So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; who came and pitched before Medeba. And the children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.

1 CHRONICLES 19:7KJV
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1 Chronicles 19:7 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 19:7 mean?

1 Chronicles 19:7 describes the Ammonites preparing for war with a hired force and the support of the king of Maachah. The verse shows two movements toward battle: the hired forces set up camp near Medeba, while the Ammonites gather from their own cities.

After the Ammonites hired forces in verse 6, the account pictures them assembling in the field. “Pitched before Medeba” means that the arriving force made camp facing or near the city. “Children of Ammon” means the Ammonite people, not only their children.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 19:7

  • “chariots” — רֶכֶב (rekhev): The word can refer to chariots or to a chariot force. In this setting, the number describes a military force hired for war, rather than the Ammonites gathering from their cities.
  • “pitched” — חָנָה (ḥanah): The word means to camp or set up camp. It pictures the force taking a position near Medeba before the fighting described later.

Why 1 Chronicles 19:7 matters

  • The camp at Medeba marks one gathering point, while the Ammonites also assemble from “their cities.” The verse distinguishes the arriving hired force from the people called together locally.
  • Maachah contributes a king and his people alongside the hired chariots. The coming battle involves more than a meeting between David’s forces and the Ammonites alone.
  • The gathering sets the scene for the two battle fronts in verse 9. Joab later sees forces positioned both in front of and behind him.

Where else these words appear

“Medeba” Hebrew H4311 · used in 5 verses

  • Numbers 21:30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.
  • Joshua 13:9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;
  • Joshua 13:16 And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;

“hired” Hebrew H7936 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
  • 2 Samuel 10:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.
  • Nehemiah 6:12 And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

“Maachah” Hebrew H4601 · used in 23 verses

  • Genesis 22:24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
  • 1 Kings 15:10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
  • 1 Chronicles 9:35 And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife's name was Maachah:

“Ammon” Hebrew H5983 · used in 98 verses

  • Genesis 19:38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
  • Judges 11:36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
  • 1 Chronicles 19:11 And the rest of the people he delivered unto the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon.