📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 19:6
What does 1 Chronicles 19:6 mean?
"When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah."
— 1 Chronicles 19:6 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven’t his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?”
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away.
Then some people went and told David how the men were treated. He sent to meet them; for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”
When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah.
So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah with his people, who came and encamped near Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.
When David heard of it, he sent Joab with all the army of the mighty men.
The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.
Explanation
This verse describes the aftermath of a diplomatic disaster. The Ammonites realize that their king Hanun's treatment of David's messengers has turned David into their enemy, and they now expect war. In response, they spend an enormous sum—one thousand talents of silver, a vast fortune—to hire foreign chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim (Mesopotamia), Aram-maacah, and Zobah, all Syrian kingdoms known for military strength. Rather than seeking peace or admitting wrongdoing, they double down by preparing for war through foreign alliances.
The background is essential to understanding this verse. David had sent envoys to comfort Hanun after the death of his father, Nahash, who had apparently shown David kindness in the past. Hanun's advisors, however, convinced him that David's men were spies sent to scout out the land for conquest. Acting on this susp
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