²³When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul, as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows:

²⁴Judah: 6,800 well-equipped men, armed with shields and spears;

²⁵Simeon: 7,100 well-trained men;

²⁶Levi: 4,600 men;

²⁷Followers of Jehoiada, descendant of Aaron: 3,700 men;

²⁸Relatives of Zadok, an able young fighter: 22 leading men;

²⁹Benjamin (Saul’s own tribe): 3,000 men (most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul);

³⁰Ephraim: 20,800 men famous in their own clans;

³¹West Manasseh: 18,000 men chosen to go and make David king;

³²Issachar: 200 leaders, together with the men under their command (these leaders knew what Israel should do and the best time to do it);

³³Zebulun: 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight, trained to use all kinds of weapons;

³⁴Naphtali: 1,000 leaders, together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears;

³⁵Dan: 28,600 trained men;

³⁶Asher: 40,000 men ready for battle;

³⁷Tribes east of the Jordan—Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: 120,000 men trained to use all kinds of weapons.

³⁸All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. ³⁹They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which other Israelites had prepared for them. ⁴⁰From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country.

Read in Logos