1 Samuel 30:2

2 They also had kidnapped the women and everyone^[a] in it from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

1 Samuel 30:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:2

And had taken the women captives, that [were] therein
There being no other to take, the men were gone with David:

they slew not any, either great or small;
that is, of the women, whether married or unmarried, old, or maidens, or children; which was very much, since David destroyed all that came within his reach, men and women, when he invaded them, ( 1 Samuel 27:9 ) ; but perhaps this was not owing to their humanity, but to their covetousness, designing to make an advantage of them by selling them for slaves; no doubt they were restrained by the providence of God:

but carried [them] away, and went on their way;
homewards with their captives.

1 Samuel 30:2 In-Context

1 David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the Negev and attacked and burned down Ziklag.

2 They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one but had carried them off as they went on their way.

3 When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned down. Their wives, sons, and daughters had been kidnapped.

4 David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

5 David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped.

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX; MT omits and everyone