Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair ¹  the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ²  the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

“When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, ¹  and they direct their prayers to the Lord ²  toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor, ³ 

So he poured out his fierce anger on them, along with the devastation ¹  of war. Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; ²  it burned against them, but they did notice. ³ 

For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem ¹  to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away. ² 

When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ¹  But he did not realize ²  men were hiding behind the city. ³ 

So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out ¹  and fought Abimelech.

Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ¹  in those days), “Should we ²  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ³  or should we ⁴  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ⁵  over to you.”

Goliath ¹  stood and called to Israel’s troops, ²  “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose ³  for yourselves a man so he may come down ⁴  to me!

and Jehozabad led 180,000 trained warriors.

“How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags and hear the military signals of their bugles?” ¹ 

So God brought the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea, ¹  and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. ² 

So a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for battle in all, were provided out of the thousands of Israel.

He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war. ¹ 

When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, ¹  and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him.

Because God fought for them, ¹  they killed many of the enemy. ²  They dispossessed the Hagrites and lived in their land until the exile. ³ 

But I will have pity on the nation ¹  of Judah. ²  I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, ³  by chariot horses, or by chariots.” ⁴ 

O Israel, you have sinned since the time ¹  of Gibeah, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

In the spring, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, ¹  Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down.

When David’s ¹  oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry ²  with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! ³  You have come down here to watch the battle!”

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar ¹  to the descendants of Lot ²  as their possession.