Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 12:2
they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records the arrival of warriors at Ziklag to join David while he was still fleeing from Saul. These men were Benjamite kinsmen of Saul who specialized in ambidextrous combat.
The words — The text describes them as נֹשְׁקֵי קֶשֶׁת (nōšəqê qešeṯ), meaning "those equipped with bows," who used both right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows. This phrasing highlights their specialized martial training rather than mere equipment.
The thread — Ambidextrous Benjamite warriors appear in Judges 20:16 as 700 left-handers who could sling a stone at a hair, and Ehud is noted as a left-handed Benjamite in Judges 3:15. David’s own use of a sling against Goliath is recorded in 1 Samuel 17:49.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that loyalty to David transcended tribal allegiance, as Saul’s own kinsmen joined him with specialized combat skills. It requires the reader to account for how God mobilizes specific, often overlooked, human capabilities for His purposes.
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
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
Cross-references
- Judges 3:15 And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
- Judges 20:16 Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
- 1 Samuel 17:49 Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
- 1 Chronicles 12:29 From Benjamin, the kinsmen of Saul: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time.