1 Samuel 30:14
in 1 Samuel 30We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe 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.
This site's exposition
the south of the Cherethites
on 1 Samuel 30:14-16
The servant names the whole sweep of the raid, the Cherethite south, Judah's own coast, and Caleb's territory, before he leads David down to a camp spread abroad on all the earth, eating and drinking and dancing over spoil taken from two nations. An oath sworn to a foreign slave to save his own guide's plan, a picture the commentators read as ordinary shrewdness rather than any special virtue, though it serves David well.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
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.
We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David--Old and homeborn slaves are usually treated with great kindness. But a purchased or captured slave must look to himself; for, if feeble or sick, his master will leave him to perish rather than encumber himself with any additional burden.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Cherethites - Here used as synonymous with Philistines 1Sa 30:16. In David’s reign the body-guard commanded by Benaiah consisted of Cherethites and Pelethites (Philistines?) and a picked corps of six hundred men of Gath commanded by Ittai the Gittite. It would seem from this that the Cherethites and Philistines were two kindred and associated tribes, like Angles and Saxons, who took possession of the seacoast of Palestine. The Philistines, being the more powerful, gave their name to the country and the nation in general, though that of the Cherethites was not wholly extinguished. Many persons connect the name Cherethite with that of the island of Crete.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנַ֡חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| פָּשַׁ֜טְנוּ | pashatnu | we had made a raid | H6584 → | 43 times |
| נֶ֧גֶב | negev | [the] Negev of | H5045 → | 112 times |
| הַכְּרֵתִ֛י | hakereti | the Kerethite[s] | H3774 → | |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לִֽיהוּדָ֖ה | lihudah | [belongs] to Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נֶ֣גֶב | negev | [the] Negev of | H5045 → | 112 times |
| כָּלֵ֑ב | kalev | Caleb | H3612 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צִקְלַ֖ג | tziklag | Ziklag | H6860 → | 15 times |
| שָׂרַ֥פְנוּ | sarafnu | we had burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָאֵֽשׁ׃ | vaesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
אֲנַ֡חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
פָּשַׁ֜טְנוּwe had made a raid
pashatnuH6584 →43 times
נֶ֧גֶב[the] Negev of
negevH5045 →112 times
הַכְּרֵתִ֛יthe Kerethite[s]
hakeretiH3774 →
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
אֲשֶׁ֥ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לִֽיהוּדָ֖ה[belongs] to Judah
lihudahH3063 →819 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
נֶ֣גֶב[the] Negev of
negevH5045 →112 times
כָּלֵ֑בCaleb
kalevH3612 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
צִקְלַ֖גZiklag
tziklagH6860 →15 times
שָׂרַ֥פְנוּwe had burned
sarafnuH8313 →117 times
בָאֵֽשׁ׃with <the> fire
vaeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Ezekiel 25:16therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 15:18
and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zephaniah 2:4–15
For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
- Jeremiah 47:1–7
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
- Ezekiel 25:13
therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman…
- 2 Samuel 15:18
Through
Zephaniah 2:5Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 25:16
therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.
- Jeremiah 47:7
How can it rest when the LORD has commanded it? He has appointed it against Ashkelon and the shore of its coastland.”
- Ezekiel 25:16
Through
1 Kings 1:38Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 8:18
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
- 2 Samuel 8:18
Through
2 Samuel 8:18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:23
Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;
- 2 Samuel 20:23
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonWilderness / ConquestCalebOf Judah, one of the twelve spies — the man of another spirit who wholly followed Jehovah; one of only two of the census generatio…
- PlaceNegev borderZiklagThe Philistine town David ruled from, burned by Amalekite raiders while his men were away, where David found strength in the LORD…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 36; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.
