1 Samuel 30:17

17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.

1 Samuel 30:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:17

And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening
of the next day
As there are two twilights, the twilight of the morning, and the twilight of the evening; this is differently understood some take it for the twilight of the morning, and that it was night when David came to them, and let them alone till they were drunk and asleep, and then early in the morning fell upon them, and smote them until the evening; so Josephus ^F19 relates it; but others take it to be the twilight of the evening, and that he fell upon them that night, and continued the slaughter of them to the evening of the next day, with which agrees the Targum; nay, some take the next day, or the morrow, to be that which followed after the two evenings; so that this slaughter was carried on to the third day:

and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men that
rode upon camels, and fled;
that sort of camels called dromedaries, according to Josephus ^F20, and which were very swift, and much used by the Arabians, near whom these people dwelt, see ( Isaiah 60:6 ) ( Jeremiah 2:23 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 6.
F20 Ibid.

1 Samuel 30:17 In-Context

15 And David said to him, "Will you take me down to this band?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band."

16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.

18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives.

19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all.