1 Samuel 30:16

16 And when the young man had led him thither, lo! they sat at the meat, upon the face of all the earth, eating and drinking, and as hallowing a feast day, for all the prey and spoils which they had taken of the land of Philistines, and of the land of Judah. (And when the young man had led him there, lo! they sat spread out over all the ground, eating and drinking, as if celebrating a feast day, because of all the prey and the spoils which they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and the land of Judah.)

1 Samuel 30:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:16

And when he had brought him down
To the place where the company of the Amalekites were, or near it:

behold, [they were] spread abroad upon all the earth;
they were not in any regular order, and much less in any military form, but lay about in the fields, scattered here and there, were in detached parties:

some eating and drinking;
in one place:

and dancing;
others, in another place, expressing their joy, and perhaps their thankfulness to their idols

because of the great spoil they had taken out of the land of the
Philistines, and out of the land of Judah;
from Ziklag, and from the south of the Cherethites, and the south of Judah, they had invaded, ( 1 Samuel 30:14 ) ; and here they were in the greatest security; knowing: that the armies of the Philistines were gone into the land of Israel, and were about to engage in battle with the Israelites, and David they supposed was with the Philistines, so that they had nothing to fear from any quarter; and thus it is often, that when men cry peace, peace, sudden destruction comes upon them.

1 Samuel 30:16 In-Context

14 For we brake out at the south coast of (the) Cherethites, and against Judah (near Judah), and at the south of Caleb, and we burnt Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Mayest thou lead me to this company? Which said (And the young man said), Swear thou to me by God, that thou shalt not slay me, and that thou shalt not betake me into the hands of my lord; and I shall lead thee to this company. And David swore to him.
16 And when the young man had led him thither, lo! they sat at the meat, upon the face of all the earth, eating and drinking, and as hallowing a feast day, for all the prey and spoils which they had taken of the land of Philistines, and of the land of Judah. (And when the young man had led him there, lo! they sat spread out over all the ground, eating and drinking, as if celebrating a feast day, because of all the prey and the spoils which they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and the land of Judah.)
17 And David smote them from the eventide unto the eventide of the tother day, and not any of them escaped, no but four hundred young men, that went upon camels, and fled (who went upon camels, and fled).
18 Forsooth David delivered all things which the men of Amalek took, and he delivered his two wives; (And so David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives;)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.