1 Samuel30chapter 30

1 Samuel 30:7

“Abiathar had continued to abide with David, ever since he joined him at Keilah 1Sa 23:6. On inquiry of the Lord by the ephod, see Jdg 1:1 note. The answers were evidently given by the Word of the Lord in the mouth of the high priest (compare Joh 11:51).”

1 Samuel 30:7

“The ephod - And put it upon thyself, that thou mayst inquire of God according to his ordinance, David was sensible of his former error in neglecting to ask counsel of God by the ephod, when he came to Achish, and when he went out with Achish to the Battle; and his necessity now brings him to his duty, and his duty meets with success.”

1 Samuel 30:8

“He answered - Before, God answered more slowly and gradually, chap. xxiii, 11, 12, but now he answers speedily, and fully at once, because the business required haste. So gracious is our God, that he considers even the degree of our necessities, and accommodates himself to them.”

1 Samuel 30:8

“Perhaps he was ashamed to own his religion so far among the uncircumcised; but now he begins to apprehend that this trouble is brought upon him to correct him for that oversight, and therefore the first thing he does is to call for the ephod.”

1 Samuel 30:9

“So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him,.... Encouraged by the oracle of the Lord: and came to the brook Besor; which Adrichomius (q) places in the tribe of Simeon; it is thought to be near Gaza.”

1 Samuel 30:9

“The brook Besor - This had its source in the mountain of Idumea, and fell into the Mediterranean Sea beyond Gaza. Some suppose it to have been the same with the river of the wilderness, or the river of Egypt. The sense of this and the following verse is, that when they came to the brook Besor, there were found two hundred out of his six hundred men so spent with fatigue that they could proceed no farther. The baggage or stuff was left there, 1Sa 30:24, and they were appointed to guard it.”

1 Samuel 30:10

“Four hundred - A small number for such an attempt: but David was strong in faith, giving God the glory of his power and faithfulness.”

1 Samuel 30:11-17

“The poor and the feeble, the blind and the lame, are called and come because the weak and the despised in this world are often quicker to hear the voice of God, as in this world they have nothing to delight them.The Egyptian servant of the Amalekites is a good example of this. When the Amalekites were plundering and moving about, he was left behind on the road sick and fainting from hunger and thirst.”

1 Samuel 30:12

“And they gave him a piece of cake of figs,.... That were dried and pressed together, and made into cakes: and two clusters of raisins; or dried grapes, as the Targum: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; he seemed to be quite dispirited, almost lifeless, but upon eating some food he was refreshed, and his spirits revived, and he was capable of conversing: for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights; that is, one whole day, and part of two days, as appears from 1Sa 30:13.”

1 Samuel 30:12

“Three days and nights - One whole day and part of two others, as appears from the next verse, where he saith, three days ago I fell sick, but in the Hebrew it is, this is the third day since I fell sick.”

1 Samuel 30:12

“Those are unworthy the name of Israelites who shut up the bowels of their compassion from persons in distress. It was also prudently done to relieve this Egyptian; for, though despicable, he was capable of doing them service: so it proved, though they were not certain of this when they relieved him.”

1 Samuel 30:13

“My master left me, because three days agone I fell sick - This was very inhuman: though they had booty enough, and no doubt asses sufficient to carry the invalids, yet they left this poor man to perish; and God visited it upon them, as he made this very person the means of their destruction, by the information which he was enabled to give to David and his men.”

1 Samuel 30:13

“Egypt - God by his providence so ordering it, that he was not one of that cursed race of the Amalekites, who were to be utterly destroyed, but an Egyptian, who might be spared. Left me - In this place and condition: which was barbarous inhumanity: for he ought, and easily might have carried him away with the prey which they had taken.”

1 Samuel 30:14

“Upon the south of the Cherethites - Calmet and others maintain, that the כרתי kerethi, which, without the points, might be read Creti, were not only at this time Philistines, but that they were aborigines of Crete, from which they had their name Cherethites or Cretans, and are those of whom Zephaniah speaks, Zep 2:5: Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites. And by Ezekiel, Eze 25:16: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and will cut off the Cherethim.”

1 Samuel 30:14

“Cherethites - That is, the Philistines. Caleb - This is added by way of explication: that part of the south of Judah which belongs to Caleb's posterity.”

1 Samuel 30:14

“The countries which David had pretended to Achish to have made an incursion upon ( ch. xxvii. 10 ) they really had invaded and laid waste. What was then false now proved too true.”

1 Samuel 30:15

“Swear unto me - At the conclusion of this verse, the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic add, that David swore to him. This is not expressed in the Hebrew, but is necessarily implied.”

1 Samuel 30:15

“Swear unto me by God--Whether there was still among these idolatrous tribes a lingering belief in one God, or this Egyptian wished to bind David by the God whom the Hebrews worshipped, the solemn sanction of an oath was mutually recognized.”

1 Samuel 30:15

“This he promised David to inform him of upon condition he would spare his life and protect him from his master, who, if he could hear of him again (he thought), would add cruelty to cruelty.”

1 Samuel 30:16

“Out of the land of the Philistines - That these Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines is evident, but it certainly does not follow from this that those whom David destroyed were enemies also. This, I think, has been too hastily assumed by Dr. Chandler and others, in order the better to vindicate the character of David.”

1 Samuel 30:16

“The promise made in answer to the devout inquiries of David (1Sa 30:8) was fulfilled. The marauders were surprised and panic-stricken. A great slaughter ensued--the people as well as the booty taken from Ziklag was recovered, besides a great amount of spoil which they had collected in a wide, freebooting excursion.”

1 Samuel 30:16

“Justly did Providence make this poor servant, that was thus basely abused, instrumental towards the destruction of a whole army of Amalekites and his master among the rest; for God hears the cry of oppressed servants.”

1 Samuel 30:16

“In this posture David surprised them, which made the conquest of them, and the blow he gave them, the more easy to him and the more dismal to them. Then are sinners nearest to ruin when they cry, Peace and safety, and put the evil day far from them.”

1 Samuel 30:17

“There escaped not a man of them - It is well known to every careful reader of the Bible, that the Amalekites were a proscribed people, even by God himself, and that in extirpating them it has been supposed David fulfilled the express will of God. But all this depends on whether he had an express commission to do so, received from God himself, as Saul had.”

1 Samuel 30:17

“Twilight - The word signifies both the morning and evening twilight. But the latter seems here intended, partly because their eating, and drinking, and dancing, was more proper work for the evening, than the morning; and partly, because the evening was more convenient for David, that the fewness of his forces might not be discovered by the day-light.”

1 Samuel 30:17

“Thus is the triumphing of the wicked short, and wrath comes on them, as on Belshazzar, when they are in the midst of their jollity. The spoil was recovered and brought off, and nothing was lost, but a great deal gotten.”

1 Samuel 30:18

“And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away,.... The wives and children of the Israelites, and their goods, excepting the provisions they had eaten: and David rescued his two wives; which is particularly observed, because a special concern of his.”

1 Samuel 30:18-19

“Providence had so ordered it that the Amalekites carefully preserved all that they had taken, concluding that they kept it for themselves, though really they preserved it for the right owners, so that there was nothing lacking to them; so it proved, when they concluded all was gone: so much better is God oftentimes to us than our own fears.”

1 Samuel 30:20

“And David took all the flocks - He and his men not only recovered all their own property, but they recovered all the spoil which these Amalekites had taken from the south of Judah, the Cherethites, and the south of Caleb. When this was separated from the rest, it was given to David, and called David’s spoil.”

1 Samuel 30:20

“This drove was put in the van of the triumph, with this proclamation, " This is David's spoil. This we may thank him for." Those who lately spoke of stoning him now caressed him and cried him up, because they got by him more than they had then lost. Thus are the world and its sentiments governed by interest.”

1 Samuel 30:21-26

“THOSE who associate themselves with a leader must share his fortunes. Six hundred men had left their abodes in Judea. Unable to endure the tyranny of Saul, they had linked themselves with David and made him to be a captain over them. They were, some of them, the best of men, and some of them were the worst—in this, resembling our congregations. Some of them were choice spirits whom David would have sought, but others were undesirable persons from whom he might gladly have been free.”

1 Samuel 30:22

“What joy could they have of their families if they had nothing to maintain them with? Was this to do as they would be done by? Those are men of Belial indeed who delight in putting hardships upon their brethren, and care not who is starved, so they may be fed to the full.”

1 Samuel 30:23

“That which the Lord hath given us - He very properly attributes this victory to God; the numbers of the Amalekites being so much greater than his own. Indeed, as many fled away on camels as were in the whole host of David.”

1 Samuel 30:24

“Part alike - A prudent and equitable constitution, and therefore practiced by the Romans, as Polybius and others note. The reason of it is manifest; because they were exposed to hazards, as well as their brethren: and were a reserve to whom they might retreat in case of a defeat; and they were now in actual service, and in the station in which their general had placed them.”

1 Samuel 30:25

“He made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel - Nothing could be more just and proper than this law: he who stays at home to defend house and property, has an equal right to the booty taken by those who go out to the war. There was a practice of this kind among the Israelites long before this time; see Num 31:27; Jos 22:8; and the note on this latter verse. Unto this day - This is another indication that this book was composed long after the facts it commemorates. See the hypothesis in the preface.”

1 Samuel 30:25

“If we help others to recover their right, we must not think that this alienates the property and makes it ours. God appointed that the spoil of Midian should be divided between the soldiers and the whole congregation, Num. xxxi. The case here was somewhat different, but governed by the same general rule--that we are members one of another.”

1 Samuel 30:26

“Unto the elders of Judah - These were the persons among whom he sojourned during his exile, and who had given him shelter and protection. Gratitude required these presents.”

1 Samuel 30:26

“It was the dictate of an amiable and grateful heart; and the effect of this well-timed liberality was to bring a large accession of numbers to his camp (1Ch 12:22).”

1 Samuel 30:26

“Several places are here named to which he sent of these presents, all of them in or near the tribe of Judah. The first place named is Bethel, which signifies the house of God; that place shall be first served for its name's sake; or perhaps it means not the city so called, but the place where the ark was, which was therefore the house of God.”

1 Samuel 30:27

“Bethel - i. e. Bethuel 1Ch 4:30, quite in the south near Beer-sheba, Hormah, and Ziklag; or Bethul Jos 19:4, one of the cities of the Simeonites. South Ramoth - Rather, “Ramoth of the South country” 1Sa 27:10; 1Sa 30:1, 1Sa 30:14, so-called to distinguish it from Ramoth-Gilead, one of the Simeonite cities Jos 19:8. Shimei, the Ramathite 1Ch 27:27, who was over David’s vineyards, was evidently a native of this Ramath. See below 1Sa 30:28. Jattir - “In the mountains” of Judah, and one of the priests’ cities, is identified with ‘Attir, ten miles south of Hebron.”

1 Samuel 30:28

“And to them which were in Aroer,.... Not Aroer in the tribe of Gad beyond Jordan, where David is never said to be, but some city of this name in the tribe of Judah; the Greek version of Jos 15:22, instead of Adadah, has Arouel: and to them which were in Siphmoth; which very probably was in the tribe of Judah, though nowhere else mentioned: and to them which were in Eshtemoa; a Levitical city given to the Levites by the children of Judah, Jos 21:14.”

1 Samuel 30:28

“In Aroer - Situated beyond Jordan, on the banks of the river Arnon, in the tribe of God. Siphmoth - Supposed to be the same with Shepham, Num 34:10, on the eastern border of the promised land. Eshtemoa - Another city in the tribe of Judah. See Jos 15:50.”

1 Samuel 30:29

“And to them which were in Rachal,.... Another city of the tribe of Judah, but nowhere else spoken of: and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites: which lay to the south of Judah, 1Sa 27:10, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites; who dwelt in the wilderness of Judah, in the south of Arad, Jdg 1:16.”

1 Samuel 30:29

“Them which were in Rachal - We know not where this place was; it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. Calmet conjectures that Hachilah, 1Sa 23:19, may be the same place; here we know David did conceal himself for some time, till the Ziphites endeavored to betray him to Saul. The cities of the Jerahmeelites - See before, 1Sa 27:10 (note). And - the cities of the Kenites - A very small tract on the southern coast of the Dead Sea.”

1 Samuel 30:30

“And to them which were in Hormah,.... This was a city also in the tribe of Judah; of which see Jos 15:30, and to them which were in Chorashan; or the lake of Ashan, which was in the same tribe, see Jos 15:42, and to them which were in Athach; nowhere else mentioned; the Greek version has Nombe instead of it, which some take to be the same with Nob; but that was in the tribe of Benjamin.”

1 Samuel 30:30

“Hormah - The general name of those cities which belonged to Arad, king of Canaan; and were devoted to destruction by the Hebrews, and thence called Hormah. See Num 21:1-3. In Chor-ashan - Probably the same as Ashan in the tribe of Judah: see Jos 15:42 (note). It was afterwards ceded to Simeon, Jos 19:7. To them which were in Athach - Probably the same as Ether, Jos 19:7.”

1 Samuel 30:31

“And to them which were in Hebron,.... A noted city in the tribe of Judah, in the mountainous part of it, and a city of refuge, and where David was afterwards anointed, first king over Judah, and then over Israel, 2Sa 2:4, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt; where they had their walks, and went to and fro when persecuted by Saul; all such places, and the inhabitants of them, David had a grateful remembrance of, who sheltered and relieved him in the times of his distress.”

1 Samuel 30:31

“Hebron - Now El-Khulil (see Gen 23:2). Hebron was a city of refuge Jos 20:7, and one of the cities of the Kohathites Jos 21:11. It lies twenty miles south of Jerusalem.”

1 Samuel 30:31

“He was fit to be a king who thus showed the bounty and liberality of a king. Munificence recommends a man more than magnificence. The Ziphites had none of his presents, nor the men of Keilah; and thus he showed that, though he was such a saint as not to revenge affronts, yet he was not such a fool as not to take notice of them.”