1 Chronicles 5:21

And they took away their cattle,.... Which they brought with them, and they found in their camp when they fled, or in their fields: of their camels fifty thousand; with which Arabia abounded, and

And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

Of their camels fifty thousand; for camels were very numerous in Arabia, being used in war, and for burdens, &c., and being very patient of thirst, and therefore most fit for those hot and dry countries. Of men an hundred thousand; whom they took prisoners, and either used as slaves, or sold them for such.

1 Chronicles 5:21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.Ver. 21. Of their camels, fifty thousand.] These creatures were much set by in those eastern parts; as for their usefulness to bear great burdens, so for their unthirstiness, for they will travel three or four days together and not care to drink. Implentur cameli, cum bibendi est occasio, et in praeteritum, et in futurum, saith Pliny They drink when they do, both for the time past and for the time to come. And of sheep.] Good et ad esum, et ad usum. And of asses two thousand.] Little set by, and therefore a less number. Lib. viii. cap. 18.

(18-22) A war of conquest between the three tribes east of Jordan, and their Arab neighbours. The date is not given. (18) Of valiant men.—“All that were valiant men, bearing shield and sword, and drawing bow, and-trained in warfare, were 44,760, going out in the host” Comp. what is said in 1 Chronicles 12:8; 1 Chronicles 12:21, of the Gadites and Manassites, who joined fortunes with David. The number of the warriors of the three tribes nearly corresponds to the number (40,000) assigned in Joshua 4:13. It evidently rests upon some official census, of which the chronicler had the record or among his authorities. The data of the Pentateuch (Numbers 1, 26) are quite different, (19) Hagarites.—See 1 Chronicles 5:10. Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.—In 1 Chronicles 1:31, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah are the last three of the twelve tribes of Ishmael. As Nodab is mentioned nowhere else, the word may be a corruption of Kedemah, or rather Kedem. The first two letters might have been mistaken for h, the d is common to both words, and b and m are often confused in Hebrew writing. Jetur is the original of the classical name Ituraea, the modern El-Jedur.(20) And they were helped against them.—The same word recurs in 1 Chronicles 15:26 : “And when God helped the Levites that bare the Ark.” In both places strictly natural events are regarded as providential. Here the Divine hand is recognised as controlling the issues of an invasion; there as permitting the Ark to be successfully removed from its temporary resting place. For they cried to God in the battle.—No doubt the Arab warriors also cried to their gods in the fierce struggle for life; and their faith, such as it was, gave them strength for the battle. (Comp. Psalms 18:3-6 and Psalms 18:41.) The whole sentence to the end of the verse looks like a reason added to the narrative by the chronicler himself. (21) And they took away their cattle.—The numbers are large, but not at all incredible. Flocks and herds naturally constituted the chief wealth of these nomade tribes. Comp. the annual tribute in kind paid by Mesha, king of Moab, to Ahab of Israel (2 Kings 3:4): “a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams in fleeces.” Sheep.—The Heb. word denotes both sheep and goats; pecora.Of men an hundred thousand.—And persons (soul of man, a collective expression) a hundred thousand. In Numbers 31:32-35 the booty taken from Midian is far greater, but only 32,000 virgins were saved from the general slaughter of the vanquished. The number here may be corrupt, but we do not know enough about the numerical strength of the Arabian peoples to be able to decide. The captives would be valuable as slaves. Sennacherib boasts that he took 200,150 persons “small and great, male and female,” from the cities of Judah. (22) There fell down many slain.—Hence the richness of the plunder. The warriors of the Arabian allies were probably exterminated. The war was of God.—Comp. 2 Chronicles 25:20.

Verse 21. They took away their cattle] This was a war of extermination as to the political state of the people, which nothing could justify but an especial direction of God; and this he could never give against any, unless the cup of their iniquity had been full. The Hagarites were full of idolatry: see 1 Chronicles 5:25.

21. Camels fifty thousand — The booty taken in this war seems almost incredible; but when we compare the immense wealth in flocks and herds of a single Bedouin chief like Job, (Job 1:3,) or Mesha, (2