1 Samuel 23:5

5 So David and his men went to Keilah and attacked the Philistines; they killed many of them and took their livestock. And so it was that David saved the town.

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, "We have enough to be afraid of here in Judah; it will be much worse if we go to Keilah and attack the Philistine forces!"

4 So David consulted the Lord again, and the Lord said to him, "Go and attack Keilah, because I will give you victory over the Philistines.

5 So David and his men went to Keilah and attacked the Philistines; they killed many of them and took their livestock. And so it was that David saved the town.

6 When Abiathar son of Ahimelech escaped and joined David in Keilah, he took the ephod with him.

7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, "God has put him in my power. David has trapped himself by going into a walled town with fortified gates."