Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Chronicles
Chapter 20: They Fell by the Hand of David
The Ammonite war ends with the fall of Rabbah, though the Chronicler notes, almost in passing, that 'David tarried at Jerusalem,' the very idleness that in Samuel opened the door to his great sin. Then the giants of Gath, kinsmen of Goliath, rise up one by one, and one by one they fall, not only by David but by the hand of his servants. The seed of the giant is finished, a picture of the offspring of the enemy crushed by the King and by those who fight in His strength.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Chronicles chapter 20. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Fall of Rabbah (1 Chronicles 20:1-3)
Joab takes the Ammonite capital while David remains behind in Jerusalem.
But David Tarried at Jerusalem
"And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, 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 destroyed it. And David took the crown of their king 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 also exceeding much spoil out of the city. And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem."
Word Study
"tarried," Hebrew yoshev (יֹשֵׁב), remained, sat, stayed behind. The Chronicler records the fall of Rabbah, the Ammonite capital, and the transfer of its heavy golden crown to David's head, a symbol of complete conquest. But one short clause carries a shadow for those who know the parallel account: "at the time that kings go out to battle... But David tarried at Jerusalem." In 2 Samuel 11, it was precisely this staying behind, this idleness when he should have been leading his army, that set the stage for David's sin with Bathsheba. The Chronicler, whose purpose is to hold up David as the anointed king through whom God's covenant runs, does not retell that painful episode, but he preserves the telling phrase, "David tarried at Jerusalem." The lesson is not lost. When David was where he ought to be, fighting the LORD's battles, he was preserved; when he lingered idle in a place of comfort, he fell into temptation. Idleness, being out of our God-appointed place and duty, is a doorway to sin. Even the greatest saint is not safe when he leaves his post. The crown of gold is won, but the quiet warning stands: guard against the ease that leaves the soul exposed.
Explanation
In the spring, the normal season for warfare, Joab led the army against Ammon, ravaged their land, and besieged and destroyed their capital, Rabbah, while David stayed behind in Jerusalem. David then took the Ammonite king's massive golden crown for himself, carried off great spoil, and put the conquered people to forced labor with saws and iron tools, dealing the same way with all the Ammonite cities before returning to Jerusalem. The Chronicler focuses on the victory and David's kingship, but the note that "David tarried at Jerusalem" quietly recalls the occasion, told fully in 2 Samuel, when David's idleness at home led him into grievous sin.
Gospel Focus
The single phrase "David tarried at Jerusalem" is a lasting warning about the danger of being out of our place. David should have been at the head of his army; his staying behind in idle comfort left him exposed to the temptation that brought his deepest fall. Scripture warns that idleness invites sin, "an idle soul shall suffer hunger" (Proverbs 19:15), and that we are to be "not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). The devil finds his opportunity in the unguarded, unoccupied hour. We are safest when we are found faithfully doing our God-given duty, "watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Yet the Chronicler's silence about David's sin also whispers a gospel note: in Christ, the sins of God's people are truly put away, "as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). God remembers His covenant with David and, for the sake of the coming Redeemer, does not hold his sin against the record of his kingship. So the God who warns us against idleness is also the God who, in Christ, blots out the very sins our idleness produces. Stay at your post, watch and pray, and rest in the grace that covers even the failures of the faithful.
The Sons of the Giant (1 Chronicles 20:4-8)
The kinsmen of Goliath rise against Israel and fall, one by one, by David and his servants.
They Fell by the Hand of His Servants
"And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam. And yet again there was war at Gath, where 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 the son of the giant. But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him. These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants."
Word Study
"the giant," Hebrew ha-rapha (הָרָפָא), the Rapha, ancestor of the giant Rephaim of Gath. After the great wars, a series of skirmishes with the Philistine giants is recorded, the kinsmen of Goliath whom David had killed in his youth. Sibbechai slays Sippai; Elhanan slays "Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam," the same fearsome description once given of Goliath himself; and Jonathan, David's nephew, kills a monstrous six-fingered, six-toed giant who "defied Israel," just as Goliath had defied the armies of the living God. These were all "born unto the giant (ha-rapha) in Gath." The point of the passage is in its closing line: "they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." The giant Goliath had fallen by David's own hand years before; now the whole brood of giants falls, and not by David alone but by his servants, empowered and led by their king. What the king began, his men finished in his strength. The seed of the defiers of Israel is wiped out, and the victory belongs to David and to all who fight under him.
Explanation
The chapter closes with several battles against the Philistines, specifically against the descendants of the giants of Gath, Goliath's kinsmen. In three encounters, Israelite warriors, Sibbechai, Elhanan, and David's nephew Jonathan, killed these giants, including one enormous man with twenty-four fingers and toes who defied Israel as Goliath once had. The Chronicler notes that all of these giants were descendants of "the giant" of Gath, and that they "fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." The great enemy Goliath had fallen to David long before; now his entire clan of giants is destroyed, no longer only by David himself but by the men who served under his command.
Gospel Focus
"They fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants" is a beautiful gospel pattern. Long before, David alone had struck down the champion Goliath, the great defier; now his servants, fighting in his strength and under his command, finish off the whole race of giants. So it is with the true Son of David. Jesus alone won the decisive victory, meeting and defeating the great enemy, "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). But He now leads His servants to overcome the remaining giants that rise up against His people, in His power and by His authority. "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4), and "in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Romans 8:37). The giants that defy God's people, sin, fear, temptation, the powers of darkness, still rise up, but they fall by the hand of the King and by the hand of His servants who fight in Him. And the destruction of the seed of the giant echoes the first promise of the gospel, that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's seed (Genesis 3:15), fulfilled in Christ and shared with all who are His. Take courage: the champion is already defeated by the Son of David, and in His strength you too can face and fell the giants that defy the living God.
Chapter in Review
First Chronicles 20 closes David's wars with the fall of Rabbah and the destruction of the Philistine giants. Joab takes the Ammonite capital while "David tarried at Jerusalem," a phrase that quietly recalls the idleness which, in Samuel, opened the door to David's great sin, a warning that we are safest at our God-appointed post. Then the giants of Gath, kinsmen of Goliath, rise up one by one and fall one by one, "by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." What the king began in defeating Goliath, his servants complete in his strength, wiping out the whole race of defiers. The chapter warns against the danger of idleness, comforts us that in Christ the sins of God's people are put away, and points us to the Son of David who has defeated the great enemy and now leads His servants to overcome every giant that defies the living God.
Key Takeaways
- Idleness invites temptation. "David tarried at Jerusalem" recalls his fall; we are safest doing our God-given duty, watching and praying.
- In Christ, sins are blotted out. The Chronicler's silence about David's sin echoes the grace that removes our transgressions in the Redeemer.
- The King wins the decisive victory. As David felled Goliath, so Jesus alone destroyed the one with the power of death.
- His servants finish the fight in His strength. The giants fell "by the hand of his servants"; in Christ we are more than conquerors.
- The seed of the enemy is crushed. The destruction of the giants echoes the promise that the serpent's seed would be crushed, fulfilled in Christ.
Questions for Reflection
- Are you faithfully at your God-appointed post, or exposed to temptation by idleness?
- Do you rest in the grace that, in Christ, blots out even the sins of the faithful?
- Do you fight your giants in the strength of the King, rather than in your own power?
- What "giant" is defying God in your life, and will you face it trusting that greater is He that is in you?
- Do you take courage that the decisive victory over the great enemy has already been won by the Son of David?
References
- Scripture: 1 Chronicles 20:1-8, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Genesis 3:15; 2 Samuel 11:1; Psalm 103:12; Proverbs 19:15; Matthew 26:41; Romans 8:37; 12:11; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 4:4.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for yashav and ha-rapha; background on the siege of Rabbah and the giants of Gath.