Thy people which Thou redeemedst to Thee from Egypt (from) the nations and their gods,” is explained in Chronicles by the interpolation of לגרשׁ: “fearful things, to drive out before Thy people, which ... nations.” The divergences cannot be explained by the hypothesis that both texts are mutilated, as is sufficiently shown by the contradictions into which Thenius and Bertheau have fallen in their attempts so to explain them.
All the remaining divergences of one text from the other are only variations of the expression, such as involuntarily arise in the endeavour to give a clear and intelligible narrative, without making a literal copy of the authority made use of. Among these we include even להתפּלּל עבדּך מצא, “Thy servant hath found to pray” (1 Chr. 1725), ), as compared with להתפּלּל את־לבּו עבדּך מצא, “Thy servant hath found his heart,” i.e., found courage, to pray (2Sa 7:28); where it is impossible to decide whether the author of the books of Samuel has added את־לבּו as an explanation, or the author of the Chronicle has omitted it because the phrase “to find his heart” occurs only in this single passage of the Old Testament. להת עבדּך מצא signifies, Thy servant has reached the point of directing this prayer to Thee.
Chap. 18
Verses 1-17
The events recorded in these three chapters are all narrated in the second book of Samuel also, and in the same order. First, there are grouped together in our 18th chapter, and in 2 Sam 8, in such a manner as to afford a general view of the whole, all the wars which David carried on victoriously against all his enemies round about in the establishment of the Israelitish rule, with a short statement of the results, followed by a catalogue of David's chief public officials. In 1 Chron 19 and in 2 Sam 10 we have a more detailed account of the arduous war against the Ammonites and Syrians, and in 1Ch 20:1-3 and 2Sa 12:26-31 the conclusion of the war with the capture of Rabbah, the capital of the Ammonites; and finally, in 1Ch 20:4-8, we have a few short accounts of the victories of the Israelitish heroes over giants from the land of the Philistines, which are inserted in 2Sa 21:18-22 as a supplement to the last section of David's history. Apart from this last section, which is to be regarded even in the
