1 Samuel 30:7-17

7 And he said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Ahimelech, Bring thou [the] ephod to me. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David;
8 and David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I pursue these thieves, either no? and shall I take them? And the Lord said to him, Pursue thou; for without doubt thou shalt take them, and thou shalt take away from them their prey. (and David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I pursue these thieves, or not? and shall I be able to overtake them? And the Lord said to him, Pursue thou them; for without a doubt thou shalt overtake them, and thou shalt take their prey away from them.)
9 Therefore David went forth, he and six hundred men that were with him, and they came unto the strand of Besor; and there the weary men of the host of David abode behind. (And so David went forth, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the Besor Stream; and the weary men in David's army stayed behind there.)
10 Forsooth David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred abided (behind), that were weary, and might not pass [over] the strand of Besor.
11 And they found a (young) man of Egypt in the field, and they brought him to David; and they gave him bread, that he should eat, and water to drink (and they gave him some bread to eat, and some water to drink);
12 but also they gave to him a gobbet of a bundle of dried figs, and two clusters of dried grapes. And when he had eaten those, his spirit turned again to him, and he was comforted; for he had not eaten bread, neither had drunk water in three days and three nights. (and they also gave him a piece of a bundle of dried figs, and two clusters of dried grapes. And when he had eaten them, his spirit returned to him, and he was strengthened; for he had not eaten any bread, or drunk any water, for three days and three nights.)
13 Then David said to him, Whose man art thou, either from whence and whither goest thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of a man of Amalek; but my lord forsook me, for I began to be sick the third day ago.
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).

1 Samuel 30:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 30

This chapter relates the condition Ziklag was in when David and his men came to it, the city burnt, and their families carried captive by the Amalekites, which occasioned not only a general lamentation, but mutiny and murmuring in David's men, 1Sa 30:1-6; the inquiry David made of the Lord what he should do, who is bid to pursue the enemy; and being directed by a lad where they were, fell upon them, and routed them, and brought back the captives with a great spoil, 1Sa 30:7-20; the distribution of the spoil, both to those that went with him, and to those who through faintness were left behind, 1Sa 30:21-25; and the presents of it he sent to several places in the tribe of Judah, who had been kind to him when he dwelt among them, 1Sa 30:26-31.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.