1 Samuel 30:11

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, they gave him water to drink,

1 Samuel 30:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:11

And they found an Egyptian in the field
As they passed along, lying there, having been sick, and was half starved, almost dead:

and brought him to David;
to know what was to be done with him; being in the habit of a soldier, they concluded he might be one of the company they were in pursuit of; but whether they should kill him, or make use of him for intelligence and as a guide, could they bring him to himself, they knew not, and therefore brought him to David:

and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water;
both which they had with them for their own use; had he been an Amalekite, and not an Egyptian, they might not have relieved or spared him, but must have destroyed him at once; see ( Deuteronomy 25:19 ) .

1 Samuel 30:11 In-Context

9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.

10 But David went on with the pursuit, he and four hundred men; two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.

11 They found an Egyptian in the open country, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, they gave him water to drink,

12 and they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived; for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

13 And David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" He said, "I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amal'ekite; and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago.