1 Samuel 30:25
in 1 Samuel 30And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel to this very day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
KJV
And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe 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.
This site's exposition
My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us
on 1 Samuel 30:23-25
David calls the victory the LORD's gift. His ruling that the share of the one who stayed will match the share of the one who went echoes Moses' division in Numbers 31. It stands afterward as a statute for Israel, one of the few laws credited to David by name.
This site's exposition
David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel
Adam Clarke takes to this very day as a sign that the book was written long after David made the statute for Israel. Matthew Henry states the rule behind it. Those who help others get back what was taken gain no claim to it as their own plunder.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, 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 encouraged himself in the L ORD his God.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v5-6
And it was so from that day forward,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
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. However, be they who they may, they must rise or fall with their leader and commander. If he had the city Ziklag given to him, they had a house and a home in it. And if Ziklag was burned with fire, their houses did not escape. When David stood amid the smoking ruins, a penniless and a wifeless man, they stood in the same condition. This rule holds good with all of us who have joined ourselves to Christ and His cause—we must be partakers with Him. I hope we are prepared to stand to this rule today. If there is ridicule and reproach for the Gospel of Christ, let us be willing to be ridiculed and reproached for His sake. Let us gladly share with Him in His humiliation and never dream of shrinking. This involves a great privilege, since they that are with Him in His humiliation shall be with Him in His Glory. If we share His rebuke in the midst of an evil generation, we shall also sit upon His Throne and share His Glory in the day of His appearing. Brothers and Sisters, I hope the most of us can say we are in for it—to sink or swim with Jesus. In life or death, where He is, there will we, His servants, be. We joyfully accept both the Cross and the Crown which go with our Lord Jesus Christ—we are eager to bear our full share of the blame, that we may partake in His joy. It frequently happens that when a great disaster occurs to a band of men, a mutiny follows.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מֵֽהַיּ֥וֹם | mehaiyom | from the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וָמָ֑עְלָה | vamaelah | and on -wards | H4605 → | 140 times |
| וַיְשִׂמֶ֜הָ | vaysimeha | and he made it | H7760 → | 584 times |
| לְחֹ֤ק | lechok | into a statute | H2706 → | |
| וּלְמִשְׁפָּט֙ | ulemishpat | and into a judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | leyisrael | for Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ פ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מֵֽהַיּ֥וֹםfrom the day
mehaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
וָמָ֑עְלָהand on -wards
vamaelahH4605 →140 times
וַיְשִׂמֶ֜הָand he made it
vaysimehaH7760 →584 times
לְחֹ֤קinto a statute
lechokH2706 →
וּלְמִשְׁפָּט֙and into a judgment
ulemishpatH4941 →422 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לfor Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ פ<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 16:13So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:6
Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
- Hebrews 1:9
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”
- John 3:34
For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
- 1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
- Judges 11:29
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
- 1 Samuel 10:6
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2208: “The Statute of David for the Sharing of the Spoil” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.