (in the Book of Samuel II, 12:27) that Joab had sent word to David that he had captured the city of waters, so that David would come with the rest of the army to capture the city, in order that this city's conquest would not be attributed to Joab's name.
Metzudat David
'the return of the year' — meaning, at the time the sun returns to that very point it occupied when the kings went out the previous year to make war against Israel and to help the children of Ammon, as stated above.
Metzudat Zion
'And besieged' — from the language of a siege (matzor).
Malbim
'And it came to pass, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it' — meaning, in the following year, at the season when kings go out [to battle], in the days of the harvest. This verse is copied from Samuel (11:1), and the words ‘and Joab smote [Rabbah]’ are copied from the end of the story there (12:26–31) — showing that even though David did in the end come there himself, the true conqueror was Joab, as is made clear there.
And David took the crown of Malcam from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head; and he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.
verse value 5328
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 84 letters. Notable word values: "and·in·it" (וּבָהּ֙) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 5328 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "from·upon" (מֵעַ֨ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "crown·of·Malcam" (אֶת־עֲטֶֽרֶת־מַלְכָּם֩, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 24: David, David. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "crown·of·Malcam" (אֶת־עֲטֶֽרֶת־מַלְכָּם֩), "his·head" (רֹאשׁ֜וֹ), "and·he·found·it" (וַֽיִּמְצָאָ֣הּ). The root דוד appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "and·it·was" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "his·head" (root ראש, 73x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root משקל ("weight·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'David', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Rashi
and in it was a precious stone in the crown. and it was set on David’s head Some explain that it was literally on David’s head. It is, however, amazing how his head could endure it. Our Sages, however, explain that there was a magnet in it (A.Z. ad loc.). I heard in Narbonne that it is the prevalent custom in the land of Ishmael to suspend the king’s crown over his head, and he sits opposite it below on a throne, and that which is written: “... and it was on David’s head,” means that it appeared as though it were on his head.
Metzudat David
'and it was set upon David's head' — it hung suspended above his head while he sat on the throne; for how could he bear the weight of a talent upon his head?
Metzudat Zion
'Malcam' — the idol worshipped as a deity, called Malcom; or, [it may be understood] literally, [as 'their king']. 'Precious' — [meaning] valuable.
And he brought forth the people who were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus David did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
verse value 5307
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 88 letters. The shortest word is "and·thus" (וְכֵן֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·in·harrows·of" (וּבַחֲרִיצֵ֤י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 24: David, David. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "that·in·it" (אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֜הּ), "and·he·cut" (וַיָּ֨שַׂר), "in·the·saw" (בַּמְּגֵרָ֜ה). The root מגרה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "to·all" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles); "that·in·it" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ברזל ("the·iron") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sons·of·Ammon', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Ralbag
And cut them with saws — I think the intent is that he dragged them with a saw, cutting them cruelly; and "vayasar" is related in meaning to "masor" (Isaiah 10:15), which is a saw, and even though these are two different roots, their meaning is one. And with harrows — In its place in the Book of Samuel it is written "and with iron cutting-tools," and it appears that the meaning is the same; for were it not so, his words "and with harrows" would be superfluous, since he had already said "and cut them with a saw."
Metzudat Zion
'And cut them with saws' — an implement full of notches with which wood is cut is called a 'masor' (saw), as in 'shall the saw magnify itself' (Isaiah 10); and because the wood is cut with it by dragging it back and forth, it is also called a 'megerah,' as in 'saws of iron' (megerot) (I Kings 7). It would have sufficed to say 'vayasar,' which itself explains 'he cut with a saw,' but for further clarification Scripture added 'bamegerah' ('with a saw'); similarly, 'they were bound in chains' (Nahum 3). 'And with harrows of iron' — an iron implement made with grooves, as in 'for the black cumin is not threshed with a sharp threshing-instrument' (becharutz) (Isaiah 28). 'And with axes' — these too are implements full of notches, but they are smaller than the 'masor' (saw).
Malbim
'and cut them with saws' — [Hebrew: vayasar] its root is nasar [‘to saw’], as in (Isaiah 10:15), ‘Should the saw magnify itself against him that wields it’; here a plain vowel stands in place of the dagesh that would normally compensate for the dropped root-letter nun. 'and with harrows of iron' — [Hebrew: megeirot] another tool, made up of a number of cutting blades; whereas there it is written ‘u-vemigzarot,’ as in (Psalms 136:13), ‘to Him who cut the Sea of Reeds in two.’
And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, of the sons of the giants; and they were subdued.
verse value 4151
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "then" (אָ֣ז, 2 letters) and the longest is "with·Philistines" (עִם־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·she·arose" (וַתַּעֲמֹ֧ד), "in·Gezer" (בְּגֶ֖זֶר), "Sippai" (אֶת־סִפַּ֛י). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "war" (root מלחמה, 31x in I Chronicles); "with·Philistines" (root פלשתי, 27x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·Philistines', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·came·to·pass] (31) + אַחֲרֵי־כֵ֔ן [after·thus] (289) + וַתַּעֲמֹ֧ד [and·she·arose] (520) + מִלְחָמָ֛ה [war] (123) + בְּגֶ֖זֶר [in·Gezer] (212) + עִם־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים [with·Philistines] (970) + אָ֣ז [then] (8) + הִכָּ֞ה [he·slew] (30) + סִבְּכַ֣י [Sibbecai] (92) + הַחֻשָׁתִ֗י [the·Hushathite] (723) + אֶת־סִפַּ֛י [Sippai] (551) + מִילִידֵ֥י [from·sons·of] (104) + הָרְפָאִ֖ים [the·giants] (336) + וַיִּכָּנֵֽעוּ [and·they·were·subdued] (162) = 4151.
Rashi
Now it came to pass after this that a war arose in Gezer That which is missing here is written in Samuel (II 21:15): “And the Philistines waged war again with Israel, and David went down with his servants and they fought against the Philistines.” And this too was not written here because of David’s honor, for it is written there: “... and David became faint,” and it is written: (ibid. 16): “And Ishbi, who was one of the sons of Raphah, was in Nob, etc., and he was girded with new armor, and he thought to smite David,” and had it not been for the aid of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, he would have fallen into the hands of Ishbi in Nob and because of that disgrace, [the Chronicler] did not mention these things here. then Sibbecai the Hushathite smote Sippai of the sons of Rapha But in Samuel (II 21:18), it is written: “Saph, who was one of the sons of Rashah,” who was the brother of Goliath the Philistine and Ishbi in Nob.
Ralbag
That there arose war at Gezer — In the Book of Samuel (II, 21:18) it is written "at Gob"; it appears that that city had two names, or that Gob and Gezer were adjacent to one another. Sippai, of the sons of the giants — In the Book of Samuel it is written "Saph"; he had two names.
Metzudat Zion
'Of the sons of the giants' — the giants, as in 'the remnant of the giants' (haRephaim) (Deuteronomy 3).
Malbim
'And it came to pass after this' — this is copied from II Samuel (21:18); and these were his last wars, as stated there, for by that time David no longer went out to battle in person, as is mentioned there. 'at Gezer' — whereas there the three wars are counted as taking place at Nob, because the Rephaim [giants] were [based] at Nob, while the battle itself took place at Gezer.
And there was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
verse value 5267
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 73 letters. Notable word values: "and·he·slew" (וַיַּ֞ךְ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "and·he·slew" (וַיַּ֞ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·Philistines" (אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Jair" (בֶּן־יָעִ֗יר), "Lahmi" (אֶת־לַחְמִי֙), "his·spear" (חֲנִית֔וֹ). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Jair" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·she·was·again" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "brother·of" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·Philistines', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 12 words.
Rashi
And Elhanan the son of Jair smote He was one of David’s mighty men. Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, and the staff of his spear was as [thick as] a weavers’ beam like the round stick about which they wrap the cloth while weaving. Jonathan translated that verse in Samuel: And David the son of Jesse, the weaver of the dividing curtain of the Temple, slew. He interprets Jair (יָעִיר) as being similar to the Lebanon forest (יַעַר). He was paid in kind: Let David, whose mother wove the dividing curtain for the Temple with a weavers’ beam, slay Goliath, whose spear staff was as thick as a weavers’ beam. Now why does Scripture call him Elhanan? Because God favored him (ה' חֲנָנוֹ). I believe that Goliath the Gittite is not identical with Goliath the Philistine. One reason is that there [I Sam. 17:23] he called him Goliath the Philistine. Another reason is that above it is written: “... then Sibbecai the Hushathite smote Sippai of the sons of Rapha,” and also below it is written: “and he too was born to Raphah.” Since he does not mention that Goliath the Gittite was a son of Rapha, it proves that he [Goliath the Gittite] was not her son
Metzudat David
'the staff of whose spear' — that is, the shaft, or handle, of the spear.
Metzudat Zion
'Was like a weaver's beam' — this is the round piece of wood around which the weaver winds the warp threads; in the Mishnah it is called a 'koved' (Shabbat 103).
Malbim
'Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite' — whereas there [in Samuel] it says, ‘And Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite slew Goliath the Gittite.’ Ezra explains that the name of the hero who struck him down was Elhanan the son of Jaare, of the family of weavers [oregim] — that is, of the family of Bezalel — and that it was not Goliath himself, but Lahmi, the brother of Goliath. And since Goliath's brother was a warrior like Goliath, and the one who slew him was likewise an Ephrathite like David, of the family of Bezalel, the proverb-makers phrased it as though ‘the one of Bethlehem’ (that is, of David's family, from Bethlehem) had slain Goliath.
And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant.
verse value 4577
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "in·Gath" (בְּגַ֑ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·his·fingers" (וְאֶצְבְּעֹתָ֤יו, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·his·fingers" (וְאֶצְבְּעֹתָ֤יו), "six·and·six" (שֵׁשׁ־וָשֵׁשׁ֙), "and·four" (וְאַרְבַּ֔ע). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "was·born" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·she·was·again" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "and·also·he" (root הוא, 50x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Gath', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 10 words. Full calculation: וַתְּהִי־ע֥וֹד [and·she·was·again] (501) + מִלְחָמָ֖ה [war] (123) + בְּגַ֑ת [in·Gath] (405) + וַיְהִ֣י [and·he·was] (31) + אִ֣ישׁ [man·of] (311) + מִדָּ֗ה [stature] (49) + וְאֶצְבְּעֹתָ֤יו [and·his·fingers] (585) + שֵׁשׁ־וָשֵׁשׁ֙ [six·and·six] (1206) + עֶשְׂרִ֣ים [twenty] (620) + וְאַרְבַּ֔ע [and·four] (279) + וְגַם־ה֖וּא [and·also·he] (61) + נוֹלַ֥ד [was·born] (90) + לְהָרָפָֽא [to·the·giant] (316) = 4577.
Rashi
and there was a man of great stature. This is similar to (Num. 13:32): “big in stature,” and since he was so tall that he had to be measured, he calls him a man of measure. and his fingers were six and six Twelve on his hands and twelve on his feet, and in Samuel (II 21:20) it says: “twenty-four in number,” i.e., one beside the other, so that one can count them, and this also was his strength, for he was able to grasp the sword with the great strength of his hand. And in Tractate Bechoroth (45b) it is explained why it is written: “six and six, totaling twenty-four.” It is necessary, because if it were written, “six and six,” we would say six on one hand and six on one foot. Therefore, it says, “twenty- four.” And if it would say, “twenty-four,” I would say seven on one and five on the other. Therefore, it says, “six and six, totaling twenty-four.”
Metzudat David
'a man of great stature' — a man of great size; likewise, 'men of stature' (Numbers 13:32). 'six on each hand, and six on each foot' — each hand had six [fingers]; and lest we think that between his two hands and two feet together there were only six — three to each pair — it therefore says 'twenty-four.'
Metzudat Zion
'To the giant' — to the [family of] giants.
Malbim
'a man of great stature' — [Hebrew: ish middah] this explains the phrase ‘ish madon’ [a man of strife] used there [in Samuel], whose root is in fact madad, ‘to measure.’
And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him.
verse value 2320
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "brother·of" (אֲחִ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·he·taunted" (וַיְחָרֵ֖ף). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Shimea" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "brother·of" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְחָרֵ֖ף [and·he·taunted] (304) + אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (942) + וַיַּכֵּ֙הוּ֙ [and·he·slew·him] (47) + יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן [Jonathan] (521) + בֶּן־שִׁמְעָ֖א [son·of·Shimea] (463) + אֲחִ֥י [brother·of] (19) + דָוִֽיד [David] (24) = 2320.
These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
verse value 1134
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. Verse gematria: 1134 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֛ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·in·hand·of·his·servants" (וּבְיַד־עֲבָדָֽיו, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "these" (אֵ֛ל), "were·born" (נוּלְּד֥וּ), "in·hand·of·David" (בְיַד־דָּוִ֖יד). The root יד appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "were·born" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "in·hand·of·David" (root יד, 42x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Gath', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֵ֛ל [these] (31) + נוּלְּד֥וּ [were·born] (96) + לְהָרָפָ֖א [to·the·giant] (316) + בְּגַ֑ת [in·Gath] (405) + וַיִּפְּל֥וּ [and·they·fell] (132) + בְיַד־דָּוִ֖יד [in·hand·of·David] (40) + וּבְיַד־עֲבָדָֽיו [and·in·hand·of·his·servants] (114) = 1134.
Ralbag
"Yulledu" (were born) — This word is a hybrid formed from the active and the passive [nif'al] conjugations; its meaning is simply "were born."
Metzudat Zion
'These were born' — [the word 'el' is] like 'eleh' (these); similarly, 'all these abominations' (ha'el) (Leviticus 18).
Rashi
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim