Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 18:1

"And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines." — 1 Chronicles 18:1 (ASV)

Now after this it came to pass. —Literally, And it came to pass afterwards. This expression does not put the contents of this chapter into direct chronological sequence with those of the last. (Compare Note on 1 Chronicles 17:1.) The formula of the original history, from which both Samuel and Chronicles have derived a chief part of their substance, has been taken over without modification, after the manner of Oriental compilers. We may, therefore, regard the phrase as a mere mark of transition in the narrative.

Gath and her towns. —Hebrew, her daughters, that is, outlying dependencies. Samuel has, And David took the bridle [control, supremacy] of the metropolis [mother-city] out of the hand, etc. The chronicler or his authority has interpreted this curious expression (mètheg hâ’ammâh). If at the time Gath was the chief city of Philistia, and David made it recognise his suzerainty by payment of tribute, the phrases of both books are intelligible. In Solomon’s time Gath was ruled by a king, Achish (1 Kings 2:39), but he was hardly independent of Solomon. (Compare 1 Kings 4:24.) The general sense is the same if mètheg hâ’ammâh is rendered the bridle of the arm — i.e., the sovereign control, or supremacy.