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1 Samuel 30

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David Returns to a Burned Ziklag 1–6

1
And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire, ​
2
and had taken captive the womenand allthat were therein, both small and great: they slew not any, but carried them off, and went their way.
3
And when David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captive.
4
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ​
5
And David’s two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened himself in Jehovah his God. ​

David Seeks Guidance from the Lord 7–10

7
And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. ​
8
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all. ​
9
So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed.
10
But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ​

Finding the Abandoned Egyptian Guide 11–15

11
And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink; ​
12
and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. ​
13
And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick.
14
We made a raid upon the South of the Cherethites, and upon that which belongeth to Judah, and upon the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
15
And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this troop. ​

The Rout of the Amalekites 16–20

16
And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the ground, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. ​
17
And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels and fled.
18
And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken; and David rescued his two wives.
19
And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them: David brought back all. ​
20
And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David’s spoil.

David Establishes the Law of Distribution 21–25

21
And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor; and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. ​
22
Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart. ​
23
Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which Jehovah hath given unto us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the troop that came against us into our hand.
24
And who will hearken unto you in this matter? for as his share is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarrieth by the baggage: they shall share alike. ​
25
And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. ​

Sharing the Spoil and Building Alliances 26–31

26
And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold, a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of Jehovah: ​
27
to them that were in Beth-el, and to them that were in Ramoth of the South, and to them that were in Jattir,
28
and to them that were in Aroer, and to them that were in Siphmoth, and to them that were in Eshtemoa,
29
and to them that were in Racal, and to them that were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them that were in the cities of the Kenites,
30
and to them that were in Hormah, and to them that were in Bor-ashan, and to them that were in Athach,
31
and to them that were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 30

Verse 1

the Amalekites had invaded the south — 'Invaded' is pashat, the verb of David's own raids in 1 Sam 27:8, and 'the south' (negeb) is the region he had told Achish he raided (27:10). They burn 'with fire' Ziklag, the town Achish gave him (27:6), by the time David arrives 'on the third day'. Saul's campaign against Amalek (1 Sam 15:7–8) had not ended them.

Verse 4

until they had no more power to weep — 'Lifted up their voice and wept' is the idiom of Judg 2:4 and 1 Sam 11:4. 'Power' is koach, strength, the word for the 'strength' Saul lacked in 1 Sam 28:20. The weeping continues until the strength for it is gone. The men are the six hundred of v.9, with David among them.

Verse 6

David encouraged himself in the LORD his God — 'Encouraged himself' is chazaq in the reflexive form, to take hold of strength. Jonathan had once 'strengthened his hand in God' with the same verb (1 Sam 23:16); here David does it for himself. 'Distressed' is tsarar, to be hemmed in, and the people's souls were 'grieved' (literally bitter, marar), so 'the people spake of stoning him'.

Verse 7

Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son — Abiathar escaped when Saul slew the LORD's priests (1 Sam 22:20–21) and came to David 'with an ephod in his hand' (1 Sam 23:6). The ephod is asked for so that David can enquire in v.8, by the Urim that left Saul unanswered (1 Sam 28:6).

Verse 8

Shall I pursue after this troop? — 'Enquired' is sha'al, the verb used of Saul in 1 Sam 28:6, but here 'he answered him', where Saul got no answer. The reply promises two things, to 'overtake' (nasag) and to 'recover' (natsal, to snatch away), and v.18 uses that same verb: 'David recovered all'. 'Troop' is gedud, a raiding band, as in v.15.

Verse 10

the brook Besor — Of the six hundred (v.9), four hundred cross the nachal (a wadi) named Besor and two hundred stay behind. 'Faint' is pagar, to be spent and slack, a word found only here and in v.21. The two hundred are left at the brook, and the question of their share comes in vv.21–25.

Verse 11

an Egyptian in the field — David's men give him bread and water. Israel had been told, 'thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land' (Deut 23:7). He proves to be the servant of an Amalekite, left behind when he fell sick (v.13), and he is the one who brings David down to the raiders (v.15).

Verse 12

his spirit came again to him — The words are ruach shub, 'spirit returned', as of Samson after he drank in Judg 15:19. The food, a cake of figs (debelah) and clusters of raisins (tsimmuq), is the same kind Abigail had brought David (1 Sam 25:18). He had gone 'three days and three nights' without bread or water.

Verse 15

Swear unto me by God — 'Swear' is shaba', to bind oneself by an oath. The Egyptian asks for two things, not to be killed and not to be given back to his master (adon); the second is the protection Deut 23:15 gives a servant who has escaped from his master. 'Company' is gedud, the 'troop' of v.8.

Verse 16

eating and drinking, and dancing — 'Dancing' is chagag, to keep a festival, the root of the word for a feast (chag). 'Spread abroad' is natash, left loose and scattered over the ground. The spoil they feast on was taken 'out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah'.

Verse 19

there was nothing lacking — 'Lacking' is 'adar, to be missing: nothing was missing of small or great, sons or daughters, or spoil. This answers the 'recover all' of v.8. The verb for David's recovering here is shub, to bring back, beside natsal, to snatch out, in v.18, where he 'rescued his two wives'.

Verse 21

he saluted them — The Hebrew is literally that he 'asked… of peace' (sha'al, shalom), the greeting of one who asks after another's welfare (cf. Gen 43:27). The two hundred, 'so faint that they could not follow', are the men left at Besor in v.10, and they come out to meet both David and the people with him.

Verse 22

wicked men and men of Belial — Beliya'al means worthlessness, the word of 'sons of Belial' said of Eli's sons (1 Sam 2:12) and of Nabal (1 Sam 25:17). These are among 'those that went with David', so the objection comes from inside his company. They offer the two hundred only their wives and children, 'that they may lead them away, and depart'.

Verse 24

they shall part alike — 'Stuff' is keli, baggage or vessels, so the two hundred had been left with the supplies. Numbers 31:27 had divided the prey between 'them that took the war upon them' and 'all the congregation', and Josh 22:8 tells returning soldiers to 'divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren'. 'Part alike' is chalaq yachad, to divide together.

Verse 25

a statute and an ordinance — Choq and mishpat, the pair of words used at Marah: 'there he made for them a statute and an ordinance' (Ex 15:25). The rule of equal shares in v.24 became standing law 'from that day forward', and 'for Israel unto this day'.

Verse 26

a present for you of the spoil — 'Present' is berakah, literally a blessing, the word for Abigail's gift to David in 1 Sam 25:27. David calls the spoil that of 'the enemies of the LORD', and the recipients are 'the elders of Judah', whom he names 'his friends' (rea'), in the towns listed in vv.27–31.

Verse 31

Hebron — The last place named in the list, and the city David is sent to when he enquires of the LORD after Saul's death: 'Unto Hebron' (2 Sam 2:1). There 'the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah' (2 Sam 2:4). 'Wont to haunt' is halak, to walk, for the places where David and his men had gone to and fro.