And it came to pass, when David and his men were come
to
Ziklag, on the third day
Either from their departure from thence, when they went out with
Achish, or rather from the time of their leaving Achish, and the
camp of the Philistines; so long they were upon their march
homewards, see ( 2 Samuel 1:1
2 Samuel
1:2 ) ; and no wonder, if it was the distance of eighty eight
miles, (See Gill on
1 Samuel 29:11);
that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and
Ziklag;
the southern parts of the land of the Philistines, and of Judah,
as appears from ( 1 Samuel
30:14 ) ; taking the opportunity of the Philistines being
gone into the land of Israel, and particularly of David's absence
from Ziklag, to whom they bore a grudge for his invasion,
destruction, and spoil of them not long ago, see ( 1 Samuel
27:8 ) ;
and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire;
not that they smote the inhabitants of it, there were no men in
it, and the women and children they carried captive; but they
demolished the buildings in it, pulled down the houses after they
had rifled them, and burnt them with fire, that David and his men
might dwell there no more.
