I ntroduction: Just as 1Chron. 13 was a close parallel to 2Sam. 6, so 1Chron. 14 is almost identical to 2Sam. 5 (specifically, to 2Sam. 5:11–25). Now, I found out a great many more things when I studied 1Chron. 13 immediately after 2Sam. 6, even though much of the text was identical. I am assuming that, if I am on my game, that the same will be true of this chapter.

As is my wont to do, here is another outline:

Clarke’s Outline of 1Chronicles 14

1. Hiram sends artificers and materials to David, to build him a house (1Chron. 14–2).

2. David’s wives and children (1Chron. 14:3–7).

3. He defeats the Philistines in two battles:

a. In the valley of Rephaim (1Chron. 14:8–12)

b. The other at Gibeon and Gazer (1Chron. 14:13–16)

4. His fame goes out into all the surrounding nations (1Chron. 14:17).

From Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; from e-Sword, 1Chron. 14 Introduction.

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The way that I am beginning this is, I have copied all of the 2Sam. 5 exegesis into this document, and I will heavily edit and fix whatever is different in the specific exegesis. Some of the commentary will be identical; some of the charts, short doctrines and will also be identical. However, as I study this chapter, a great deal of new information will be added.

My personal opinion is, the writer of Chronicles had a copy of Samuel to work from, as well as some additional ancient manuscripts. The text throughout this chapter and 2Sam. 5 is just too close to be a matter of accident. One might say, well aren’t these words inspired by God the Holy Spirit? And they are, but that is not why they are so similar. Some portions of Scripture are dictated: much of Exodus–Numbers is dictated directly from God to Moses, and it is carefully noted as such. However, most of Deuteronomy are the words of Moses; Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel and Kings are primarily historical narratives where there is no indication that God dictated the words found therein. Each book of the Bible has a distinct literary style. John’s writings are very simple and the first year Greek student can translate most of John’s gospel and letters. However, one gets a closer examination of certain Apostles in John’s gospel than in any of the other 3 gospels. Paul’s writings are more involved, and he may carry logical thought streams through several verses and, at times, through several chapters. Luke tends to be very precise and chronological. These various books have different styles because they were written by different men. They are inspired by God the Holy Spirit, but each book is fully the words of these men and fully the words of God. There is an exact parallel in Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God. He is fully man and fully God, in One Person forever. My point in this is, the similarity between this chapter of Chronicles and 2Sam. 5 is not simply a matter of being inspired by God the Holy Spirit. That fact does not require the human styles or vocabularies to be identical. Therefore, it is more reasonable that the writer of Chronicles used the Samuel text in preparing his own work (along with other ancients texts, long lost to us).

We use similar reasoning when it comes to the recording of certain events. Of course, we could at any time, say, “Well, Moses prophetically wrote about his death (Deut. 34); or Samuel through God the Holy Spirit was able to observe Jonathan’s victory over the Philistines (1Sam. 14)” but that is stretching the function of God the Holy Spirit into a different realm of supernatural influence. Nowhere in Scripture, when an incident is recorded, do we have any indication that the writer was not there and somehow saw this in a vision or in a dream. Now, there are a number of times in Scripture when the means of God’s conveyance of knowledge is not specified; but there are enough times when it is specified, that we can at least make a reasonable guess. My point is, people record the most accurate narratives when they actually observe the events firsthand. We may reasonable assume that this describes the writings of Moses, Joshua, Matthew and John. We may reasonably assume that there are instances when the writer of Scripture obtained his information from a firsthand source. Luke is a good example of this; he accompanied Paul on some missionary journeys, and was a firsthand observer of those events. However, he also came into contact with a number of other believers during his tenure with Paul who observed the events of the gospels and of Acts, and from their testimonies (and quite possibly from the writings of Matthew and Mark), Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts. Furthermore, Luke testifies to this at the beginning of both of his books. He does not present himself as an eyewitness, but as a historian who researched these events, living at a time when eyewitnesses were alive and willing to share what they observed.

The point I am trying to make is, when it comes to the authorship of this or that chapter, or this or that book, we should gravitate to the means and to the author which make the most sense, based upon the contents of the book. In this case, we have a chapter which, in parts, is almost word-for-word identical to 2Sam. 5:11–25. The most logical explanation of this is, the writer of Chronicles (who composed his book even as late as 580 b.c.), had at his disposal, the works of Samuel. The writer of Chronicles was not an eyewitness to most of the events of Chronicles; therefore, he had to get his material from somewhere. Since there is really no precedent for a narrative to be dictated by God the Holy Spirit to a writer of Scripture, we must look to the most logical human explanation, which is, the writer of Chronicles is principally an editor, and his work is based upon other writings which existed at his time—most of which were written as eyewitness or 2^nd hand reports of the historical events covered.

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Let’s take this in points:

The Authorship of the Book of Chronicles

1. Chronicles has genealogies which go back to Adam, and covers historical events which take us to the dispersion of the southern kingdom (586 b.c.) to the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia (538 b.c.). This is a period of 3000 years or more. Since no one in Scripture has a lifespan of the length, and since only Noah and his immediate family survived the flood, we must assume that the author of Chronicles was not an eyewitness to all events recorded in Chronicles.

2. There were several books which existed prior to the incarnation of our Lord: in fact, the writer of Chronicles tells us about some of them: Now, the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in The Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, in The Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and in The Chronicles of Gad the Seer (I Chron. 29:29). I covered this doctrine back in Joshua 10 (the Lost Books of Scripture).

3. Therefore, it is most reasonable to assume that the writer of Chronicles (if there was only one writer) lived around 538 b.c. and that he has several reference books which he used to assemble the history and genealogies found in Chronicles.

4. We have no reason to believe that this writer went into some weird trance and wrote as God the Holy Spirit directed him to write, as in some form of dictation. Although Moses is dictated to in portions of the books of Moses, it is very clear that Moses appears to be in possession of his faculties when he records God’s words.

5. Given that the writer of chronicles alludes to several books in existence at his time, books which carry more information than his book carries, and given that we have no precedence for the automatic writing of Scripture, and given that this, and several other chapters of Chronicles is almost identical to chapters in Samuel, it is reasonable to assume that the author if Chronicles functions more like an editor, taking information from books available to him at that time, and, in some cases, copying from these books word for word.

6. It is very likely that the historian Josephus functioned in much the same way; however, the Chronicles are divinely inspired and the writings of Josephus are not.

7. This also indicate to us that it is possible to be an author-editor and to still be divinely inspired.

8. The works used by the author of Chronicles were both inspired by God and, most likely, not; but the final product produced—the Book of Chronicles—is inspired by God, and historically accurate in its autographs.

Or, to summarize, the author of Chronicles function more as an editor than he did as an author.

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1Chron. 14 is almost identical to the latter half of 2Sam. 5, so why is 1Chron. 14 necessary?

Why Do we Have 1Chronicles 14 in the Bible?

1. First of all, the writer of Chronicles is presenting a divine perspective of the history of David, so that, now and again, there are going to be parallel portions of Samuel and Chronicles.

2. Although we have the entire Word of God, believers in ancient times, particularly during the Old Testament, were lucky to have any sort of access to any book (although it is clear that the Scriptures were available to be read aloud in the synagogues by what we find in the New Testament). Therefore, a person reading the Chronicles might not necessarily have access (or, easy access) to the book of Samuel. We can flip back and forth quite easily; they could not. Therefore, some things will be found in both books simply for reasons of context and narrative. We should not be so egocentric as to assume that each and every verse in Scripture has meaning for our individual lives.

3. However, it is also reasonable that we might have some reason to find this chapter in both books. One reason is the placement of this chapter. David fails when it comes to moving the Ark of God in the previous chapter. He will be successful in the next chapter. All the while, David had a relationship with God. All the while, God continued to bless him. This chapter is inserted between the two attempts to move the Ark to indicate that God has not removed His blessing from David. David failed; so what. That does not mean that God turns His back on David.

4. We are going to fail in our Christian lives; we are going to make mistakes and we are going to sin. Regularly naming our sins to God should be almost automatic. This maintains our fellowship with God. We might commit an awful sin, but this does not mean that our house is going to fall down upon us. David made a big mistake in the previous chapter—he followed the actions of the Philistines in moving the Ark of God; he did not follow the Scriptures. That is a big failure. However, God continued to bless David.

5. Bearing this in mind—that David failed to move the Ark because he follows the actions of the Philistines—in this chapter, the Philistines will attack Israel and be soundly defeated. This is another reason why David should not look to them for spiritual guidance. Herein is a reasonable application for our own lives: you do not look to the world to determine how you should act or what you should do with regards to your non-secular life. The Philistines are not simply failures; they are the enemies of God; David should have never looked at their actions when it came to determining how he should move the Ark of God.

6. This chapter, included where it is, also suggests that there are a number of ways of examining the Scriptures. One might proceed chronologically (as we have in the book of Samuel) or topically, which is more of the approach of Chronicles (although there is an eye to chronology, as the book in general is in chronological order).

7. Now, unlike the gospels, however, Chronicles is not really a second witness of these events herein recorded since the Book of Chronicles is based, in part, upon the Book of Samuel. That is, much of what we find in Samuel is a firsthand or a secondhand account of the events therein recorded. Chronicles is not the observations of a different firsthand observer (like the gospels of Matthew and John, for instance). However, this does tell us two things about the books of Samuel and Chronicles:

a. They had to be written during vastly different eras; otherwise, the book of Chronicles would make little sense to write. This would suggest that Samuel is an ancient as we believe it to be.

b. Samuel is considered to be historically accurate by the people of the ancient world—those much closer to the time of events in Samuel—as it is obviously used to produce another historical work, which apparently has no opposition to its contents. We are separated in time by 3000 years from the events of the book of Samuel. However, the writer of Chronicles was separated in time by 500 years. The writer of Chronicles boldly copies entire portions of Samuel, indicating that he has trust in its historical accuracy.

8. Chronicles does act as a second witness with respect to the accuracy of the text of Samuel. Both books are going to be preserved, sometimes together and sometimes separately. However, the fact that their texts are so close, yet not exactly the same, indicates almost a supernatural preservation of text. Let’s see if I can explain this: if the text of Samuel and Chronicles were exactly the same, it could suggest that, at some given time in recent history, scribes looked at both texts and decided to clear up the minor discrepancies and make them read exactly the same. Obviously, that never happened. Furthermore, if you ever do any writing, and you quote from another source, you will find yourself occasionally adjusting the text of the source you are quoting from (which is why I often paraphrase a source). This is normal for a writer to do. Sometimes, these changes are extremely minor (as you will see throughout this chapter); however, this is what we writers do. Therefore, even though the writer of Chronicles copies from the Samuel manuscript now and again, he occasionally adjusts the text to his own style of writing, and to his own vocabulary.

God the Holy Spirit is not in the habit of including duplications in Scripture without there being a reason for these duplications.

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An important and related question is...

Why Is 1Chronicles 14 Placed Here?

1. What should be obvious are two points: (1) this does not match the probably more chronological view of 2Sam. 6, where the two Ark movements are placed together in the same chapter, as they occurred only 3 months apart; and (2) this is not a reasonable chronological presentation of these events, as David’s marriages and children had to occur over a longer period of time (quite certainly, longer than 3 months); and the other events included in this chapter—Hiram building a palace for David, two wars with the Philistines—also could not have occurred within a 3 month period of time.

2. By this time in your examination of Scripture, it should be obvious that, although chronology is a consideration for the arrangement of some books of the Bible, it is not the only consideration. If you ever pick up a Chronological Bible, it will be clear that, putting the Bible into some sort of the Chronological order makes a total mess of the order that we are used to.

3. However, chronology is certainly a factor in the composition of these various books of Scripture; Gen. 1 surely precedes in time, Gen. 10, for instance (and this is true of most books of Scripture). However, not all of Gen. 2 follows chronologically after Gen. 1. This is where we must enter into the mind of the Hebrew writer, who often takes a portion of one chapter and expands on it considerably in the next. We find this occurring on several occasions in the Bible. This is no different than Paul making a theological point, and then logically developing this point in the following chapter, using illustrations, examples and logic. Therefore, seeing a writer do this, should not confuse us. No doubt, you have seen a movie, and then, half way through this movie, we flash to a different scene, which took place 10 years ago. You don’t suddenly storm out of the theater when that occurs, demanding your money back. Same thing here: don’t be concerned that we are not moving in an exact chronological order.

4. This does allow us a peak at David’s psyche. In the next chapter, David will have figured out how the Ark is to be moved; this indicates that he has studied the Old Testament (which he has a copy of; all kings were to hand-write out a copy of the Law for themselves). Because David has this, he knows that kings are not to multiply wives to himself—he does anyway (and he dearly pays for this, by the way).

5. Even though David has failed in the previous chapter, and even though he marries more than one woman, God still blesses him, just as God had promised (which David will realize in v. 2). God blesses David in war as well, as he will have two strong victories over the Philistines in the second half of this chapter.

6. This tells us that, even though David will fail, and sometimes, spectacularly, God still blesses him and, above all, God still keeps His Word to David.

7. I think one key to this placement might be this: the writer/editor of Chronicles wants to make certain that we know David is God’s man and Jerusalem is the proper choice for the capital city of Israel. Twice, David’s establishment as rulership over Israel will be alluded to (1Chron. 14:2, 17), which is confirmed by his successful defense of this city. The point is, when David chose to move the Ark to Jerusalem, the time was right, the man was right and the place to where the Ark was going was right. Who, when and where were all right, and this chapter makes that clear. The problem with moving the Ark was how David chose to move it. If you will recall 2Sam. 5, I went into great detail about the application of this principle: you cannot copy the outside world; you cannot even copy what you read in Scripture. You obey the mandates of Scripture. Almost every cult bases its doctrine upon copying something that they read in the Bible.

8. A key to this chapter is that it is all about the city of Jerusalem (see Jerusalem is the Key to 1Chron. 14). The author/editor of Chronicles is making it clear that David is the right king and that Jerusalem is the right place to bring the Ark to.

9. Some contend that the first war with the Philistines occurs in between the two movements of the Ark, although I did not really see any compelling evidence for this (not that I disagree). However, it does seem quite unlikely that both wars with the Philistines would have occurred during that short period of time.

These points should be re-read after completing the examination of this chapter. I think that the final 2 points are the ones which most accurately explain the placement of 1Chron. 14.

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The only commentator who seemed to ask this question that I came across was Martin Selman (I read about 10 commentaries as I exegete Chronicles):

Martin Selman: Why 1Chronicles 14 is Placed Here

1. The seeking theme of 1Chron. 13 continues to play a prominent rolein this account of the Philistines wars. It is related to a wider pattern by which military victory and international recognition are regarded as benefits received as a result of seeking God [I question whether David was truly seeking God in the previous chapter, as he did not find out how to move the Ark until 1Chron. 15].

2. David’s kingship over all Israel, continued from chapters 12–13, is now confirmed (vv. 2, 8).

3. The constant focus on Jerusalem throughout chapter 14 as not only David’s conquered city (1Chron. 11:4–9), but also where David receives God’s varied blessings, marks it out as a city prepared for the Ark.

4. God’s breakout in judgment (1Chron. 13:9–12) now becomes a ‘breakout’ in blessing for Israel as well as for Obed-edom’s household (v. 11; Baal perazim means ‘lord who breaks out/through). The ark can finally proceed to Jerusalem because God’s mercy and blessing have now removed and overwhelmed the consequences of his anger (compare John 3:16–17).

5. The last verse of this chapter will indicate that there is international recognition for David as king of Israel.

6. This chapter provides a dramatic contrast between David and Saul:

1) Saul was completely defeated by the Philistines in 1Chron. 10; David is victorious.

2) Saul’s line has been cut off; David’s house is fertile (1Chron. 14:3–7).

3) David inquires of God (1Chron. 14:10, 14) whereas, Saul did not (1Chron. 10:13–14).

4) David captures and burns the Philistine gods (1Chron. 14:12); before whom Saul’s head and armour had been previously presented as trophies of war (1Chron. 10:9–10).

5) Saul’s kingdom was transferred (1Chron. 10:14), but David’s is confirmed (1Chron. 14:2, 17).¹

The final set of points is excellent. I don’t know that they show why 1Chron. 14 is placed here, but they show a coherence in the author/editor’s style and purpose which I did not see before. It makes it clear why the author/editor makes reference to specific observations, some of which are not found in Samuel (e.g., 1Chron. 10:13–14 14:17).

¹ This is taken from Martin J. Selman, I Chronicles An Introduction & Commentary; The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, D. J. Wiseman editor, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Il., ©1994, pp. 155–156; and slightly edited. On p. 158, Selman attempts to place the Philistine wars into a time line (immediately after David’s anointing ceremony), which is not out of the question; however, his arguments were not conclusive or compelling. I think we can place the first Philistine war in this time period, roughly, but I am unable to nail its location in time any more than that.

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Hiram King of Tyre Builds David a Palace

2Samuel 5:11–12

And so sends Hiram king of Tyre messengers unto David and trees of cedars and engravers of a wall and engravers of wood to build for him a house.

1Chronicles

14:1

Hiram, king of Tyre, sent messengers to David with cedar trees, wall-builders and carpenters, to build for him a [royal] residence.

Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, carpenters and masons. They built a royal residence for him.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so sends Hiram king of Tyre messengers unto David and trees of cedars and engravers of a wall and engravers of wood to build for him a house.

Septuagint And Chiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar timbers, and masons, and carpenters, to build a house for him.

Significant differences: None; the differences between this text and the Hebrew of 2Sam. 5 is slight and will be covered in the exegesis.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV King Hiram of Tyre sent some officials to David. They brought along carpenters and stone workers, and enough cedar logs to build David a palace.

NAB Hiram, king of Tyre, sent enjoys to David along with masons and carpenters, and cedar wood to build him a house.

TEV King Hiram of Tyre sent a trade mission to David; he provided him with cedar logs and with stonemasons and carpenters to build a palace.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedarwood, masons, and carpenters to build a palace for David.

HCSB King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters to build a palace for him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him.

Young's Updated LT And Huram king of Tyre sends messengers unto David, and cedar-wood, and artificers of walls, and artificers of wood, to build to him a house.

What is the gist of this verse? The king of Tyre sends a wonderful present to David: he sends David an army of carpenters and masons to build a great palace for David.

Differences between the Samuel and Chronicles text will be noted as we go along.

1Chronicles 14:1a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
shâlach (ח ַל ָש) [pronounced shaw-LAKH]	to send, to send for [forth, away], to dismiss, to deploy, to put forth, to stretch out	3^rd person masculine singular, Qal imperfect	Strong’s #7971 BDB #1018
Chîyrâm (מָרי.ח) [pronounced khee-RAWM]	noble and transliterated Hiram	masculine singular proper noun	Strong’s #2438 BDB #27
Also spelled Chîyrôwm (מרי.ח) [pronounced khee-ROHM]. I did not see a Chiriq in Owen’s text.
melek^e ( ∵ל ∵מ) [pronounced MEH-lek]	king, ruler, prince	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #4428 BDB #572
Tsôr (רֹצ) [pronounced tsohr]	rock; knife; and is transliterated Tyre or Tyrus	proper singular noun; location	Strong’s #6865 BDB #862