Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 12:4
Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the Thirty and a leader over the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records the names of men from Judah and Benjamin who defected to David at Ziklag before his coronation. This verse continues a roster of warriors who joined his military command.
The words — The text highlights גִּבּ֥וֹר (gi.Bor), literally a mighty man, and בַּ/שְּׁלֹשִׁ֖ים (ba./she.lo.Shim), meaning among the thirty. These terms designate Ishmaiah’s elite status and command authority within David’s specialized fighting unit.
The thread — The designation Gibeonite connects to the treaty city recorded in Joshua 9:3 and Joshua 9:17, while the Gederathite lineage links to the town listed in Joshua 15:36. These geographic markers trace the warriors’ ancestral origins across earlier conquest narratives.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that David’s elite force was built from men of distinct regional and tribal backgrounds. It requires the reader to note how historical boundaries are subordinated to a single military command.
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
And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite,
Cross-references
- Joshua 9:3 But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- Joshua 15:36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—fourteen cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 9:17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
- 1 Chronicles 11:15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.