In the past, Saul was our king. But you led the men of Israel in battle. The Lord your God said to you, 'You will be the shepherd over my people Israel. You will become their ruler.' "
All of the elders of Israel came to see King David at Hebron. There he made a covenant with them in the sight of the Lord. They anointed David as king over Israel. It happened just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.
David had said, "Anyone who leads the attack against the Jebusites will become the commander of Israel's army." Joab went up first. So he became the commander of the army. He was the son of Zeruiah.
The chiefs of David's mighty men and the whole community of Israel helped David greatly. They helped him become king over the entire land. That's exactly what the Lord had promised him.
Here is a list of David's mighty men. Jashobeam was chief of the officers. He was a Hacmonite. He used his spear against 300 men. He killed all of them at one time.
Jashobeam was with David at Pas Dammim. The Philistines had gathered there for battle. Israel's troops ran away from the Philistines. At the place where that happened, there was a field that was full of barley.
The three mighty men took their stand in the middle of the field. They didn't let the Philistines capture it. They struck them down. The Lord helped them win a great battle.
David was near the rock at the cave of Adullam. Three of the 30 chiefs came down to him there. A group of Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim.
So the Three fought their way past the Philistine guards. They got some water from the well that was near the gate of Bethlehem. They took the water back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord.
"I would never drink that water!" David said. "It would be like drinking the blood of these men. They put their lives in danger by going to Bethlehem." The men had put their lives in danger by bringing the water back. So David wouldn't drink it. Those were some of the brave things the three mighty men did.
Abishai was chief over the Three. He was the brother of Joab. He used his spear against 300 men. He killed all of them. So he became as famous as the Three were.
Benaiah was a great hero from Kabzeel. He was the son of Jehoiada. Benaiah did many brave things. He struck down two of Moab's best fighting men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day. He killed a lion there.
And Benaiah struck down an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall. The Egyptian was holding a spear as big as a weaver's rod. Benaiah went out to fight against him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian's hand. Then he killed him with it.