1 Samuel 27:8

8 David and his men went up, and made a raid on the Geshuri, and the Gizri, and the `Amaleki; for those [nations] were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as you go to Shur, even to the land of Mitzrayim.

1 Samuel 27:8 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 27:8

And David and his men went up
From Ziklag, where they dwelt:

and invaded the Geshurites;
some of the old inhabitants of the land of Canaan, the remains of the Amorites, whose land was given to the half tribe of Manasseh, but could never be expelled; and therefore David had a just right to invade them, and, if he could, either expel or destroy them; see ( Deuteronomy 3:14 ) ( Joshua 12:5 ) ( Joshua 13:11 Joshua 13:13 ) ; these are the Geshurites which are joined with the Philistines, ( Joshua 13:2 ) ;

and the Gezrites;
the inhabitants of Gezer, which place fell to the tribe of Ephraim; but that tribe could not drive out the inhabitants of it, and therefore David now fell upon them as the enemies of Israel, and seized on their country, as belonging to them, ( Joshua 16:3 ) ( Judges 1:29 ) ;

and the Amalekites;
the sworn and implacable enemies of Israel, and whose memory they were laid under obligation to root out. These were such as had escaped the sword of Saul, and had fled to the more distant parts, against whom David now went; and perhaps these had fled to and mixed themselves with the people here mentioned:

for these [nations were] of old the inhabitants of the land;
of the land of Canaan;

as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt;
see ( 1 Samuel 15:7 ) .

1 Samuel 27:8 In-Context

6 Then Akhish gave him Tziklag that day: why Tziklag pertains to the kings of Yehudah to this day.

7 The number of the days that David lived in the country of the Pelishtim was a full year and four months.

8 David and his men went up, and made a raid on the Geshuri, and the Gizri, and the `Amaleki; for those [nations] were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, as you go to Shur, even to the land of Mitzrayim.

9 David struck the land, and saved neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the donkeys, and the camels, and the clothing; and he returned, and came to Akhish.

10 Akhish said, Against whom have you made a raid today? David said, Against the South of Yehudah, and against the South of the Yerachme'eli, and against the South of the Kinim.