18–22.
The War of the Trans-Jordanic Tribes against Arabian Tribes.
¹⁸The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were forty and four thousand seven hundred and threescore, that were able to go forth to war.
18. skilful in war] compare xii. 8, 21.
forty and four thousand] According to Joshua iv. 13 “about forty thousand” from these tribes crossed the Jordan with Joshua.
¹⁹And they made war with the Hagrites, with Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab.
19. made war with the Hagrites...] Possibly this war described in verses 18–22 is only a midrashic variation of the war briefly noted in verse 10; possibly we have traditions of separate conflicts. That fighting against Arabian tribes took place in the time of Saul (verse 10) is quite probable, and perhaps there is here a definite recollection of the fact. Yet conflicts on the eastern borders were no doubt frequent, and the ancient fights may have been overlaid with the memories and details of more recent struggles, and especially the names assigned may be those of later foes. Though the Hagrites are mentioned in inscriptions of Sennacherib, they seem to have grown more prominent and powerful in later days (compare Psalms lxxxiii. 7), and their name in the Chronicler’s time may have been somewhat loosely and generally applied to the Arabian tribes near Palestine.
Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab] Other Bedouin tribes, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah are given as sons of Ishmael in i. 31.
²⁰And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him. ²¹And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men[¹] an hundred thousand.
[¹] Hebrew souls of men.
20. they were helped] with Divine assistance; compare xv. 26.