שמואל ב, פרק כ״א, פסוק כ״ב

The victory over the four Philistine giants stands as a clear testament to God's kindness and salvation. These four mighty warriors were all born to Haraphah, a woman from the lineage of giants. Despite their immense strength, they were all ultimately defeated by David and his men across a series of battles [ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל].

These encounters are recorded in the exact chronological order in which they occurred, taking place after the events involving Absalom and the Gibeonites. Notably, this account does not include David's famous triumph over Goliath, but rather details the fight against Goliath's brother [אברבנאל].

A distinct shift in leadership occurs within these battles. In the first encounter, David personally fought and killed the giant Ishbi-benob, though he required the assistance of Abishai to secure the victory. Following this event, David no longer went out to the battlefield. Consequently, the remaining three giants were defeated entirely by his loyal warriors and servants [אברבנאל].

The Book of Chronicles omits this first battle against Ishbi-benob entirely. That book was written specifically to highlight David's praises and his most honorable achievements. Because David grew exhausted during the fight with Ishbi-benob and had to rely on Abishai's help, the incident was seen as slightly diminishing his honor. As with other less flattering moments in David's life, this moment of weakness was deliberately left out of that historical record [אברבנאל].