Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 14:11 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 11. 11So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence: “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “David inquires before the first Philistine battle.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 14:8–12
Read 1 Chronicles 14:11 with 14:8–12. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: David seeks divine direction, defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and orders abandoned gods burned.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “David inquires before the first Philistine battle,” 1 Chronicles 14:11 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The account contrasts David's inquiry with Saul's closing failure and prepares a second battle requiring different instructions. 1 Chronicles 14:1–7 has just established this prior movement: Hiram sends cedar and craftspeople for David's house, David interprets his kingship as established for Israel, and more wives and children are listed. Together those details explain why “David inquires before the first Philistine battle” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 14:8–12 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 14:8–12 forms the complete movement “David inquires before the first Philistine battle”: David seeks divine direction, defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and orders abandoned gods burned.
Verse 8. 8 And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them.
Verse 9. 9 And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
Verse 10. 10 And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand.
Verse 11. 11 So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim.
Verse 12. 12 And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.
Follow the Context
- David seeks divine direction, defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and orders abandoned gods burned.
- The account contrasts David's inquiry with Saul's closing failure and prepares a second battle requiring different instructions.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Chronicles 14:11 does not permit the wording “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The victory does not authorize modern religious violence, destruction of neighbors' property, or claiming every military decision has direct divine guidance.
What Remains True
Accounts of conflict must name agents, victims, land, loss, and literary judgment without converting ancient war into a modern command or ethnic hostility. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: David seeks divine direction, defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and orders abandoned gods burned. In 1 Chronicles 14:11, the concrete line “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in….” When reading conflict or making public decisions, distinguish description from command, count human cost, protect noncombatants, reject ethnic generalization, and pursue accountable noncoercive action. This response follows from the unit's own movement: David seeks divine direction, defeats the Philistines at Baal-perazim, and orders abandoned gods burned.
Teach It Back
Explain why 1 Chronicles 14:11 reports the Baal-perazim victory through water-breach imagery. Use 14:8–12, paraphrase “So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 14:8–12 — David inquires before the first Philistine battleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The relation to 2 Samuel 5, place names, battle mechanism, and theological causation cannot be independently verified in every detail.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 14:8–12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 14:8–12
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 14:8–12, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗