David, protected by YHWH, is winning at every turn. He is expanding the boundaries of Israel. A new king arises in the east and he is not interested in an alliance with David.
1 Chronicles 19: 1-5, Hanun's desecration
In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
When David's men came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Haven't his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's men, shaved them, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.
When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."
A king, Nahash of the Ammonites, dies. Apparently he had an alliance with David. (1 Samuel 11 describes a cruel Ammonite king named Nahash that is defeated by Saul. It is not clear if this is the same king; if so, the alliance is due to Saul's previous victory.) David now sends ambassadors to a new king of Ammon. But King Hanun is not interested in an alliance and, guided by some nobles, humiliates David's ambassadors. (2 Samuel 10: 4 adds that the Harum shaved half of each of the men's beards, especially humiliating.)
1 Chronicles 19: 6-7, Army at Medeba
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David's nostrils, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah and Zobah. They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.
Realizing that their snub is tantamount to a declaration of war, the Ammonites hire a cavalry of chariots led by Aramean king Maacah. Maacah's army prepares to meet David at a place called Medeba. During the time of Joshua, Medeba was captured from King Sihon and given to the transjordan tribes (Joshua 13: 8-13.) Long after David's reign, during the divided kingdom, Medeba will be lost to Moab but then recaptured by Omri and will be mentioned in the Mesha Stele around 840 BC.
1 Chronicles 19: 8-13, Battle at Amman
On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.
Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites.
Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight."
As Joab approaches, the Ammonites line up at the entrance of their city (probably modern day Amman) plans to attack in several groups, one wave against the Ammonites and another group against the Arameans.
1 Chronicles 19: 14-16, First Victory
Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the River, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer's army leading them.
Joab defeats the Arameans and seeing this rout, the Ammonites also retreat. More Arameans are then brought from beyond the Euphrates in preparation for the next battle.
1 Chronicles 19: 17-19, Second Battle
When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.
When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.
David then joins the battle, gathering large army. David's army is victorious and they kill a large number of soldiers, including Shophach, the commander of the Aramean army. This leads to a treaty and the Arameans becoming subjects of Israel, presumably paying tribute.
This chapter has a parallel in 2 Samuel 10. Verse 18 of 2 Samuel has the number of killed charioteers as 700, not 7000. Payne, commentator on 1 & 2 Chronicles, thinks that 700 in 2 Samuel is an error; both texts list a total of 40,000 foot soldiers killed. But elsewhere Payne notes the issues raised by the Hebrew word eleph, sometimes translated "thousands", sometimes "chiefs."
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