Chapter Thirty
The Amalekites Raid Ziklag and Take David’s Wives While David was Away
30:1 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.
When David and his men returned to Ziklag they found that the city had been raided by the Amalekites. They burned the city and took all the women and everyone else who resided there. We are told that they killed no one, a fact that David and his men undoubtedly did not know at the time, we are also told that the Amalekites raided the Negeb, which encapsulates most of the southern region of Judah..
30:3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
David and his men were devastated seeing that their loved ones were gone and the city ruined with fire. They mourned and wept to the point of exhaustion.
30:5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
Both of David’s wives were missing, causing him to be emotionally distraught, in addition to grieving over his own loss, some of his men began to talk about stoning him, as this calamity made them very bitter. But David strengthened himself (Hebrew yiṯ·ḥǎz·zēq’, to be courageous, to be strong) in YHWH.
30:7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”
David asks Abiathar, the priest that escaped Saul’s rampage against the priests (see 1 Samuel 22:11-23) and was traveling with David, to bring the ephod (which is likely a metonym for the high priest’s ephod, breastplate, and the Urim and the Thummim which is used to inquire from God, click here to see commentary under 1 Samuel 14:3). David inquires from God (likely through Abiathar) whether they should purse the raiding party and will they be able to overtake them. The answer from God was that they are to pursue, as they will overtake and rescue the captives.
30:9 So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor.
David and his men left Ziklag to catch up with the Amalekite raiders, they made it to the brook Besor (believed to be in the southwestern region of the Negeb) and two-hundred of the men who were too exhausted remained there.
30:11 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.
After crossing the Besor, an Egyptian man was found in the open country and the man was brought to David. They gave him food and water and he soon revived, as he had not eaten or drank anything for three days and three nights..
30:13 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 Amalekite, and my master left me behind because I fell sick three days ago. 14 We had made a raid against the Negeb of the Cherethites and against that which belongs to Judah and against the Negeb of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
David asks him who he was and where did he come from, the man told him that he was a servant to an Amalekite, but due to being ill he was left behind three days ago. He told David that they had raided against the Negeb of the Cherethites (the first encounter of this group in Scripture, lived near the Philistines and believed to also have an Aegean origin, later will be loyal to David), against that which belonged to Judah, against the Negeb of Caleb, and against Ziklag which they burned.
30:15 And David said to him, “Will you take me down to this band?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this band.”
David asks the man if he would take him to where this band (Hebrew geḏûḏ’, band of marauders, raiding party) could be found. The man responded, only if you swear by God that he will not be killed or be returned to his master.
David Defeats the Amalekites
30:16 And when he had taken him down, behold, they were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
The man led them to where the raiding party was and they found them spread out celebrating their spoil, eating, drinking, and dancing.
30:17 And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who mounted camels and fled.
David and his men struck them down fighting from dusk to the evening of the following day, no one escaped except four hundred young men who fled on camels.
30:18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and David rescued his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken. David brought back all. 20 David also captured all the flocks and herds, and the people drove the livestock before him, and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
David was able to recover everything the Amalakites had taken including his two wives. Nothing was missing and no lives were lost, all was being brought back. In addition David captured all the flocks and herds. His men drove all of the livestock ahead of the others, saying, “This is David’s spoil.”
30:21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David, and who had been left at the brook Besor. And they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near to the people he greeted them. 22 Then all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.” 23 But David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the LORD has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. 24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” 25 And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.
When they came near to where the two hundred men that were too exhausted to proceed near the shores of the Besor, the men came out to greet them. Then some of the men that were returning with David, who are identified as being wicked and worthless fellows (Hebrew beliy·yǎ’·‛ǎl, click here to see additional information regarding this word), began to speak harshly to those that stayed back saying, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.” (1 Samuel 30:22b, NLT) But David intervened and said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the LORD has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” (1 Samuel 30:23b-24, NLT) David made it a statute (Hebrew ḥōq’, decree, regulation, law, rule, custom) and a rule (Hebrew miš·pāṭ’, judgment, legal decision, ordinance) for Israel from that day on, even to the day this book was written.
30:26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD.” 27 It was for those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negeb, in Jattir, 28 in Aroer, in Siphmoth, in Eshtemoa, 29 in Racal, in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 30 in Hormah, in Bor-ashan, in Athach, 31 in Hebron, for all the places where David and his men had roamed.
The spoil from the Amalekite victory must have been significant, as David gave part of the booty to his friends and to the elders of Judah. He told each of them, “Here is a present for you from the loot we took from YHWH’s enemies.” We are then given a list of cities and locations that received the gifts. The last verse explains that these locations were places were David and his men had been and hid. This was David’s way of giving thanks to those communities as well as to potentially create some political clout. Which would allow them to reenter Judah safely. Some translations place the word ‘and’ after Hebron, which changes the meaning somewhat to say that in addition to the listed locations, he also sent gifts to the places he and his men had been.