And they made war with the Hagarites ,.... Before mentioned, 1 Chronicles 5:19 . with Jetur, and Nephish : with the posterity of these men, who were sons of Ishmael, Genesis 25:15 and so was Nodab; perhaps the same with Kedemah, mentioned along with the other two there; so Hillerus F26 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 554. thinks. read more
And they were helped against them ,.... The Israelites were helped against the Ishmaelites, to fight with them, and overcome them; either by their brethren of the house of Israel, as the Targum, those on this side Jordan; or rather by the Lord, to whom they cried, and who was entreated by them as follows: and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them ; they and their confederates and auxiliaries, the Ituraeans, &c.; for they cried to God in the... read more
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 were fit to travel with in those hot and desert countries, being strong to carry burdens, and able to bear much thirst. The Arabians, as Diodorus Siculus F1 Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 137. & l. 3. p. 178. Vid. Plin. l. 8. c. l8. reports, brought up camels, for almost all the uses of life;... read more
For there fell down many slain ,.... Many were killed in the battle, besides the great number of prisoners made, so that the army the Ishmaelites brought into the field was very great: because the war was of God ; or from the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; he stirred up the Israelites to it, directed, assisted, and succeeded them, that vengeance might be taken on this wicked and idolatrous people: and they dwelt in their stead until the captivity ; the Targum adds, of Sennacherib... read more
They made war with the Hagarites - This is probably the same war that is mentioned 1 Chronicles 5:10 . Those called Hagarites in the text are everywhere denominated by the Targum הונגראיי Hongaraai , Hongarites. read more
They put their trust in him - Or, as the Targum says, "Because they trusted במימריה bemeymriah , in his Word." read more
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 . read more
For there fell down many slain - The hundred thousand men mentioned above were probably made slaves, and were not slain. The Targum says, one hundred thousand souls of men. The war was of God - The Targum says, the war was דיי מימרא מן min meymera dayai , "from the Word of the Lord." read more
These verses appear to be the fuller development of the war in Saul's time, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:10 —the account apparently there delayed till the genealogy of the tribe of Gad had been given, and which still seems premature till the contents of 1 Chronicles 5:23 and 1 Chronicles 5:24 should have been given. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 5:18-26
The heads of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that were seated on the other side Jordan, are named here, 1 Chron. 5:23, 24. Their lot, at first, was Bashan only; but afterwards they increased so much in wealth and power that they spread far north, even unto Hermon. Two things only are here recorded concerning these tribes on the other side Jordan, in which they were all concerned. They all shared, I. In a glorious victory over the Hagarites, so the Ishmaelites were now called, to remind them that... read more