Conclusion of the list of 1 Chronicles 12:23-37.
All these men of war. — Rather, All the above, being men of war, forming line of battle with whole heart, came to Hebron to make David king. The phrase “forming line of battle,” repeats the verb of 1 Chronicles 12:3, and supplies its proper object (‘ôdĕrê ma’drãkhah, aciem struentes). The Hebrew indicates a stop at “line of battle;” it is better to put it after “with whole heart” (comp. 1 Chronicles 12:33). “They formed in line with fearless intrepidity;” literally, corde integro.
And all the rest also of Israel, who did not appear personally at Hebron. — ” The rest (shçrîth) is a term used here only. The Hebrew says, “the remainder of Israel (was) one heart,” i.e., was unanimous. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 30:12.)
Allowing the average for Issachar, the total of the warriors assembled at Hebron was upwards of 300,000. This will not surprise us if we bear in mind that in those days every able-bodied man was, as a matter of course, trained in the use of arms, and liable to be called out for the king,s wars. Thus “man” and “warrior” were almost convertible terms. The present gathering was not a parade of the entire strength of the nation; coınp. the 600,000 warriors of the Exodus, and the 1,300,000 of David’s census. The main difficulty — that of the relative proportions of the various tribal contingents — has been considered in the preceding Notes. The suggestions there made are, of course, uncertain, the fact being that we really do not know enough of the condition of the tribes at that epoch to justify us in pronouncing upon the relative probability of the numbers here assigned to them. That being so, it is a hasty and uncritical exaggeration to say that “it is absolutely inconceivable that the tribes near the place of meeting, notably that of Judah, should have furnised so small a contingent, while the figures are raised in direct proportion to the distance to be traversed” (Reuss).