1 Samuel 23:5
in 1 Samuel 23Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and slew them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
KJV
So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBrought away their cattle - The forage and spoil which the Philistines had taken, driving the country before them round about Keilah.
This site's exposition
we be afraid here in Judah
on 1 Samuel 23:3-5
David's men balk at the risk of a pitched fight against a Philistine garrison, and rather than overrule them David enquires of the Lord a second time on the same question. Adam Clarke reads the repeated enquiry as accommodation to his men's weaker faith rather than any doubt of David's own. The second answer is as plain as the first, and the raid succeeds: the cattle are recovered and Keilah is saved.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
David and his men went to Keilah, etc. The Lord went in His preachers to heal the brokenhearted, and fought against the spirits of falsehood and perfidy, revealing the light of truth and faith, and drove them away from the souls of the redeemed by …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So David and his men went to Keilah,....
The danger he was thereby brought into from the malice of the prince he served and the treachery of the city he saved, and his deliverance, by divine direction, from that danger,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
To repel unprovoked assaults on unoffending people who were engaged in their harvest operations, was a humane and benevolent service. But it was doubtful how far it was David's duty to go against a public enemy without the royal commission; and on that account he asked, and obtained, the divine counsel.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דָּוִד֩ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַאֲנָשָׁ֨יו | vainshov | and men his | H582 → | 566 times |
| קְעִילָ֜ה | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
| וַיִּלָּ֣חֶם | vaiyilachem | and he fought | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֗ים | bapelishtim | against the Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַיִּנְהַג֙ | vaiyinhag | and he drove away | H5090 → | 31 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִקְנֵיהֶ֔ם | mikneihem | livestock their | H4735 → | |
| וַיַּ֥ךְ | vaiyakh | and he defeated | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בָּהֶ֖ם | bahem | <in> <the> them | ||
| מַכָּ֣ה | makah | a defeat | H4347 → | 48 times |
| גְדוֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיֹּ֣שַׁע | vaiyosha' | and he delivered | H3467 → | 206 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| קְעִילָֽה׃ ס | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
דָּוִד֩David
davidH1732 →999 times
וַאֲנָשָׁ֨יוand men his
vainshovH582 →566 times
קְעִילָ֜הKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
וַיִּלָּ֣חֶםand he fought
vaiyilachemH3898 →177 times
בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֗יםagainst the Philistines
bapelishtimH6430 →287 times
וַיִּנְהַג֙and he drove away
vaiyinhagH5090 →31 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִקְנֵיהֶ֔םlivestock their
mikneihemH4735 →
וַיַּ֥ךְand he defeated
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
בָּהֶ֖ם<in> <the> them
bahem
מַכָּ֣הa defeat
makahH4347 →48 times
גְדוֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
וַיֹּ֣שַׁעand he delivered
vaiyosha'H3467 →206 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
קְעִילָֽה׃ סKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.