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Water from Bethlehem Becomes an Offering
Three warriors break through Philistine lines to bring David water from Bethlehem’s well. David refuses to drink what was obtained at the risk of their lives and pours it out to the LORD.
First Chronicles preserves a substantially parallel roster and many of the same exploits of David’s mighty men, confirming the shared heroic tradition around David’s reign. The lists overlap extensively while also preserving textual, spelling, and naming differences that should be compared rather than flattened.
First Chronicles 11 retells the exploit in which three mighty men break through Philistine lines to bring David water from Bethlehem and David refuses to drink it, pouring it out to YHWH instead. The later account confirms the same act of courage, loyalty, and reverence preserved in 2 Samuel 23.
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