Amasai עֲמָשַׂי
Chief of thirty who joined David
Who is Amasai in the Bible?
Amasai was a chief of thirty mighty men who joined David at Ziklag while David was fleeing from King Saul, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 12:18. When Amasai came to David in the wilderness, the Spirit came upon him, and he pledged his allegiance to David with the words, "We are yours, David! We are with you, son of Jesse! Success, success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you." David accepted Amasai and the men under his command, making them leaders of his troops. Amasai's encounter with David is significant because it demonstrates how David's cause attracted loyal followers, even during his time of persecution, and shows the spiritual confirmation David received through Amasai's Spirit-empowered declaration of support.
Biography
Amasai was a chief of thirty mighty men who joined David at Ziklag when he was fleeing from King Saul. When David was in the wilderness, a group of men came to him, and the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was their leader. Amasai pledged his allegiance to David, saying, "We are yours, David! We are with you, son of Jesse! Success, success to you, and success to those who help you, for your God will help you." David received them and made them leaders of his troops.
In Scripture
1 biblical book1 Chronicles 1 verse
- 1 Chronicles 12:18
"Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | עֲמָשַׂי |
Amasai
(2) Chief of the captains who met David at Ziklag and tendered him their allegiance. Some have identified him with Amasa and others with Abishai, who is called Abshai in 1Ch 11:20 m (compare 1Ch 18:12). The difficulty is that neither Amasa nor Abishai occupied the rank of the chief of thirty according to the lists in 2Sa 23 and 1Ch 11, the rank to which David is supposed to have appointed into (compare 1Ch 12:18).
(3) One of the trumpet-blowing priests who greeted David when he brought back the Ark of the Covenant (compare 1Ch 15:24).
a-mash'-si `amashcay, probably a textual error for `amashay; the ("s") implies a reading `-M-C-Y, based on a mistaken derivation from '-M-C. The original reading may have been `ammishay; compare AMASAI): Amashsai is