Discovery Box1 Chronicles 12:8-15 
Context12:8 Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills. 1 12:9 Ezer was the leader, Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third, 12:10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, 12:11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12:12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 12:13 Jeremiah the tenth, and Machbannai the eleventh. 12:14 These Gadites were military leaders; the least led a hundred men, the greatest a thousand. 2 12:15 They crossed the Jordan River 3 in the first month, 4 when it was overflowing its banks, and routed those living in all the valleys to the east and west. 5
1 tn Heb “warriors, men of battle for war, prepared with shield and spear, and [like] the face of a lion were their faces, and like gazelles on the hills to hurry.”
2 tn Heb “one for a hundred the small, and the great for a thousand.” Another option is to translate the preposition -לְ (lamed) as “against” and to understand this as a hyperbolic reference to their prowess: “the least could stand against a hundred, the greatest against a thousand.”
3 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
4 sn That is, March-April.
5 tn Heb “and they chased all the valleys to the east and to the west.”
