1 Samuel 30:28
in 1 Samuel 30to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and to them that were in Aroer, and to them that were in Siphmoth, and to them that were in Eshtemoa,
KJV
And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
unto the elders of Judah
on 1 Samuel 30:26-31
David sends the spoil of the enemies of the LORD to town after town across Judah's south, a list of names running from Bethel to Hebron that reads like a map of every place that sheltered him through the outlaw years. Clarke calls the gesture plain gratitude to the men who gave him shelter and protection when he had none; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the same gifts as the seed of the following that would soon bring the men of Judah to anoint him. Two chapters later that anointing happens at Hebron, one of the very towns named on this list.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Aroer - Not Aroer on the Arnon, but (if rightly written) some town in Judah, not elsewhere named. Siphmoth, Rachal 1Sa 30:29, and Athach 1Sa 30:30, are unknown and not elsewhere mentioned; but Zabdi the Shiphmite 1Ch 27:27, who was over David’s wine-cellars, was evidently a native of the first-named place. It is a remarkable proof of the grateful nature of David, and of his fidelity to his early friendships, as well as a curious instance of undesigned coincidence, that we find among those employed by David in offices of trust in the height of his power so many inhabitants of those obscure places where he found friends in the days of his early difficulties. Ezri the son of Chelub, Shimei the Ramathite, and Zabdi the Shiphmite, as well as Ira and Gareb, and Ittai, and Hezrai, and many others, were probably among these friends of his youth.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלַאֲשֶׁ֧ר | velaasher | and for [those] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּעֲרֹעֵ֛ר | baaroer | [were] in Aroer | H6177 → | |
| וְלַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | velaasher | and for [those] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּשִֽׂפְמ֖וֹת | besifmot | [were] in Siphmoth | H8224 → | |
| וְלַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | velaasher | and for [those] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּאֶשְׁתְּמֹֽעַ׃ ס | beeshtemoa' | [were] in Eshtemoa | H851 → |
וְלַאֲשֶׁ֧רand for [those] who
velaasherH834 →5497 times
בַּעֲרֹעֵ֛ר[were] in Aroer
baaroerH6177 →
וְלַאֲשֶׁ֥רand for [those] who
velaasherH834 →5497 times
בְּשִֽׂפְמ֖וֹת[were] in Siphmoth
besifmotH8224 →
וְלַאֲשֶׁ֥רand for [those] who
velaasherH834 →5497 times
בְּאֶשְׁתְּמֹֽעַ׃ ס[were] in Eshtemoa
beeshtemoa'H851 →
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
Joshua 13:16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba,
it leads to
- Joshua 13:9
The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon,
- Joshua 12:2
Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of…
- Isaiah 16:7–9
Therefore let Moab wail; let them wail together for Moab. Moan for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth, you who are utterly stricken.
- Deuteronomy 3:12
So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with…
- Jeremiah 48:21–24
Judgment has come upon the high plain—upon Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,
- Joshua 13:9
Through
Joshua 21:14Jattir, Eshtemoa,
it leads to
- Joshua 15:48
These were in the hill country:
- Joshua 15:50
Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
- 1 Samuel 30:27–28
He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;
- Joshua 15:48
About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset and 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.
