Today's reading is more interesting for what isn't in the text. 1 Chronicles 20 begins with the same words that introduce the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11: "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle...." However, Bathsheba never appears in this story. Instead, there are stories of more victories by David and his army. More interesting is that the story includes a reminder of David's famous defeat of the Philistine giant Goliath, as David's nephew kills another giant (a man with 12 fingers and 12 toes -- such large hands and feet he had). Is this a case where someone is trying to clean up the historical record? After all, 1 Chronicles is a book that describes David's important legacy for all time.
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