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1 Chronicles 19:7

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Chronicles 19:7 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “So they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

So they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.
1 Chronicles 19:7 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Chronicles 19

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
4So Hanun took David`s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5Then there went certain persons, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.
6And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Arammaacah, and out of Zobah.
7So they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.
8And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men.
9And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city: and the kings that were come were by themselves in the field.
10Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.
← 1 Chronicles 19:61 Chronicles 19:8 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots--Hebrew, "riders," or "cavalry," accustomed to fight either on horseback or in chariots, and occasionally on foot. Accepting this as the true rendering, the number of hired auxiliaries mentioned in this passage agrees exactly with the statement in Sa2 10:6 : twenty thousand (from Syria), twelve thousand (from Tob), equal to thirty-two thousand, and one thousand with the king of Maachah.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“They hired thirty and two thousand chariots - The reading is corrupt. Such a number as 32,000 chariots alone was never brought into battle on any occasion. Compare the numbers in Exodus 14:7; 1 Kings 10:26; 2 Chronicles 12:3. The largest force which an Assyrian king ever speaks of encountering is 3,940. The words “and horsemen” have probably fallen out of the text after the word “chariots” (compare 1 Chronicles 19:6). The 32,000 would be the number of the warriors serving on horseback or in chariots; and this number would agree closely with 2 Samuel 10:6, as the following table shows: 2 Samuel 10:6 Men Syrians of Beth-rehob and Zobah 20,000 Syrians of Ish-tob 12,000 Syrians of Maachah 1,000…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Chariots - Thirty two thousand men, who fought partly from chariots, and partly on foot with chariots, or attending upon the chariots, as the ancient manner of fighting was. 1 Chronicles 19:19”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“hired: Ch1 18:4; Exo 14:9; Jdg 4:3; Sa1 13:5; Ch2 14:9; Psa 20:7-9 thirty: Thirty-two thousand soldiers, exclusive of the thousand sent by the king of Maachah, are mentioned in the parallel passage ( Sa2 10:6); but of chariots or cavalry there is no mention; and the number of chariots stated here is prodigious, and beyond all credibility. But as the word raichev denotes not only a chariot, but a rider (see Isa 21:7), it ought most probably to be rendered here, in a collective sense, cavalry; and then the number of troops will exactly agree with the passage in Samuel. It is probable that they were a kind of auxiliary troops who were usually mounted on horses, or in chariots, but who…”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification