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Cocktail Investing
Cocktail Investing
Distilling Everyday Noise into
Clear Investment Signals for
Better Returns

Christopher J. Versace
Lenore Elle Hawkins
Copyright © 2016 by Chris Versace and Lenore Hawkins. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning,
or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States
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Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 I’d like to dedicate this book to my family and friends that
have been so helpful and supportive on my journey, as well as
to all the fledgling investors that are just getting started on
their investing path.
– Chris

To Marco, Cat, Emmy, Kimberly, Bill, Sara, Tom, Sheila, Jordan,

Sharron, Karen, Jaime, and Mom for helping me laugh,
maintaining my sanity, and pouring the occasional vino when it was
needed most. Not only do you all inspire me to aim higher
every day, but your love makes the joys of life all the sweeter
and the struggles easier to bear.
– Lenore
 Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1: Money 1
Chapter 2: Getting Started 19
Chapter 3: The Economy versus the Markets 35
Chapter 4: Read the Economy Like a Pro 53
Chapter 5: The Impact of Politics and Regulation
on Investing 97
Chapter 6: Enabling and Disruptive Technologies 119
Chapter 7: Profiting from Pain 143
Chapter 8: Cocktail Thematic Investing 179
Chapter 9: Designing Your Portfolio 197

vii
viii CONTENTS

Chapter 10: Choosing Your Investments 223

Chapter 11: Building the Portfolio 267

Appendix: Definitions, Metrics, and Resources 301

About the Authors 323
Index 327
 Preface

A man must defend his home, his wife, his children and his martini.
– Jackie Gleason

Happiness is … finding two olives in your martini when you’re hungry.

– Johnny Carson

y focus sharpened as I ascended the steps to the pre-

M sentation platform. I may have some generous delusions

about myself, but I am pretty clear that seeing me trip
backside-over-tea-kettle in a skirt and stilettos when trying to mount
the all-of-five steps up to the stage where the other panelists were sitting
would not exactly give the audience the image of a highly competent
woman I’d like to convey.
Hating to be the first to speak, I always try to sit farthest from
the moderator in the hope that he or she will get to me later on and
give me a chance to come up with something funny or memorable in
response to what another panelist has stated with total conviction: my
inner–Conference Katniss gets competitive. Damn it, though, some guy
with a cocksure grin had taken the spot I covet. I grumbled internally
and took the seat next to him. Nonchalant chit-chat ensued, as usual,

ix
x PREFACE

between the panelists as we waited for the presentation hall to fill. In my

Katniss-mind, this lull before the action is akin to that of the Roman
gladiators prior to their entrance into the Coliseum. With my usual level
of pre–public speaking adrenaline flowing, the reality that the average fit-
ness level of those of us on stage was somewhere around that of The Big
Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper was irrelevant.
Finally, the hall was sufficiently full and the moderator asked us to
take our seats on stage. He grabbed his microphone and introduced
us Investment Gladiators with a Cliff’s Notes version of our respective
resumes, giving each of us the opportunity to try and smile wisely to
the crowd and offer appropriate glances of modesty … as if we hadn’t
sent those bios in ourselves. A bit of throat clearing and water sipping
followed. I haven’t yet met a speaker at one of these things who isn’t
secretly at least a little nervous that when he or she first opens their
mouth, their voice will come out sounding squeaky like a boy in the
tumult of pre-pubescence.
The moderator thankfully began with the gentleman seated imme-
diately to his left, who launched into a clearly well-practiced diatribe,
painfully monotone, on his favorite asset class, with a series of statis-
tics and proclamations, clearly intended to exact awe as to his technical
prowess and engender confidence in his ability to read through all that
analysis to find the “truth.” All of us on that stage seek to be useful truth
tellers, financial diviners in suits, toting iPads.
As the first panelist gets momentum going in his spiel, Mr. Seat
Stealer to my left slid an innocuous sheet of paper with some rough
scrawls on it toward me. I glanced down, as I nodded my head, hopefully
sagely, along with the speaker’s various points. The scratchy text read,
“Has he taken a single breath yet?” I barely managed to suppress an
entirely undignified giggle, face flushing a telltale pink as I was painfully
aware of the some thousand or so individual investors watching us all on
stage. Those in the audience giving us their time are each hoping that
if they pay attention and focus hard enough, they’ll learn “The Secret”
that will give them the ability to invest safely and successfully—or at
least learn a few “hot” stock tips that they can “ride to big profits.”
Who doesn’t want that? They deserved my utmost attention and A-level
effort, but I’m a sucker for an irreverent sense of humor, and speaker
#1’s droning was like a high-powered Unisom.
 Preface xi

With brows furrowed in an attempt to appear as though I was taking

thoughtful notes, I quickly jotted back, “My yawn is just a silent scream
for coffee.” SS stifles a laugh and writes back, “So I’ve been wondering
what my dogs have named me.” I responded with, “I have a suspicion
that my inner child is never moving out.” So began a friendship and
eventually a partnership that has spanned years, continents, oceans, and
eventually led to the writing of this book.
The truth about investing and the markets is that no one knows
where the market is going to close today, this week, this month, or this
year. No one. People can come up with all kinds of fancy models that
arguably have some value, but the truth is it is a guess. It may be a
well-thought-out guess, an educated guess, a mathematically beautiful
and sound guess, but at the end of the day it is still a guess. When you
run across anyone who tells you differently, be careful. Also, be careful
of the talking heads on TV who speak with such confidence about the
direction of the market or a particular company within a specific time
frame. There are some talking heads that are more than helpful, offering
up helpful insights and data points, but there are also those that gloss over
details and focus on less than helpful and in some cases outdated indi-
cators. Look below the headline and do a little research of your own. It
isn’t nearly as tough as it sounds, and we can show how fun it really can
be! Also realize the more supporting data you have, the more clear the
investing picture will be and the better off you are going to be.
The heart of Cocktail Investing recognizes the intersection of
several powerful forces—economics, demographics, psychographics,
technology, policy, and more we will discuss—that, when combined,
give way to a powerful force that shifts the what, where, and how people
and businesses go about their daily activities. Much like a tailwind that
pushes a plane faster across the United States or the Atlantic Ocean,
these shifting forces can propel a company’s business or slow it down
dramatically if it is ill-prepared to deal with the changes it faces, much
like a headwind. The great thing about these trends is that they are often
evident in things you observe every day and arise in conversations you
have with friends over cocktails—you just need to recognize them.
We wrote this book to give you a lens through which you will
be able to clearly see the actionable, observable, and recognizable trends
that surround you every day to help you build a profitable portfolio for
xii PREFACE

the long run. Unlike most every other book on investing, though, this
book is written the way most people like to learn, with stories that you
will find (we hope) not only informative but entertaining and relatable.
We will give you a process that will allow you to successfully
build and maintain a portfolio and avoid the all-too-common errors
caused by emotional investing. Thinking like a successful investor will
become as routine as tying your shoes, and before you know it, you’ll be
walking through the mall making mental notes of the must-have items
and the hot retailer, all without stepping foot inside a store.
We also wrote this book in such a way as to allow you to quickly
get to the heart of the material, avoiding the majority of the related
stories, although you’re missing out on some serious entertainment, but
we might be slightly biased here. If you want to read just the bones, avoid
the areas in gray. Don’t worry, we only have one shade of gray in this
book. We’ve also written up chapter summaries that highlight the key
points and finish every chapter with a Bottom Line section to call out
key concepts.
We will talk about how to find specific investments, but we
will not talk about theories on what combinations of investments you
ought to have in your portfolio, as that is highly dependent on each
individual’s circumstance. That being said, here are a few good rules of
thumb to keep in mind as you build an investment portfolio:

• Your portfolio should never have more than 5 percent invested

in one security (e.g., a stock, bond, mutual fund, or ETF). You
can give yourself a little more room if you are dealing with a widely
diversified mutual fund or ETF, meaning one that holds a lot of indi-
vidual securities. In practice, this usually means that you’ll want to
buy less than 5 percent of any one security; otherwise, if it goes up
disproportionately relative to the rest of your portfolio, you’ll need to
sell some more quickly than would likely be prudent given the cur-
rent tax code’s treatment of long-term gains versus short-term gains.
• Before you start buying securities for your portfolio, decide how
much cash you need to keep on hand. You should have at least
three months’ worth of your typical living expenses on hand in case
of an emergency. If your primary source of income is unpredictable
and/or volatile, you should have more. You’ve probably heard people
 Preface xiii

talk about need for liquidity, a term that is widely bandied about and
often misunderstood. We’ll talk more about what it means, how to
figure out just how liquid a security may be, and why you care.
• Once you’ve identified a security you want to add into your port-
folio, you need to decide if you should buy then and there or
hold off doing so. If it’s time to buy that security, how should
you do so, up to what price should you buy, at what price
would you back up the truck and buy more, and later when
the time is right, how should you sell it? We’ll cover how these
decisions can be even more important than deciding what to buy.
• Finally, when it comes to your portfolio, be cold-blooded. Fall
in love with your partner, a song, a good book, a gorgeous sunset,
or luscious Bordeaux, but never, ever with one of your investment
picks. We’ll talk about ways to stay cool as a cucumber, even when
the markets get wobbly.
So without further ado, let’s talk about one of the most emotionally
charged words in the world—Money.
 Acknowledgments

rom Chris: Sitting down to put fingers to keyboard and write the

F volume you have before you would not have been possible were
it not for the education, learnings, and conversations that helped
develop the thematic way I look at the world. As you might imagine,
the list is far from short, but also like any list, there are several central
figures worth noting. These include David Snyder, Dr. Phil Lane, and
Dr. Ben Fine, who had an influential hand from the very beginning;
friends and compatriots Keith Bliss, Mike Canevaro, Brian Vosburgh,
and Chris Broussard; Dr. Bernard McSherry, who wrangled me into
the classroom and afforded me the opportunity to stun graduate and
undergraduate students alike with my desk walking; A.J. Rice, without
whom my time on the radio and elsewhere with people such as John
McCaslin, Matt Ray, Chris Salcedo, Melanie Morgan, and others would
never have happened; and Stephanie Link, who welcomed me to The
Street and allowed me to work with folks like Bob Lang, Kamal Khan,
Paul Curcio, and many other wonderful people, including Jim Cramer,
who has been nothing but encouraging and enthusiastic as my role at
The Street has grown over the years.
From Lenore: This book would not have been possible without
the insights gained from conversations with some of the most truly

xv
 Money 11

65+, but the population cohort itself is living longer. In 2008, the
65–74 age group (20.8 million) was 9.5 times larger than in 1900,
while the 75–84 group (13.1 million) was 17 times larger and the 85+
group (5.6 million) was 46 times larger. This really put the data into
perspective for us: A child born in 2007 could expect to live 77.9 years,
about 30 years longer than a child born in 1900.
As a result of increasing longevity and the decline in the average
number of children people are having, the domestic population is skew-
ing older. That pace began to accelerate even further in 2011, when
the Baby Boomer generation (those born between January 1, 1946, and
December 31, 1964) started turning 65. Beginning January 1, 2011,
every single day more than 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach the age
of 65. That is going to keep happening every single day for the next
19 years and will add roughly 70 million to the 65+ category.
But what if you’re a few decades or more away from entering your
Golden Years and are a member of Generation X?
If you were born between the early 1960s and the early 1980s, then
you’re probably between the ages of 33 and 53 years old. Even more
likely, between 2007 and 2010, you saw a drop in your wealth coming
out of the Great Recession. Perhaps you lost your job for a while or
thought you were going to … maybe you were one of the lucky ones
who didn’t have those concerns, but if you did, it meant falling behind
in your savings and investing efforts. Unlike those at or near the door of
retirement, Gen-Xers as well as Millennials (if you were born between
the early 1980s and early 2000s) have time on their side when it comes
to saving and investing for their retirement and other life goals.
Despite the time factor that affords the power of compound
investing, more Millennials have opted to choose cash as their favorite
long-term investment than any other age group, according to a new
Bankrate.com. Per that report, 39 percent of Millennials surveyed
said cash was their preferred way to invest money they don’t need for
at least 10 years—that was three times the number who picked the
stock market.
The eschewing of the stock market by Millennials is likely to prove
a costly mistake and raises the question as to where and how you are
building your nest egg. If you are a diligent saver and have been putting
money in the bank, the returns you are getting given the low interest
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
be determined.

Jeduthun] See note on xvi. 41.

Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah] Not mentioned in

Nehemiah He probably represented the Kohathite division of the
singers; compare vi. 33‒38 (18‒23 Hebrew), where the name
Elkanah occurs several times in the genealogy of the Kohathites.

the villages of the Netophathites] Compare Nehemiah xii. 28, 29

(Revised Version), whence it appears that these villages were close
to Jerusalem. The exact site is uncertain.

17‒27 (compare Nehemiah xi. 19; 1 Chronicles xxvi. 1‒19).

Organisation and Duties of the Porters (Doorkeepers).

17‒27. The same subject is treated in xxvi. 1‒19, and this fact
has been urged as an argument for the view that chapter ix. is an
addition to the Chronicler’s work (see Introduction p. xxiii). But it is
also reasonable to suppose that the Chronicler would here give a
register of inhabitants of Jerusalem (which could not be included in
the list of the separate tribes), and such a register would probably
give a survey of the Levitical classes.

The verses present on analysis several confusing features, see

notes on verses 17, 22, 25, 33.

¹⁷And the porters; Shallum, and Akkub, and

Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren:
Shallum was the chief;
17. And the porters] Render, doorkeepers as in xvi. 38 and xxvi.
1. In Solomon’s Temple there were “keepers of the threshold,” three
in number (2 Kings xxv. 18), priests in rank (2 Kings xii. 9).

A distinction between the doorkeepers and the Levites (verse 14)

seems to be implied, but in verses 19, 26 the doorkeepers, or at any
rate their leaders, are called Levites (compare Nehemiah xi. 15, 19
with 1 Chronicles xxvi.). The supposed distinction may have died out
before the Chronicler’s period, or perhaps earlier and later stages
are reflected in the chapter (see also the note on verse 26).

Shallum...Ahiman] These two names are absent from Nehemiah

xi. 19 together with the clause Shallum was the chief. This omission
of all reference to Shallum must be accidental.

Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon] The three names represent

families, not individuals; compare Ezra ii. 42 = Nehemiah vii. 45,
where the fuller form is given, the children of Shallum, ... the children
of Talmon, the children of Akkub.... These names persist in the five
lists of porters which refer to post-exilic times; Ezra ii. 42 =
Nehemiah vii. 45; Nehemiah xi. 19 = 1 Chronicles ix. 17 (Shallum is
to be supplied in Nehemiah from Chronicles); Nehemiah xii. 5
(Meshullam = Shallum). For the Chronicler’s traditions of Levites,
singers, and doorkeepers of the Davidic period, see chapters xv.,
xxiv. ff.

Ahiman] Elsewhere in the Old Testament this name occurs only

among the names of the sons of Anak, and it is probable that the
Chronicler (or some scribe) made here an error of transcription, and
that Ahiman has arisen from the word aheihem “their brethren” which
follows. A fourth name was probably given in the original text, for see
verse 26.

¹⁸who hitherto waited in the king’s gate

eastward: they were the porters for the camp
of the children of Levi.
18. who] i.e. Shallum (verse 17), called Shelemiah in xxvi. 14 (=
Meshelemiah, xxvi. verse 1). As mentioned above, a family is meant.

hitherto] i.e. to the time of the Chronicler.

 the king’s gate eastward] That the king had an entrance into the
Temple named after him appears from 2 Kings xvi. 18, and that this
gate was on the east from Ezekiel xlvi. 1, 2.

for the camp of the children of Levi] i.e. the Temple; but the
phrase, which is derived from Numbers ii. 17, in its original context of
course signifies the Tabernacle of the Mosaic period. Doubtless it is
used with the implication that the institution of the gatekeepers dated
back to that age: compare verse 19 ad fin., and contrast verse 22.

¹⁹And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of

Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren,
of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over
the work of the service, keepers of the gates ¹
of the tabernacle ²: and their fathers had been
over the camp of the Lord, keepers of the
entry;
¹ Hebrew thresholds. ² Hebrew Tent.

19. over the camp of the Lord, keepers] We might expect the
reference to the Temple or Tabernacle to be continued; but, as
nothing is said in the Pentateuch of “keepers of the entry to the
tabernacle,” probably the entry to the camp, not to the tabernacle, is
meant in the present phrase. With this view agrees the mention of
Phinehas (verse 20), for it apparently was the profanation of the
camp in general, not of the tabernacle, which Phinehas avenged
(Numbers xxv. 6‒8), thus earning a blessing (Numbers xxv. 11‒13).

²⁰and Phinehas the son of Eleazar was ruler

over them in time past, and the Lord was with
him.
 20. and the Lord was with him] Render, May the Lord be with
him, a pious exclamation, customary on mentioning the name of a
famous and righteous person deceased. The phrase is common in
later Jewish literature; but this passage seems to be the earliest
instance of its use.

²¹Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was

porter of the door of the tent of meeting. All
these which were chosen to be porters in the
gates ¹ were two hundred and twelve.
¹ Hebrew thresholds.

21. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah] Compare xxvi. 2, 14,

according to which Zechariah’s watch was on the north.

the tent of meeting] The reference would be to the Mosaic tent, if

the verse be taken, as is natural, in close connection with verses 19,
20. If the verse be treated in conjunction with verse 22 it must refer
to the tent of the ark in David’s time. The ambiguity is perhaps
intentional.

²²These were reckoned by genealogy in their

villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did
ordain in their set ¹ office.
¹ Or, trust.

22. All these] Compare Ezra ii. 42 (= Nehemiah vii. 45);

Nehemiah xi. 19. The discrepancy in numbers between Chronicles
and Nehemiah and also between Nehemiah vii. and Nehemiah xi.
may be explained by supposing some difference in the manner of
reckoning or some difference in the period referred to.
 in their villages] Compare verses 16 and 25.

whom David ... did ordain] The Chronicler attributes to David the
organisation of the priests (xxiv. 3), of the Levites (xxiii. 27; xxiv. 31),
of the singers (xxv. 1 ff.), and of the doorkeepers (in this passage). It
has been thought that this verse is at variance with verses 18, 19,
where the Mosaic origin of the gatekeepers seems to be implied. But
in answer it may be said that the Chronicler is guilty of no
inconsistency in ascribing the origin of the doorkeepers to the
Mosaic period and saying here that David and Samuel “ordained
them in their set office,” for the phrase refers, not to their origin, but
to their organisation. For another suggestion see below on verse 26.

Samuel] The association of Samuel with the organisation of the

sanctuary is confined to this passage, and is a significant illustration
of the working of late Jewish thought, which was little concerned with
historic probability and much with edification. The tradition has
probably arisen from the remark in 1 Samuel iii. 15, that Samuel
“opened the doors of the house of the Lord.” As Samuel died before
the reign of David, the Chronicler doubtless does not intend to
represent him as contemporary with David in the organisation of the
Temple, but probably supposes that Samuel’s work was done in
connection with the tent, which according to the Chronicler was
located in Gibeon (2 Chronicles i. 3).

the seer] For the title, xxvi. 28, xxix. 29; 1 Samuel ix. 9; and
compare 2 Chronicles xvi. 7.

in their set office] or in their trust; i.e. in their responsible

positions.

²³So they and their children had the oversight

of the gates of the house of the Lord, even
the house of the tabernacle ¹, by wards.
¹ Hebrew Tent.
 23. the house of the tabernacle] margin Tent. The phrase
designates the period before the building of the Temple.

²⁴On ¹ the four sides were the porters, toward

the east, west, north, and south.
¹ Hebrew Towards the four winds.

24. On the four sides] Fuller details are given in xxvi. 14‒18.

²⁵And their brethren, in their villages, were to

come in every seven days from time to time to
be with them:
25. in their villages] No special villages inhabited by porters are
mentioned, but perhaps porters as well as singers dwelt in the
“villages of the Netophathites” (verse 16; Nehemiah xii. 28, Revised
Version).

²⁶for the four chief porters, who were Levites,

were in a set office, and were over the
chambers and over the treasuries in the house
of God. ²⁷And they lodged round about the
house of God, because the charge thereof
was upon them, and to them pertained the
opening thereof morning by morning.
26. the four chief porters, who were Levites] It seems clear from
this verse (and from the structure of the chapter, compare verses 10,
14, 17—as is pointed out in the note on verse 17) that the
doorkeepers were not, as a body, Levites; and according to verse 25
they dwelt outside Jerusalem, whilst their leaders (verse 27) were
within the city. Perhaps this distinction between the leaders and the
rank and file could be used to explain the supposed inconsistency (if
any exists—see above verse 22, note on whom David ...) between
verses 19 and 22, as regards the tradition of origin: it might be said
that whilst the leaders claimed that their office dated from the time of
Moses (verse 19), the rank and file traced their institution to David
(verse 22). (In 2 Chronicles xxxiv. 9 Levites appear exercising the
duties of doorkeepers, but this does not prove that all doorkeepers
were Levites.)

chambers] i.e. store-chambers in which tithes and sacred vessels

were kept; compare 2 Chronicles xxxi. 5, 11, 12; Nehemiah xiii. 4‒9:
in verse 33 of this chapter they seem to be in use also as rooms in
which Levites could dwell. The chambers were probably built as
outbuildings round the Court of the Temple; compare xxiii. 28, xxviii.
12.

28, 29.
Duties of the Levites.

²⁸And certain of them had charge of the

vessels of service; for by tale were they
brought in and by tale were they taken out.
28. And certain of them] The reference is to the Levites. The
contents of verses 28, 29 clearly refer to Levitical duties (compare
xxiii. 29), and the transition from porters to Levites is made easier by
the fact that the four porters last mentioned (verses 26, 27) are
Levites. Some commentators hold that the paragraph dealing with
the duties of the Levites begins in verse 26 with the words “And they
were over,” etc.

²⁹Some of them also were appointed over the

furniture, and over all the vessels of the
sanctuary, and over the fine flour, and the
 wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and
the spices.
29. compare xxiii. 29.

30.
A Priestly Duty.

³⁰And some of the sons of the priests prepared

the confection of the spices.
30. the sons of the priests] i.e. “members of the priesthood,
priests.” Compare 2 Chronicles xxv. 13, “the soldiers of the army”
(literally “the sons of the troop”) and the common expression “the
sons of the prophets.”

confection] (For the word, compare 1 Samuel viii. 13, Revised

Version text and margin) This “ointment” was peculiarly holy (Exodus
xxx. 23‒25). The Levites might have charge of the oil and spices
(verse 29), but only the priests might make the confection.

31, 32.
Other Levitical Duties.

³¹And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was

the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the
set office over the things that were baked in
pans.
31. who was the firstborn of Shallum] In xxvi. 2 the firstborn of
Meshelemiah (= Shallum) is called Zechariah. Probably Mattithiah
and Zechariah represent each a household belonging to an elder
branch of the great family of Shallum.
 ³²And some of their brethren, of the sons of
the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to
prepare it every sabbath.
32. the shewbread] Literally the bread of the Row (or of the Pile),
for it had to be arranged in order before the Lord (Leviticus xxiv. 6).
The Chronicler prefers this term to the older “Bread of the Presence”
(i.e. of Jehovah). See more fully Driver, Exodus, pp. 274, 275, in this
series.

to prepare it every sabbath] “Every sabbath he shall set it in order

before the Lord continually” (Leviticus xxiv. 8). In 2 Chronicles ii. 4
(= ii. 3, Hebrew) it is called the continual shewbread (literally “the
continual Row”).

³³And these are the singers, heads of fathers’

houses of the Levites, who dwelt in the
chambers and were free from other service:
for they were employed in their work day and
night. ³⁴These were heads of fathers’ houses
of the Levites, throughout their generations,
chief men: these dwelt at Jerusalem.
33. And these are] This verse may be intended as a conclusion to
verses 15, 16, for the names there given are those of singers;
compare Nehemiah xi. 17. On the other hand it may have been
intended as the heading of such a list as appears in vi. 33‒47 (= 18‒
32, Hebrew), the list itself having somehow been omitted.

day and night] Compare Psalms cxxxiv. 1; Revelation iv. 8.

35‒44 (= viii. 29‒38).

The Genealogy of the house of Saul.
 ³⁵And in Gibeon there dwelt the father of
Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife’s name was
Maacah: ³⁶and his firstborn son Abdon, and
Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab;
³⁷and Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and
Mikloth. ³⁸And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And
they also dwelt with their brethren in
Jerusalem, over against their brethren. ³⁹And
Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul
begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and
Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰And the son of
Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal
begat Micah. ⁴¹And the sons of Micah; Pithon,
and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz. ⁴²And
Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth,
and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat
Moza: ⁴³and Moza begat Binea; and Rephaiah
his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son: ⁴⁴and
Azel had six sons, whose names are these;
Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and
Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these
were the sons of Azel.
See notes on viii. 29 ff. The passage serves here as an
introduction to the story of the death of Saul. Whether it is in its
original setting here or in viii. 29 ff., or possibly is original in both
chapters, there is not sufficient evidence to determine (see note on
viii. 29).
 Chapters X.‒XXIX.
The Reign of David.
At this point the Chronicler begins his narrative of Israel’s history.
It commences abruptly with an account of the defeat and death of
Saul, which however is given not for its own interest, but to serve as
a brief introduction to the reign of David (chapter xi. ff.). Why does
the Chronicler choose to begin his narrative at this point, passing
over in silence (a) the Mosaic period, (b) the stories of Judges and of
1 Samuel i.‒xxx.? As regards (a) his silence is due to the
assumption that those for whom he writes are no less familiar than
he is himself with the account of the Mosaic age as presented by the
fully developed tradition of the Pentateuch. As for (b), his silence
probably arises neither from the difficulty of retelling the narratives of
Judges in accordance with his theory of the early history, nor yet
from the fact that they were doubtless familiar to his readers; but,
again, from a consideration of the central purpose of his work. His
theme is the Divine guidance of Israel’s destiny, and, since that
destiny had ultimately centred upon the fortunes of Jerusalem and
the worship maintained through its Temple, all else in Israel’s history
becomes of quite secondary importance. He begins therefore where
(for Israel) Jerusalem and the Temple began—with David, who
conquered the city and planned the Temple. The tales of the Judges,
of Samuel, and of David’s early life and his magnanimity toward Saul
(a tempting source for the exaltation of the character of the ideal
king), all these are logically ignored, since they lie outside the scope
of the Chronicler’s design.

Chapter X.
 1‒12 (= 1 Samuel xxxi. 1‒13).
The Defeat, Death, and Burial of Saul.

1‒12. There are several variations between the text given here
and the text of 1 Samuel, to which attention will be called in the
notes below.

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel:

and the men of Israel fled from before the
Philistines, and fell down slain ¹ in mount
Gilboa.
¹ Or, wounded.

1. in mount Gilboa] In the campaign of Gilboa the Philistines

showed new and skilful strategy. Instead of at once marching
eastward up the ravines which lead into Judah and Benjamin—in
which there was no room for their chariots (2 Samuel i. 6) to
manœuvre—they first marched northward along the sea-coast and
then turned eastward just before reaching Mount Carmel. This
movement brought them into the great fertile plain watered by the
Kishon, ground over which chariots could act with decisive effect. At
the north-east end of the plain rose the heights of Gilboa. When Saul
and his Benjamites advanced to meet the Philistines, the latter
succeeded in interposing themselves between the Israelite army and
its base in Benjamin—an easy achievement for an enemy who by his
chariots possessed a high degree of mobility. Saul was therefore
driven to take up his position on the north side of the plain on Mount
Gilboa, where he was attacked by the Philistines, probably from the
south-west on which side the slopes of the mountain are
comparatively gentle. The Israelites, cut off from their homes,
outmarched, outgeneralled, and probably outnumbered, were
speedily routed. The battle of Gilboa was won, like that of Hastings,
by cavalry (chariots) and archers (verse 3) against infantry, which
was obliged to stand on the defensive, under pain of being cut to
pieces if it ventured to attack. See G. A. Smith, Historical Geography
of the Holy Land, pp. 400 ff.

²And the Philistines followed hard after Saul

and after his sons; and the Philistines slew
Jonathan, and Abinadab ¹, and Malchi-shua,
the sons of Saul. ³And the battle went sore
against Saul, and the archers overtook him;
and he was distressed by reason of the
archers.
¹ In 1 Samuel xiv. 49, Ishvi.

2. Malchi-shua] This is the correct spelling, not Melchi-shua.

⁴Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw

thy sword, and thrust me through therewith;
lest these uncircumcised come and abuse ¹
me. But his armourbearer would not; for he
was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his
sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his
armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he
likewise fell upon his sword, and died.
¹ Or, make a mock of me.

4. unto his armourbearer] Compare Judges ix. 54 (the death of

Abimelech). One function of an armourbearer was to give the “coup
de grâce” to fallen enemies (1 Samuel xiv. 13), but sometimes the
same office had to be executed for friends. Possibly the man refused
from fear of blood-revenge, which would be the more certainly
exacted in the case of the Lord’s Anointed, compare 1 Samuel ii. 22,
xxvi. 9 (so Curtis).

and abuse me] i.e. wreak their cruel will upon me; compare
Judges i. 6.

⁶So Saul died, and his three sons; and all his
house died together.
6. all his house] In Samuel “his armourbearer and all his men.”
The reference may be to Saul’s servants: his family was not
exterminated in this battle.

⁷And when all the men of Israel that were in

the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul
and his sons were dead, they forsook their
cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and
dwelt in them.
⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, when
the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they
found Saul and his sons fallen in mount
Gilboa.
7. that were in the valley] The “valley of Jezreel” (Hosea i. 5),
called in later times the “plain of Esdrelon” (Esdraelon), is meant.

forsook their cities] Among these was no doubt Beth-shan

(Beisan) “the key of Western Palestine” (see G. A. Smith, Historical
Geography of the Holy Land pp. 358 f.), where Saul’s body was
exposed (1 Samuel xxxi. 12).

and dwelt in them] Perhaps for a short while only, compare 2

Samuel ii. 9, “[Abner] made him (Ish-bosheth) king over ... Jezreel.”
Ish-bosheth, however, may have “ruled” only in acknowledgment of a
Philistine suzerainty.

⁹And they stripped him, and took his head,

and his armour, and sent into the land of the
Philistines round about, to carry the tidings
unto their idols, and to the people.
9. to carry the tidings unto their idols] Better, as in Samuel, “to
publish it in the house (or houses) of their idols”; compare the next
verse. The news was published by the exhibition of trophies of the
victory in the Philistine temples.

¹⁰And they put his armour in the house of their

gods, and fastened his head in the house of
Dagon.
10. in the house of their gods] In Samuel (more definitely) “in the
house (or houses) of Ashtaroth,” Ashtaroth being the plural of
Ashtoreth, a goddess, who seems here to bear a martial character.
(The name Ashtoreth is an artificial formation, the proper form being
Ashtarte. The vowels of the word bōshĕth, i.e. shame, were used for
the last two syllables in place of the true vowels; compare note on
viii. 33.) She was apparently consort of the Phoenician Baal (Judges
ii. 13, x. 6).

fastened his head in the house of Dagon (literally Beth-Dagon)] In

Samuel fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. The reading of
Chronicles is probably an arbitrary alteration made by the Chronicler
out of regard for 1 Samuel xxxi. 9, where it is related that the
Philistines cut off Saul’s head. It is just possible that the variation
points to a fuller original text containing all three statements—that
Saul’s armour was placed in the temple of Ashtarte, his head in the
“house of Dagon,” and his headless corpse fastened to the walls of
Beth-shan. Beth-shan is north-east of Gilboa, about four miles
distant from the Jordan, and about a day’s march (1 Samuel xxxi.
12) from Jabesh (verse 11), which was situated on the other side of
Jordan in Gilead.

¹¹And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the

Philistines had done to Saul,
11. Jabesh-gilead] See 1 Samuel xi. 1‒11; 2 Samuel ii. 4‒7.

¹²all the valiant men arose, and took away the

body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and
brought them to Jabesh, and buried their
bones under the oak ¹ in Jabesh, and fasted
seven days.
¹ Or, terebinth.

12. took away] i.e. from the walls of Beth-shan (so Peshitṭa).

to Jabesh] Samuel adds “and burned them there.” The Chronicler

omits this statement perhaps because he inferred that the bones
were not destroyed by this burning; compare 2 Samuel xxi. 12‒14
(the bones of Saul and Jonathan brought from Jabesh in David’s
reign and re-interred in the family sepulchre) or more probably
because burning was not a usual funeral rite among the Jews
(compare 2 Chronicles xvi. 14, note), and indeed was regarded with
abhorrence (compare Amos ii. 1).

under the oak] margin, terebinth. Large trees, being rare in

Palestine, frequently serve as landmarks; compare Judges iv. 5; 1
Samuel xxii. 6 (“tamarisk tree” Revised Version).

fasted seven days] Fasting involved abstinence from food during

daylight. David fasted “till the evening” in mourning for Saul (2
Samuel i. 12) and for Abner (2 Samuel iii. 35). The fast of Jabesh
was a sevenfold fast.

13, 14 (peculiar to Chronicles).

The Moral of the Overthrow of the House of Saul.

Such reflexions as these are characteristic of the Chronicler;

compare 2 Chronicles xii. 2 (note), xxii. 7, xxiv. 24, xxv. 27. They are
not so frequent in Samuel and Kings.

¹³So Saul died for ¹ his trespass which he

committed against the Lord, because of the
word of the Lord, which he kept not; and also
for that he asked counsel of one that had a
familiar spirit, to inquire thereby,
¹ Or, in.

13. his trespass] compare 2 Chronicles xxvi. 16. The reference is

to Saul’s sacrifice (1 Samuel xiii. 13, 14), and disobedience (1
Samuel xv. 23).

asked counsel ... spirit] i.e. of the witch of Endor, 1 Samuel xxviii.
7 ff.

¹⁴and inquired not of the Lord: therefore he

slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David
the son of Jesse.
14. and inquired not of the Lord] Compare xiii. 3. The Chronicler
presumably does not count inquiries made too late; compare 1
Samuel xxviii. 6 (Saul inquires of the Lord, but receives no answer).
 Chapter XI.
1‒3 (= 2 Samuel v. 1‒3).
David made King over all Israel.

The remaining chapters of the first book of Chronicles are

occupied with the reign of David, who is represented as a king
fulfilling the Chronicler’s highest ideals of piety and prosperity. For
some general remarks on the difference between the picture thus
given and the David of Samuel see the note on xxviii. 1.

¹Then all Israel gathered themselves to

David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy
bone and thy flesh.
1. Then] Render And.

all Israel] Chronicles has nothing here corresponding to 2 Samuel

i.‒iv., chapters which cover a period of seven years (2 Samuel v. 5).
David’s earlier coronation by the men of Judah (2 Samuel ii. 4), the
reign of Ish-bosheth over Northern and Eastern Israel (2 Samuel ii. 8
ff.), and the “long war” (2 Samuel iii. 1) with the house of Saul are
omitted not of course because the Chronicler was ignorant of these
events (for see the references in verses 15, 17; xii. 1, 23, 29, etc.),
but for the reason set forth above in the head-note to chapters x.‒
xxix. The Chronicler’s account is perhaps deliberately adapted to
convey an impression of the ease with which the ideal David
ascends the throne of a united Israel; and, if we had not the narrative
in Samuel to help us, we should be left with a conception of the
period very different from the actual course of events. How strange,
too, would be the sudden transition from the picture of defeat and
flight of Israel in chapter x. to the calm assemblage of all Israel in
chapter xi., and how obscure the various references to David’s
earlier life in xi. 15 ff.!

we are thy bone and thy flesh] The phrase is not to be taken
strictly as implying kinship, for only the tribe of Judah could say “The
king is near of kin to us” (2 Samuel xix. 42). The other tribes mean
that they will obey David as though he were their own kin.

²In times past, even when Saul was king, it

was thou that leddest out and broughtest in
Israel: and the Lord thy God said unto thee,
Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou
shalt be prince ¹ over my people Israel.
¹ Or, leader.

2. the Lord thy God said] Compare verses 3, 10; 1 Samuel xvi.
1‒13.

prince] compare v. 2, note.

³So all the elders of Israel came to the king to

Hebron; and David made a covenant with
them in Hebron before the Lord; and they
anointed David king over Israel, according to
the word of the Lord by the hand of Samuel.
3. made a covenant] i.e. gave them a charter in which he
promised to respect existing rights; compare 1 Samuel x. 25
(Samuel writes the “manner” of the kingdom).

before the Lord] One method of entering into a covenant “before

the Lord” was to pass between the parts of a sacrificed animal;
compare Jeremiah xxxiv. 18, 19.
 Chronicles has nothing here corresponding with 2 Samuel v. 4, 5;
but compare xxix. 27.

according ... Samuel] Compare 1 Samuel xv. 28, xvi. 1, 3.

4‒9 (= 2 Samuel v. 6‒10).

The “City of David” captured and made a royal residence.

⁴And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem

(the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the
inhabitants of the land, were there.
4. David and all Israel] In Samuel (more accurately) “The king
and his men,” i.e. his household and body-guard; compare x. 6, note.
The exploit recorded in Samuel is invested by the Chronicler with the
grandeur of a state campaign.

the same is Jebus] Jerusalem (or Jebus) consisted, it seems

(compare verse 8; Judges i. 21), of a citadel inhabited by Jebusites
and of a lower city inhabited by a mixed population of Jebusites and
Benjamites. It was the citadel only which David stormed. Jerusalem
is called Jebus only here and in Judges xix. 10 f. The notion that
Jebus was an ancient name for the city may be only a late fancy, but
it is possible that it was sometimes so called in the days of the
Jebusite rule. What is certain is that the name Jerusalem is ancient,
for it occurs frequently (as Urusalim) in the Amarna tablets, circa
1400 b.c. See G. A. Smith, Jerusalem.

the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land] i.e. masters of that

territory before the Israelite invasion. The Jebusites have been
thought to be of Hittite origin, but they were probably Semites, like
the Israelites (see G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 16‒18).

⁵And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David,

Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless