1 Samuel 23:5

5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with [the] Philistines. They drove off their livestock and {dealt them a heavy blow}. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

1 Samuel 23:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:5

So David and his men went to Keilah
Animated by a commission from God, and a promise of success by him:

and fought with the Philistines;
encamped before Keilah:

and brought away their cattle;
which they had brought with them for the support of their army; or having routed them, they pursued them into their own country, and brought off their cattle from thence:

and smote them with a great slaughter;
killed great numbers of them, and put the rest to flight:

so David saved the inhabitants of Keilah;
from falling into the hands of the Philistines, by timely raising the siege of the city.

1 Samuel 23:5 In-Context

3 But David's men said to him, "Look, we [are] afraid here in Judah. {How much more} [if] we go [to] Keilah to the battle lines of [the] Philistines?"

4 So David again inquired of Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him and said, "Get up, go down [to] Keilah, for I [am] giving [the] Philistines into your hand.

5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with [the] Philistines. They drove off their livestock and {dealt them a heavy blow}. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 {Now when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled} to David [at] Keilah, he went down [with] an ephod in his hand.

7 When it was told to Saul that David had gone to Keilah, Saul said, "God {has given him} into my hand, because he has shut himself in by going into a city [with] {two barred gates}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "he struck them with a great smiting"
• [b]. Or "delivered" or "rescued"