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Tuesday, July 15th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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The NET Bible®

1 Chronicles 12:2

They were armed with bows and could shoot arrows or sling stones right or left-handed. They were fellow tribesmen of Saul from Benjamin.) These were:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Archery;   Benjamin;   David;   Stones;   Thompson Chain Reference - Warriors;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies;   Benjamin, Tribe of;   Bow, the;   Hands, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Bow;   Sling;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Weapons;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Armour;   Benjamin;   Bow;   Chronicles, Books of;   Games;   Jonathan;   Sling;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Arms;   Benjamin;   David;   Ismaiah;   Jehu;   Jeziel;   Joash;   Jonathan;   Sling;   Ziklag;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ahiezer;   Arms and Armor;   Gederah;   Korah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ahiezer;   Beracah;   Chronicles, I;   Stone;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Boyhood ;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Gederathite ;   Ziklag ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Benjamin;   Ziklag;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ben'jamin, the Tribe of;   Jon'athan,;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Left (hand);   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Arms;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Benjamin;   David;   Lefthanded;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ambidexter;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Archer, Archery;   Athletes, Athletics, and Field-Sports;   Benjamin;   Jacob, Blessing of;   Jonathan, Jehonathan;   Right and Left;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They were archers who could use either the right or left hand, both to sling stones and shoot arrows from a bow. They were Saul’s relatives from Benjamin:
Hebrew Names Version
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Sha'ul's brothers of Binyamin.
King James Version
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
English Standard Version
They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kinsmen.
New Century Version
They came with bows for weapons and could use either their right or left hands to shoot arrows or to sling rocks. They were Saul's relatives from the tribe of Benjamin.
Amplified Bible
They were armed with bows, and could use the right hand or the left to sling stones and shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul's relatives from [the tribe of] Benjamin.
New American Standard Bible
They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and shoot arrows with the bow; they were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.
World English Bible
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul's brothers of Benjamin.
Geneva Bible (1587)
They were weaponed with bowes, & could vse the right and the left hand with stones and with arrowes and with bowes, and were of Sauls brethren, euen of Beniamin.
Legacy Standard Bible
They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul's relatives from Benjamin.
Berean Standard Bible
they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin):
Contemporary English Version

Warriors from the Benjamin tribe

Several of these warriors were from King Saul's own tribe of Benjamin. They were experts at using a bow and arrows, and they could shoot an arrow or sling a stone with either hand.
Complete Jewish Bible
They were archers who could use either hand to sling stones or shoot arrows from a bow; they were Sha'ul's kinsmen from Binyamin.
Darby Translation
armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left with stones and with arrows on the bow; [they were] of Saul's brethren of Benjamin:
Easy-to-Read Version
They could shoot arrows from their bows with either their right or left hand. They could also throw stones from their slings with either their right or left hand. They were Saul's relatives from the tribe of Benjamin. They were
George Lamsa Translation
They held the bows with their left hand and the swords with their right, and their bows were filled with arrows, but David was unwilling to slay Saul, because he was the chief, the prince of the tribe of Benjamin.
Good News Translation
members of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged. They could shoot arrows and sling stones either right-handed or left-handed.
Lexham English Bible
They were armed with the bow, able to shoot right-handed or left-handed, slinging stones or shooting arrows with the bow; they were kinsmen of Saul from Benjamin.
Literal Translation
right and left-handed, armed with bows, with stones, and with arrows, with the bow from the brothers of Saul, of Benjamin.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and coulde handle bowes with both their handes, & coulde cast stones, and shute arowes with the bowe. Of Sauls brethren which were of Ben Iamin:
American Standard Version
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
Bible in Basic English
They were armed with bows, and were able to send stones, and arrows from the bow, with right hand or left: they were Saul's brothers, of Benjamin.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
They were weaponed with bowes, and could hurle stones with the right hand and with the left, and shoote arrowes out of a bowe, & were of Sauls brethren, euen of Beniamin.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow; they were of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
King James Version (1611)
They were armed with bowes, and could vse both the right hand and the left, in hurling stones, and shooting arrowes out of a bow, euen of Sauls brethren of Beniamin.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and using the bow with the right hand and with the left, and slingers with stones, and shooters with bows. Of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin,
English Revised Version
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow; they were of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
beendynge bouwe, and castynge stoonys with slyngis with euer either hond, and dressynge arowis; of the britheren of Saul of Beniamyn,
Update Bible Version
They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow: they were of Saul's brothers of Benjamin.
Webster's Bible Translation
[They were] armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in [hurling] stones, and [shooting] arrows from a bow, [even] of Saul's brethren of Benjamin.
New King James Version
armed with bows, using both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows with the bow. They were of Benjamin, Saul's brethren.
New Living Translation
All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.
New Life Bible
They fought with the bow. They could also throw stones or shoot arrows with both the right and left hand. They were Saul's brothers from Benjamin.
New Revised Standard
They were archers, and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right hand or the left; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kindred.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
armed with the bow, using right hand or left with stones, and with arrows in the bow, - of the brethren of Saul, out of Benjamin:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Bending the bow, and using either hand in hurling stones with slings, and shooting arrows: of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin.
Revised Standard Version
They were bowmen, and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kinsmen.
Young's Literal Translation
armed with bow, right and left handed, with stones, and with arrows, with bows, of the brethren of Saul, of Benjamin.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.

Contextual Overview

1 These were the men who joined David in Ziklag, when he was banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish. (They were among the warriors who assisted him in battle. 2 They were armed with bows and could shoot arrows or sling stones right or left-handed. They were fellow tribesmen of Saul from Benjamin.) These were: 3 Ahiezer, the leader, and Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Berachah, Jehu the Anathothite, 4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, one of the thirty warriors and their leader, Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite, 5 Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite, 6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, who were Korahites, 7 and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham from Gedor. 8 Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills. 9 Ezer was the leader, Obadiah the second in command, Eliab the third, 10 Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

could use: Judges 3:15, Judges 20:16

in hurling: 1 Samuel 17:49

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 20:10 - in Joab's 1 Chronicles 8:40 - archers 1 Chronicles 12:16 - the children 1 Chronicles 12:29 - kindred

Cross-References

Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly I must curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name."
Genesis 12:4
So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him to do, and Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.)
Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
Genesis 12:8
Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord .
Genesis 12:9
Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.
Genesis 12:10
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.
Genesis 12:14
When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
Genesis 12:16
and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
Genesis 12:17
But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
Genesis 12:18
So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They were armed with bows,.... Much used in war in those times:

and could use both the right hand and the left, in hurling stones, and shooting arrows out of a bow; they were ambidextrous; who could sling stones, or shoot arrows, with either, which was no small advantage to them:

even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin; they were of the tribe of Benjamin, of which Saul was, and so his brethren; and they might be, at least some of them, his relations and kinsmen; who observing the unreasonableness of Saul's enmity to David, and detesting his cruelty, and sensible of the innocence of David, and of the service he had done his country; and perhaps not being ignorant of his divine right and title to the kingdom, went over to him, to comfort, strengthen, and assist him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The skill of the Benjamites as archers is noted in 1 Chronicles 8:40, and 2 Chronicles 14:8. Their proficiency in using the left hand appears in the narrative of Judges (Judges 3:15, and marginal reference) where their special excellency as slingers is also noticed.

Even of Saul’s brethren - Compare 1 Chronicles 12:29. Even of Saul’s own tribe there were some who separated themselves from his cause, and threw in their lot with David.


 
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