1 Chronicles 20: David's Wars and the Giants Fall

Short answer: The chapter recounts Joab's siege and overthrow of Rabbah while David remains in Jerusalem, followed by David's harsh treatment of the Ammonite cities. It then lists three Philistine giants defeated by David's servants in later wars.

What 1 Chronicles 20 says

The chapter opens at the turn of the year, the season when kings normally lead their armies to war. Instead, Joab takes command and devastates Ammon, besieging Rabbah while David stays in Jerusalem. Joab strikes the city and overthrows it. The text gives no reason for David's absence from the field, only the plain fact of it. The crown of the Ammonite king is taken from his head and placed on David's, and it is described as weighing a talent of gold and set with precious stones. David also brings out a great amount of plunder from the city. The opening verses set the tone for the chapter: victory belongs to Israel, but the king's place in the story is not where we might expect.

Verses 3 and 4 turn from the Ammonite campaign to the treatment of the people in the captured cities. The text says David brought out the people and had them cut with saws, iron picks, and axes, and that he did this to all the cities of Ammon. Then David and all the people return to Jerusalem. The narrative does not pause to explain or soften this. It simply records what was done. This is one of the hardest lines in the chapter, and it stands without commentary. After the return, war arises again, this time at Gezer with the Philistines. Sibbecai the Hushathite kills Sippai, one of the sons of the giant, and the Philistines are subdued. The chapter moves quickly from one conflict to the next, showing that the wars did not end with Ammon.

Verses 5 through 7 narrow the focus to individual combatants. In another war with the Philistines, Elhanan the son of Jair kills Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam. Then at Gath there is a man of great stature with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot, also born to the giant. When he defies Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, kills him. The details are specific and strange: the weapon measurement, the extra digits, the taunt. The text does not present these as random oddities but as real threats met by named men. Each victory is credited to a servant of David, not to David alone.

Verse 8 closes the chapter with a summary: these were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. The verse ties the individual kills back to David, even though the actual blows came from Sibbecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan. The chapter ends where it began, with David's reign secure and his enemies subdued, but the path there runs through siege, harsh treatment, and hand to hand combat. The final line also quietly widens the victory: it is not one champion but a company of servants who bring the giants down. The chapter leaves the reader with a picture of a kingdom defended by many hands under one king.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “At the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, Joab led out the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Joab struck Rabbah, and overthrew it.” (1 Chronicles 20:1) — This verse sets the entire chapter in motion by naming the season, the commander, and the city, while noting David's absence from the field. It frames the victories that follow as happening while the king stays behind.
• “David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. It was set on David’s head, and he brought very much plunder out of the city.” (1 Chronicles 20:2) — The taking of the crown and the great plunder mark the completeness of the Ammonite defeat. The weight and stones are concrete details that show the value of what was taken.
• “Again there was war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.” (1 Chronicles 20:5) — This verse names Elhanan and identifies his opponent as the brother of Goliath, linking this later battle to an earlier famous conflict. The spear measurement echoes the description of Goliath's weapon.
• “These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” (1 Chronicles 20:8) — The summary verse attributes the defeats of the giants both to David and to his servants, showing that the king's victories were shared by those who fought under him.

Gospel connection

This chapter shows a kingdom advancing through conflict and a king whose servants strike down enemies too strong for ordinary soldiers. The giants of Gath fall, but not by David's hand alone; his servants share the victory. That pattern points forward to a greater King whose triumph is won for his people and then shared with them. The harsh treatment of the Ammonite cities also reminds us that the Bible does not hide the violence of Israel's wars, and it makes us long for the peace that only comes when every enemy is finally put down. The crown taken at Rabbah and set on David's head is a small picture of the crown that belongs to the Son of David, who rules not by crushing captives but by bearing the curse himself. The chapter's many-handed victory anticipates a kingdom where the weak are not devoured and where the defeated are not mocked, because the King himself has entered the battle.

Application

Readers of this chapter are asked to hold two things together. First, the work of God's kingdom is often carried by people whose names we barely know. Sibbecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan are not the headline figures, yet the text credits them with real victories. If you are serving in a hidden place, this chapter does not despise you. Second, the chapter does not ask us to celebrate cruelty. The treatment of the Ammonite cities is recorded, not commended, and it should make us honest about the violence that marks human history and our own hearts. The practical call is to fight the battles set before you with the means God gives, to honor those who fight alongside you, and to refuse the temptation to make a name for yourself by crushing others. The giants fall, but the kingdom is not built on their humiliation; it is built on the faithfulness of many servants under one King.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not tell us why David stayed in Jerusalem, nor does it record any word from God about the Ammonite campaign or the treatment of the cities. It does not name the Ammonite king whose crown was taken, nor does it explain the exact meaning of the cutting tools mentioned in verse 3. It does not say whether the giants of Gath were literal descendants of a single ancestor or simply a group described by that term. It does not give the years of these wars or their order beyond the phrases after this and again. It does not claim that David personally killed every giant, since verse 8 credits both David and his servants. It also does not moralize about the violence; it simply reports what was done. Readers should be careful not to add motives, speeches, or divine commands that the text does not supply.

Questions for study

1. What difference does it make that David stayed in Jerusalem while Joab led the army, and how does the chapter present that choice?
2. The chapter records the harsh treatment of the Ammonite cities without comment. How should readers today handle passages that describe violence without explaining it?
3. Sibbecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan are named as the ones who killed the giants. What does this suggest about how God's victories are usually won?
4. Verse 8 says the giants fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. Why might the writer include both?
5. What do the details about the giants, such as the spear and the extra fingers and toes, add to the story?

Keep reading

Related studies: 1 Chronicles 1 Bible Study, 1 Chronicles 10 Bible Study, 1 Chronicles 11 Bible Study, 1 Chronicles 12 Bible Study.

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FAQ

Who killed the giants in this chapter?

Sibbecai killed Sippai, Elhanan killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath, and Jonathan the son of Shimea killed the man with twenty-four fingers and toes. Verse 8 summarizes that they fell by the hand of David and his servants.

Why was David not with the army at Rabbah?

The text does not say. It only states that Joab led the army and besieged Rabbah while David stayed at Jerusalem.

What happened to the crown of the Ammonite king?

It was taken from his head and set on David's head. It weighed a talent of gold and had precious stones in it.