the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 6And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot; and he also was born unto the [1]giant. 7And when he [2]defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him. 8These were born unto the [1]giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
emendation in substituting the brother of Goliath for Goliath himself, since, according to 1 Sam. xvii., Goliath was slain by David before he became king.
slew Lahmi] read the Beth-lehemite slew, etc.
6. a man of great stature] In 2 Sam. xxi. 20 (Heb.) a man of contention, i.e. a challenger or champion.
7. Shimea] See iii. 5, note.
8. These were born unto the giant in Gath] Again "giant" is the Heb. "Rapha" as in vv. 4, 6. The meaning is that these belonged to a branch of the Rephaim which was settled in Gath.
Ch. XXI. 1—27 (= 2 Sam. xxiv. 1—25).
The Numbering and the Plague.
Comparison of these verses with the account given in Sam. discloses not a few interesting divergences, the more important of which are pointed out in the notes below (see especially the notes on vv. 1, 6, 25). In general it may be said that the account in Chron. curtails any features reflecting discredit on David and expands such as do him honour. Some scholars consider that the changes are of such a character that they may all be due directly to the Chronicler, but others see in them motives so various as to suggest the opinion that the Chronicler's source is not Sam. but an intermediate source. There may be a measure of truth in both contentions. So famous a tale may well have been recounted with modifications in the telling to suit the later idealisation of David. The Chronicler may therefore have been working from the text of Sam., but some of the changes he introduced may have been generally current, and for these he is in a sense not immediately responsible, although of course all were more or less in accordance with his taste.
The subject of the present section (David's numbering of the people and the plague which followed) is interesting in itself, quite apart from the comparison with Sam. Why was the census considered a sin? Various replies may be made. (1) Because the pride of David and the ambitions
