1 Chronicles 7:5

7:5 Altogether the genealogical records of the clans of Issachar listed 87,000 warriors.

1 Chronicles 7:9

7:9 There were 20,200 family leaders and warriors listed in their genealogical records.

1 Chronicles 11:26

11:26 The mighty warriors were:

Asahel the brother of Joab,

Elhanan son of Dodo, from Bethlehem,

1 Chronicles 11:42

11:42 Adina son of Shiza the Reubenite, leader of the Reubenites and the thirty warriors with him,

1 Chronicles 12:24

12:24 From Judah came 6,800 trained warriors carrying shields and spears.

1 Chronicles 12:30

12:30 From Ephraim there were 20,800 warriors, who had brought fame to their families.

1 Chronicles 12:36

12:36 From Asher there were 40,000 warriors prepared for battle.

1 Chronicles 21:1

The Lord Sends a Plague against Israel

21:1 An adversary opposed Israel, inciting David to count how many warriors Israel had.

1 Chronicles 27:6

27:6 Benaiah was the leader of the thirty warriors and his division; his son was Ammizabad.


tn Heb “and their brothers, according to all the clans of Issachar, the warriors [were] 87,000 listed in the genealogical records for all.”

map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

tn Heb “the sons of Judah, carrying shield and spear, [were] 6,800 armed for battle.”

tn Heb “men of names for the house of their fathers.”

tn Or “Satan.” The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) can refer to an adversary in general or Satan in particular. There is no article accompanying the term here, which suggests it should be understood generally (cf. NAB “a satan”).

tn Heb “stood against.”

tn Heb “and incited David to count Israel.” As v. 5 indicates, David was not interested in a general census, but in determining how much military strength he had.

sn The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:1 says, “The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel and he incited David against them, saying: ‘Go, count Israel and Judah!’“ The version of the incident in the Book of 2 Samuel gives an underlying theological perspective, while the Chronicler simply describes what happened from a human perspective. Many interpreters and translations render the Hebrew שָׂטָן as a proper name here, “Satan” (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the Hebrew term שָׂטָן, which means “adversary,” is used here without the article. Elsewhere when it appears without the article, it refers to a personal or national adversary in the human sphere, the lone exception being Num 22:22, 32, where the angel of the Lord assumes the role of an adversary to Balaam. When referring elsewhere to the spiritual entity known in the NT as Satan, the noun has the article and is used as a title, “the Adversary” (see Job 1:6-9, 12; 2:1-4, 6-7; Zech 3:1-2). In light of usage elsewhere the adversary in 1 Chr 21:1 is likely a human enemy, probably a nearby nation whose hostility against Israel pressured David into numbering the people so he could assess his military strength. For compelling linguistic and literary arguments against taking the noun as a proper name here, see S. Japhet, I & II Chronicles (OTL), 374-75.

tn Heb “That [was the] Benaiah [who was] a warrior of the thirty and over the thirty, and his division, Ammizabad his son.”