Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 20:5

"And there was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver`s beam." — 1 Chronicles 20:5 (ASV)

There was war again. —Samuel adds, “in Gob.” The proper name is probably a transcriber’s repetition; the Syriac and Arabic there are without it.

Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite. —The Hebrew text and Septuagint of Samuel have the very different statement: And Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite slew Goliath the Gittite. There are good critics who maintain that we must recognize here a proof that popular traditions fluctuated between David and the less famous hero Elhanan as slayer of Goliath: an uncertainty, supposed to be faithfully reflected in the two accounts preserved by the compiler of Samuel (1 Samuel 17:0; 2 Samuel 21:19).

Other not less competent scholars believe that the text of Samuel should be corrected from the Chronicles. As regards the name Jaarê-oregim (forests of weavers— an absurdity), this is plausible. Whether we proceed further in the same direction must depend on the general view we take of the chronicler’s relation to the Books of Samuel. It is easy, but hardly satisfactory, to allege that he felt the difficulty, which every modern reader must feel, and altered the text accordingly. The real question is whether he has done this arbitrarily, or upon the evidence of another document than his manuscript of Samuel.

Now, it is fair to say that:

1. Until now we have observed no signs of arbitrary alteration;
2. We have had abundant proof that the chronicler actually possessed other sources besides Samuel.

There is no apparent reason why “Lahmi” (i.e., Lahmijah) should not be a nomen individui. (Compare Assyrian Lahmû, the name of a god, Tablet I., Creation Series.)

It is, however, quite possible that Elhanan is another, and, in fact, the original name of David. The appellative David, “the beloved” (compare Dido), may have gradually supplanted the old Elhanan in the popular memory.

Solomon we know was at first named Jodidiah, and it is highly probable that the true designation of the first king of Israel has been lost, the name Saul (“the asked”) having been given in allusion to the fact that the people had asked for a king. We may compare, besides, the double names Jehoahaz-Shallum, Mattaniah-Zedekiah, and perhaps Uzziah-Azariah.

The Targum on Samuel partly supports this suggestion (see the Note there). I would add that Jaare in Hebrew writing is an easy corruption of Jesse; so that the original reading of 2 Samuel 21:19 may have been, And Elhanan the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, slew Goliath, etc. In that case, the reading of Chronicles must be considered an unsuccessful emendation, due probably to the compiler whose work the chronicler followed.