how could Joab and David defeat a combined army of Ammonites and Syrians?
Three points to consider in the answer. 1. Being a charioteer fighting an ill-equipped army is a relatively safe job. One only has to shoot arrows from a distance. If the army got too close, one could simply drive the horses farther away. Infantry would not be able to stop a chariot charge if they only had short swords. 2. However, it is a different story fighting against well-equipped infantry. The Israelites were experienced in fighting against Philistine chariots. They had arrows, and a massed group of infantry archers would have more concentrated firepower than chariots. A wall of infantry with long spears would stop a chariot charge. 3. Centuries later, the Persian king Darius learned this, to his dismay, as time after time the Macedonian phalanxes defeated massive numbers of Persian cavalry. Q: In 2 Sam 10:18 were there 700 charioteers, or 7,000 charioteers as 1 Chr 19:18 says? A: It could be either one. This is apparently a Massoretic text copyist error. 2 Samuel 10:18 says 700
