1 Tawarikh 13:1

Uzzah Meets Disaster

13:1 David consulted with his military officers, including those who led groups of a thousand and those who led groups of a hundred. ¹ 

Keluaran 18:25

18:25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Ulangan 1:15

1:15 So I chose ²  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.

Ulangan 1:1

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ³  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ⁴  in the Transjordanian ⁵  wastelands, the arid country opposite ⁶  Suph, ⁷  between ⁸  Paran ⁹  and Tophel, ¹⁰  Laban, ¹¹  Hazeroth, ¹²  and Di Zahab ¹³ 

1 Samuel 8:12

8:12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, ¹⁴  as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment.

Mikha 5:2

A King Will Come and a Remnant Will Prosper

5:2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ¹⁵ 

seemingly insignificant ¹⁶  among the clans of Judah –

from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, ¹⁷ 

one whose origins ¹⁸  are in the distant past. ¹⁹ 

[13:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and David consulted with the officers of thousands and hundreds, to every ruler.”

[1:15]  ² tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “These are the words.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan.

[1:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁷ sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”

[1:1]  ⁹ sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

[1:1]  ¹⁰ sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

[1:1]  ¹¹ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

[1:1]  ¹² sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.

[1:1]  ¹³ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.

[8:12]  ¹⁴ tc The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For “fifties” the LXX has “hundreds.” The Syriac Peshitta has “heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens,” perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.

[5:2]  ¹⁵ sn Ephrathah is either an alternate name for Bethlehem or the name of the district in which Bethlehem was located. See Ruth 4:11.

[5:2]  map For location of Bethlehem see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[5:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “being small.” Some omit לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “being”) because it fits awkwardly and appears again in the next line.

[5:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from you for me one will go out to be a ruler over Israel.”

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his goings out.” The term may refer to the ruler’s origins (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) or to his activities.

[5:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “from the past, from the days of antiquity.” Elsewhere both phrases refer to the early periods in the history of the world or of the nation of Israel. For מִקֶּדֶם (miqqedem, “from the past”) see Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10. For מִימֵי עוֹלָם (mimey ’olam, “from the days of antiquity”) see Isa 63:9, 11; Amos 9:11; Mic 7:14; Mal 3:4. In Neh 12:46 and Amos 9:11 the Davidic era is in view.

[5:2]  sn In riddle-like fashion this verse alludes to David, as the references to Bethlehem and to his ancient origins/activities indicate. The passage anticipates the second coming of the great king to usher in a new era of national glory for Israel. Other prophets are more direct and name this coming ideal ruler “David” (Jer 30:9; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos 3:5). Of course, this prophecy of “David’s” second coming is actually fulfilled through his descendant, the Messiah, who will rule in the spirit and power of his famous ancestor and bring to realization the Davidic royal ideal in an even greater way than the historical David (see Isa 11:1, 10; Jer 33:15).