Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 12:15
These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator identifies Gadite warriors crossing the Jordan to join David during the first month. This arrival occurs precisely when the river is at peak flood stage, preceding the gathering of additional Benjamite and Judahite forces.
The words — עָבְרוּ ('a.ve.Ru) literally means "they passed over," and הָ/רִאשׁוֹן (ha./ri.Shon) specifies "the first" month. These terms fix the event to a specific seasonal crossing rather than a generic migration.
The thread — The overflowing Jordan motif recurs in Joshua 3:15 and Joshua 4:18 during the conquest narratives. This chronological marker links David’s military consolidation to the earlier territorial settlement.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that David’s coalition formed during an impassable natural barrier. The seasonal flooding dictates the timeline of Israel’s political and military unification.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.
Cross-references
- Joshua 3:15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
- Joshua 4:18 When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before.
- Jeremiah 12:5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
- Jeremiah 49:19 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”