Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 24 Oct. 2021
[Read my translation] Now it happened while David was going to Ziklag with his men on the third day that the Amalekites made a surprise-attack into the Negev and into Ziklag, and they made a strike against Ziklag and burned it in the fire, and they took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest. They did not put anyone to death; they just led them off and kept going on their way. When David came with his men to the city, then look, it was burned in the fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been led off. So David – and the people who were with him – lifted their voice and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Even David’s two wives had been led off: Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess (who had been Nabal’s wife). And there was a lot of pressure on David because they were saying that the people should throw stones at him, for all the people felt bitter emotionally, each over his sons and over his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. Then David said to Abiathar the Priest, son of Ahimelek, “Please bring near to me the priestly-shoulder-gear.” And Abiathar brought the priestly-shoulder-gear near to David. Then David inquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go hunting after this troop? Will we overcome?” And He said to him, “Hunt them down, for you will certainly overcome, and you will certainly rescue!” So David went out, he and 600 men who were with him, and they went as far as Besor Creek, where the men left behind took their stand. Then David went on the hunt – he and 400 men, while the 200 men who were too dead-tired to cross Besor Creek took their stand. Presently they found an Egyptian man in the field, and they took him to David. They also they gave bread to him and he ate, and they let him drink some water, and they gave him a slice of fig-cake and two raisin-cakes. And as he ate, his breathing returned to him, for he had not eaten food and had not drunk water for three days and three nights. Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where were you [going] from here?” And he said, “I am an Egyptian boy, a servant to an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. {And} as for us, we made a surprise-attack {against} the Negev of the Cherethites and against what belongs to Judah and against the Negev of Caleb, then Ziklag we burned in the fire.” Then David said to him, “Will you lead me down to this troop?” And he said, “Please swear to me [that you’ll be cursed] by God if you put me to death or if you corral me into the hands of my master, and then I will lead you down to this troop.” Now, when he led him down, look, they were scattered over the surface of all that land eating and drinking and partying with all the great plunder which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. So David made a strike from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man from them escaped except for 400 young men who rode on their camels and fled. So David rescued all that the Amelekites had taken – especially {he} rescued his two wives, and nothing of theirs was missing, from the youngest up to the oldest, whether sons or daughters or plunder, indeed everything which they had taken for themselves. David brought back the entirety.
When David returned home from the army camp of the Philistines, he had a terrible surprise waiting for him. If I read the time markers right, the Amalekites probably set fire to Ziklag while David was on his over-two-day march back to his base there, so when he arrived at Ziklag on the the third day of marching, there was still smoke curling up from it1.
Perhaps this raid was in retaliation2 for David’s exploits against the Amalekites (27:8) or maybe it wasn’t, but it does seem that they singled out Ziklag for special treatment, for it is the only city on the attack route mentioned as being burned and apparently the only one from whom women and children were captured.
But these raiders must have figured out that all the Israelite and Philistine fighting men had gone north to war, so they made easy plunder of a couple of towns in Judah, as well as cities of the Philistines (whom they called Cherethites3), including David's city of Ziglag.
The Amalekites were an Arab tribe that lived between Egypt and Israel.
Perhaps the Amalekites wanted to sell the women and children as slaves, just as the Ishmaelites sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt,
perhaps they thought they could get David to pay them a hefty ransom,
or perhaps they wanted more wives
or maybe they didn’t kill them simply because God restrained them.
The Amalekites were the very people God had instructed Saul earlier to destroy. Perhaps if Saul had obeyed God in that matter, David would have been spared this tragedy. Our sin affects other people, and the sin of a leader affects MANY people.
Now, David and his men didn’t know the end of this story like we do. They probably assumed at first that their wives and children had been killed. There was nothing to do but weep, and weep until they they had no tears left (Vulgate).
It is perfectly right and good to mourn the death of loved ones.
When that happens to you, give yourself time to grieve.
But don’t let your grief became toxic by getting fixated on punishing whoever is to blame. These grieving fathers and husbands started talking about stoning David to death for his leadership choices which had put them and their families at risk4.
Perhaps they were trying to stretch the meaning of the law in Deuteronomy 13:6-10 "If your brother... or your friend... secretly entices you, saying,`Let us go and serve other gods,' ...you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away…” Can we stretch that to mean stoning David for taking us on that wild goose chase with the Philistine army? But David wasn’t trying to get them to worship foreign gods.
Anyway, this put a great deal of pressure on David as he probably wondered how many more dumb moves he might make next. At the same time, David must have deduced, from the fact that there was no evidence of the bodies of the wives and children having been burned or buried in Ziklag, that they must have been taken captive rather than killed.
But David was crushed, and now, if there ever was a time for him to spiral into self pity and depression, this was it. “Saul had driven him from his country, the Philistines had driven him from their camp, the Amalekites had plundered his city, his wives were taken prisoners, and now, to complete his woe, his own familiar friends... instead of sympathizing with him and offering him any relief, lifted up the heel against him and threatened to stone him. Great faith must expect such severe exercises.”~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD
The natural tendency would be either to sit weakly down and throw up your hands in despair or else, with a rush of adrenaline, run off to take vengeance. But David turned to God! He looked to God to revive his strength and to give him orders for his next action. Let us always look first to God in every circumstance!
I want to camp on this principle of strengthening ourselves in our God.
“David… exercised faith on his God; he encouraged himself in the power and providence of God; in the promises of God, and his faithfulness in keeping them; in a view of his covenant relation to God; in remembrance of the grace, mercy, and goodness of God, and his former experiences of it; hoping and believing that God would appear for him in some way or another, and work salvation for him.”~John Gill, 1766 AD
We encountered a similar situation back in 1 Samuel 23:16 “Then Jonathan... went to David at the forest and strengthened [יְחַזֵּק/κραταιόω] his hand in {Yahweh}, 17 and he said to him, ‘Don't be afraid…’” and he reminded David of God’s promises. (NAW)
When we strengthen ourselves in the Lord, He, in turn, empowers us with His strength for action: 2 Chronicles 16:9a "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong [התחזק/κατισχῦω]on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…” (NKJV)
And so the faithful scribe Ezra testified in Ezra 7:28b “... I was strengthened [התחזק/κραταιoώ] as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me.” (KJV)
Conversely the prophet Ezekiel noted that, “...No one will strengthen himself [יתחזק/κραταιόω] who lives in iniquity.” (Ezekiel 7:13c, NKJV)6
Notice that it is God’s words which bring this kind of strength to act in the midst of circumstances which would otherwise cause people to despair and do nothing. And it is God who gives the strength to share those same words with others:
In 2 Chron. 32:8 “the people were strengthened [חזק/κατεθάρσησεν] by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” What words did he say? “With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” (NKJV)
In Daniel 10:19 An angel appeared to Daniel and said, “‘O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!’ So when he spoke to me I was strengthened [התחזק/ισχυω], and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened ][ενισχυω/חזק] me.’”
Luke 22:32 Jesus told Peter before his denial, “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen [στηρίζω/חַזֵּק] your brethren." How would Peter strengthen his brothers? By “feeding Christ’s sheep” with all the words Jesus had taught him for the past three years.
In Acts 14:22 Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, “strengthening [ἐπιστηρίζω/אַמְּצ] the souls of the disciples, [How? By] exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’”
“Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened [ἐπιστηρίζω/אַמְּצ] the brethren with many words” in Acts 15:32.
Later, the apostle John wrote in his first epistle that “...you are strong [ἰσχυρός/חַיִל] [Why? Because] the word of God is staying in you…” (1 John 2:14, NAW)
as Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:17 “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened [ἐνδυναμόω/חַזְּקֵ] me, [Why?] so that the message might be preached fully through me…”
You want strength to go on when the going it rough? Get God’s words into your heart and mind!
You want strength to carry on when you are beyond yourself? Ask God for it!
In Ephesians 3:16, the Apostle Paul prayed that God would grant the Christians in Ephesus, “according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened [κραταιόω/הִתְאַזֵּר] with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”7
He also prayed that the Christians in Colossae would be “strengthened [δυναμόω/הִתְאַזֵּר] with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (Colossians 1:11, NKJV).
And he testified in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens [ἐνδυναμόω/הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי חָיִל] me.”
Therefore God’s people are exhorted
by David in Psalm 27:14 “Wait on Yahweh; be strong and strengthen your heart [חזק/κραταιοω], and wait on Yahweh” and in Psalm 31:24 “Y'all be strong - and He will strengthen your heart [חזק/κραταιοω], all you who are waiting for Yahweh!” (NAW)
We are exhorted by Paul in 1 Cor. 16:13 “Stay alert; keep standing fast in the faith; keep being manly; continue to be strengthened [κραταιόω/חָיִל]” (NAW) and in 2 Tim. 2:1, “be strong [ἐνδυναμόω/חֲזַק] in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV) How do we be manly and strong? Trusting in Jesus, “standing fast in the faith.”
And the Jewish Christians near Jerusalem were exhorted in Hebrews 12:12 “Therefore strengthen [ἀνορθόω/חַזְּקוּ] the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (NKJV) How do we strengthen them? “...looking to Jesus, the chief leader and accomplisher of the faith...” Heb. 12:2 (NAW).
The Apostle John also exhorted the church Rev. 3:2 “Be watchful, and strengthen [στηρίζω/חַזֵּק] the things which remain…” (NKJV) How do you do that? ““Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard [that is, the good news about Jesus Christ and] obey it…” 3:3 (NIV) with the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26)!
Do you see how vitally important it is to strengthen ourselves by trusting in the Lord, and receiving strength from Him to endure and then to share that strength with others verbally?
David
may have written Psalm 25 at this time. Let his example soak into
you:
“It is to You, Yahweh, I will lift up my soul. My
God, it is in You I have trusted. Let me not be shamed; let not my
enemies triumph in relation to me. Moreover, it is all those who
wait on You that will not be shamed; the vainly treacherous ones
will be shamed. Yahweh, cause me to know Your ways; teach me Your
paths; Cause me to travel in your truth and teach me, because You
are the God of my salvation; It is for You that I have waited all
this day. Remember Your mercies, Yahweh, and Your lovingkindnesses,
because they are from eternity. [As for the] sins of my youth and my
transgressions, don't remember [them]; according to Your
lovingkindness remember Yourself for me, on account of Your
goodness, Yahweh! Goodness and righteousness characterize Yahweh,
therefore He instructs sinners in His way. He causes the lowly ones
to travel in His justice, and he teaches lowly ones His way. All
Yahweh's paths are lovingkindness and faithfulness for those who
keep His covenant and His testimonies. On account of Your name,
Yahweh, even pardon my iniquity, for it is much. Who is the man who
respects Yahweh? He will direct this [man] in a way He will choose.
His soul will spend the night with goodness, and his seed will take
possession of the land. The companionship of Yahweh is for those who
respect Him – even to cause them to experience His covenant.
My eyes will always be [looking] to Yahweh, because it is He who
will get my feet out from the capture-net. Pay attention to me and
be gracious to me because I am lonely and depressed. The stresses of
my heart have expanded; get me out of my straits! Look at my
low-condition and my trouble, and lift away all my sins. Look at my
enemies because they have become many, and they have hated me [with]
violent hatred. Please guard my soul and deliver me; let me not be
ashamed, Because I have taken refuge in You. Integrity and
righteousness will protect me because I have waited for You. God,
redeem Israel from all its stresses!”
So David, thus strengthened in his faith in God, called for the high priest to ask God for guidance.
The priestly shoulder gear or vest (called an “ephod”) contained a pocket with lots that could be cast for Yes or No answers from God, but God seems to have been so pleased that David turned to Him at this critical point, that he gave David more than a simple Yes.
God gave him a very encouraging oracle! “Not only do I approve of you pursuing these bandits, I promise that you will catch up with them, and not only will you overtake them, but you will surely rescue your wives and children!
With that encouragement ringing in his ears, David took off southwest, out of the hill country and across the Negev desert, heading for the trunk road along the Mediterranean Sea which went down to Egypt, in hopes of finding the raiders.
But remember, he and his men were fresh off a 140 mile march to the Philistine muster and back, and when they had arrived back at Ziklag, their dinner had been burned – literally; there would have been no food except what was in their packs, so they were probably marching kinda hungry, and after marching 10 miles from Ziklag to Besor Creek, a third of David’s men were finished. (The Hebrew word describing them is the same word used for a corpse; they were like-dead.) So David had to leave 200 men there who were too tired to go to war, while he kept tracking the raiders with the other 400 men.
Overlooking the fickleness of these men who had been talking a little earlier of stoning him, David gave them the respect of saying that he was “stationing” them there to guard their gear rather than abandoning them for being lazy and unwilling to follow him.
In doing this, David was following instructions God had given to the Israelite army long ago in Deuteronomy 20 to give men the opportunity to back out of a battle before going in.
Then God blesses David through the guidance of a man who had been left for dead by the Amalekites.
When David's men ran across this Egyptian slave, it was obvious the slave was not Jewish, but David showed concern for him anyway. David had a concern for non-Jewish people.
That's why he witnessed to the Philistine king Achish;
that's why he nursed this Egyptian back to health (probably with figs and grapes from Abigail’s farm) before he knew that he was of any value in tracking the Amalekites;
and that's why David's Psalms are full of exhortations that people of all nations worship the true God.
We should share this international concern of David's!
The Egyptian didn’t know the name of Yahweh like Akish did (although you can bet that it wouldn’t take long for David to get around to telling him about his God!), but anyway, it was widespread custom to make oaths before a god, so the Egyptian asked David to swear by God not to kill him and not to remand him to his Amalekite master who had so cruelly dumped him without food or water in his sickness to die in a ditch. And the ancient tradition of the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic Bibles is that David agreed to these conditions upon oath. And thus David is led right to the Amalekite camp.
Although the timestamps are ambiguous, my best construction of the story (and that of most of the commentaries I read) is that David arrived at the Amalekite camp in the afternoon or evening, then waited and rested while the Amalekites partied themselves into a drunken stupor and bedded down, and then, early in the morning, while the Amalekites were still sleeping off their hangovers, David attacked, and the battle went so well that he had everything under control by the end of the day.8
Now, if the 400 young Amalekite men who escaped are mentioned as a side-note, there must have been thousands of Amalekites, vastly outnumbering David's company, but God gave David and his 400 men victory over the whole horde of Amalekites.
What a huge relief David and his men must have felt when they saw that their possessions and their families had been preserved. There is no mention of the women and children of other cities. Perhaps God allowed the Amalekites to kill them, but caused the Amalekites to respect the lives of the women and children in Ziklag. God knows how to take care of His people.
Matthew Henry commented, “no reason can be given... but that God restrained them; for he has all hearts in his hands, and says to the fury of the most cruel men, Hitherto thou shalt come, and no further... God's hand must be acknowledged, who designed to make use of the Amalekites for the correction, not for the destruction, of the house of David.”
David’s courageous search and rescue operation for his family reminds us of other stories in the Bible such as:
Abraham’s cross-country chase after the army of 5 kings to rescue his nephew Lot (Gen. 14),
The Levite’s pursuit to win back his runaway concubine in the book of Judges chapter 19,
the Prophet Hosea’s shame-filled trips to the houses of philanderers to reclaim his unfaithful wife, Gomer,
and our own Lord Jesus, who came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) by dying on the cross and rising from the dead to lead captivity captive (Eph. 4:8)!9
These examples of rescuing those being led down to death demand that we consider: are there perishing souls that God has called us to take courageous steps to rescue?
It may be a prodigal child.
It may be an unborn child carried by a mother who doesn’t want it.
It may be a neighbor or a student that has never heard the gospel clearly.
It may be an acquaintance who is being devoured by an addictive sin.
It may be people on the other side of the world who have no opportunity to hear the gospel.
Jude 1:20-23 “But loved ones, as for y'all, building yourselves on in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And keep showing mercy to those who are doubting, and be saving those cautiously, grabbing them out of the fire...” (NAW)
“Those that have taken the Lord for their God may take encouragement from their relation to him in the worst of times. It is the duty and interest of all [God’s] people, whatever happens, to encourage themselves in God as their Lord and their God, assuring themselves that he can and will bring light out of darkness, peace out of trouble, and good out of evil, to all that love him and are the called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).” ~M. Henry
Then go and strengthen the hearts of others by sharing the good news that Jesus saves.
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NASB |
NIV |
NAW |
MT |
1 Καὶ ἐγενήθη εἰσελθόντος Δαυιδ καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς Σεκελακ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ, καὶ ΑμαληκB ἐπέθετο ἐπὶ τὸν νότον καὶ ἐπὶ Σεκελακ καὶ ἐπάταξεν τὴν Σεκελακ καὶ ἐνεπύρισεν αὐτὴν ἐν πυρί· |
1 And it came to pass when David and his men had entered Sekelac on the third day, that Amalec had made an incursion upon the south, and upon Sekelac, and smitten Sekelac, and burnt it with fire. |
1 Now when David and his men were come to Siceleg on the third day, the Amalecites had made an invasion on the south side upon Siceleg, and had smitten Siceleg, and burnt it with fire, |
1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invadedC X the southD, and X Ziklag, and smittenE Ziklag, and burned it with fire; |
1 Then it happened when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; |
1
X
David
and his men X
|
1 Now it happened while David was going to Ziklag with his men on the third day that the Amalekites made a surprise-attack into the Negev and into Ziklag, and they made a strike against Ziklag and burned it in the fire, |
1 וַיְהִי בְּבֹא דָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו צִקְלַג בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁיF וַעֲמָלֵקִי פָשְׁטוּ אֶל-נֶגֶב וְאֶל-צִקְלַג וַיַּכּוּ אֶת-צִקְלַג וַיִּשְׂרְפוּ אֹתָהּ בָּאֵשׁ: |
2
καὶ X
τὰς
γυναῖκας [καὶ]
|
2
And |
2 And had taken the women captives that were in it, both little and great: [andH] they had not killed any person, but had carried them [with them], and went on their way. |
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. |
2 and they took captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great, without killing anyone, and carried them off and went their way. |
2 and had taken captive the women [and all] who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. |
2 and they took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest. They did not put anyone to death; they just led them off and kept going on their way. |
2 וַיִּשְׁבּוּ אֶת- הַנָּשִׁים אֲשֶׁר-בָּהּ מִקָּטֹן וְעַד-גָּדוֹל לֹא הֵמִיתוּ אִישׁ וַיִּנְהֲגוּI וַיֵּלְכוּ לְדַרְכָּם: |
3 καὶ ἦλθεν Δαυιδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐμπεπύρισται ἐν πυρί, αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτῶν ᾐχμαλωτευμένοι. |
3 And David and his men came into the city, and, behold, it was burnt with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters were carried captive. |
3
So when David and his men came to the city, and |
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. |
3 When David and his men came to the city, X behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. |
3
When David and his men came to |
3 When David came with his men to the city, then look, it was burned in the fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been led off. |
3 וַיָּבֹא דָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו אֶל-הָעִיר וְהִנֵּה שְׂרוּפָה בָּאֵשׁ וּנְשֵׁיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶם נִשְׁבּוּ: |
4
καὶ ἦρεν Δαυιδ
καὶ οἱ |
4 And David and his men X X lifted up their voice, and wept till there was no longer any power within them to weep. |
4
X
David
and the people that were with him, lifted up their voice[s],
and wept till they had no more X
X X X |
4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more powerJ X X to weep. |
4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voice[s] and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. |
4
So David and his |
4 So David – and the people who were with him – lifted their voice and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. |
4 וַיִּשָּׂא דָוִד וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר-אִתּוֹ אֶת-קוֹלָם וַיִּבְכּוּK עַד אֲשֶׁר אֵין-בָּהֶם כֹּחַ לִבְכּוֹת: |
5 καὶ ἀμφότεραι αἱ γυναῖκες Δαυιδ ᾐχμαλωτεύθησαν, Αχινοομ ἡ Ιεζραηλῖτις καὶ Αβιγαια ἡ γυνὴ Ναβαλ τοῦ Καρμηλίου. |
5 And both the wives of David were carried captive, Achinaam, the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. |
5 For the two wives also of David were taken captives, Achinoam, the Jezrahelitess, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel. |
5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wifeL of Nabal the Carmelite. |
5 Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. |
5 X David's two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. |
5 Even David’s two wives had been led off: Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess (who had been Nabal’s wife). |
5 וּשְׁתֵּי נְשֵׁי-דָוִד נִשְׁבּוּ אֲחִינֹעַם הַיִּזְרְעֵMלִית וַאֲבִיגַיִל אֵשֶׁת נָבָל הַכַּרְמְלִיN: |
6 καὶ ἐθλίβηO Δαυιδ σφόδρα, ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ λαὸς λιθοβολῆσαι αὐτόν, ὅτι κατώδυνος ψυχὴ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ, ἑκάστου ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκραταιώθηP Δαυιδ ἐν κυρίῳ θεῷ αὐτοῦ . |
6 And David was greatly distressed, because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, each for his sons and his daughters: but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. |
6
And David was greatly afflicted:
for the people |
6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grievedQ, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouragedR himself in the LORD his God. |
6
Moreover David
was greatly distressed
because the people spoke of stoning him, for X
X all
the people w |
6
X
David
was greatly distressed because the |
6 And there was a lot of pressure on David because they were saying that the people should throw stones at him, for all the people felt bitter emotionally, each over his sons and over his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. |
6 וַתֵּצֶר לְדָוִד מְאֹד כִּי-אָמְרוּ הָעָם לְסָקְלוֹS כִּי-מָרָה נֶפֶשׁ כָּל-הָעָם אִישׁ עַל-בְּנוֹT וְעַל-בְּנֹתָיו וַיִּתְחַזֵּק דָּוִדU בַּיהוָה אֱלֹהָיו: ס |
7 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Αβιαθαρ τὸν ἱερέα υἱὸν Αχιμελεχ Προσάγαγε X XV τὸ εφουδ. X X X X X X X |
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest the son of Achimelech, Bring near X X X the ephod X X X X X X X. |
7 And X he said to Abiathar, the priest, the son of Achimelech: Bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. |
7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. |
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. |
7
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "X
Bring
me the ephod." X
Abiathar
brought |
7 Then David said to Abiathar the Priest, son of Ahimelek, “Please bring near to me the priestly-shoulder-gear.” And Abiathar brought the priestly-shoulder-gear near to David. |
7 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן-אֲחִימֶלֶךְ הַגִּישָׁה-נָּא לִי הָאֵפֹד וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֶבְיָתָר אֶת-הָאֵפֹד אֶל-דָּוִד: |
8 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν Δαυιδ διὰ τοῦ κυρίου λέγων Εἰ καταδιώξω ὀπίσω τοῦ γεδδουρW τούτου; εἰ καταλήμψομαι αὐτούς; καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Καταδίωκε, ὅτι καταλαμβάνων καταλήμψῃ καὶ ἐξαιρούμενος ἐξελῇ. |
8 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? and he said to him, Pursue, for thou shalt surely overtake them, and thou shalt surely rescue [the captives]. |
8
And David consulted
the Lord, saying: Shall I pursue after these robbers,
[and]
shall I overtake them, [or
not]?
And [the
Lord]
said to him: Pursue [after
them]:
for thou shalt surely overtake them and recover
|
8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troopY? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recoverZ all. |
8 X David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue X this band? Shall I overtake them?" And He said to him, "Pursue, for you will surely overtake them, and you will surely rescue all." |
8
and David inquired of the LORD X,
"Shall I pursue X
this
raiding
party?
Will I overtake them?" X
"Pursue
[them],"
he answered X.
"You will certainly overtake them and |
8 Then David inquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go hunting after this troop? Will we overcome?” And He said to him, “Hunt them down, for you will certainly overcome, and you will certainly rescue!” |
8 וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהוָה לֵאמֹר AAאֶרְדֹּף אַחֲרֵי הַגְּדוּד-הַזֶּה הַאַשִּׂגֶנּוּ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ רְדֹף כִּי-הַשֵּׂג תַּשִּׂיג וְהַצֵּל תַּצִּיל: |
9 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ, αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ἑξακόσιοι ἄνδρες μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔρχονται ἕως τοῦ χειμάρρου Βοσορ, καὶ οἱ περισσοὶ ἔστησαν. |
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men with him, an they come as far as the brook Bosor, and the superfluous ones stopped. |
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and they came to the torrent Besor: and some, being weary, stayed [there]. |
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayedAB. |
9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. |
9 X David X X and the six hundred men with him X came to the Besor Ravine, where some X stayed behind, |
9 So David went out, he and 600 men who were with him, and they went as far as Besor Creek, where the men left behind took their stand. |
9 וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד הוּא וְשֵׁשׁ-מֵאוֹת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד-נַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר וְהַנּוֹתָרִים עָמָדוּ: |
10 καὶ κατεδίωξεν X X ἐν τετρακοσίοις ἀνδράσιν, ὑπέστησαν δὲ διακόσιοι ἄνδρες, οἵτινες ἐκάθισαν X πέρανAC τοῦ χειμάρρουAD τοῦ Βοσορ. |
10 And X he pursued them X with four hundred men; and there remained behind two hundred men, who tarried on the other side of the brook Bosor. |
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred stayed, who, being weary, could not go over the torrent Besor. |
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go overAE the brook Besor. |
10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor remained behind. |
10 for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the X ravine X. But David X and four hundred men continued the pursuit. |
10 Then David went on the hunt – he and 400 men, while the 200 men who were too dead-tired to cross Besor Creek took their stand. |
10 וַיִּרְדֹּף דָּוִד הוּא וְאַרְבַּע- מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וַיַּעַמְדוּ מָאתַיִם אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר פִּגְּרוּAF מֵעֲבֹר אֶת-נַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר: |
11 καὶ εὑρίσκουσιν ἄνδρα Αἰγύπτιον ἐν ἀγρῷ καὶ λαμβάνουσιν αὐτὸν [καὶ ἄγουσιν αὐτὸν] πρὸς Δαυιδ ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ διδόασιν αὐτῷ ἄρτον, καὶ ἔφαγεν, καὶ ἐπότισαν αὐτὸν ὕδωρ· |
11 And they find an Egyptian X in the field, and they take him, [and bring himAG] to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they caused him to drink water. |
11
And they found an Egyptian X
in the field, and brought him to David: and they gave him bread |
11 And they found an Egyptian XAH in the fieldAI, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they madeAJ him drink water; |
11 Now they found an Egyptian X in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. |
11
X
They
found an Egyptian X
in
a field and brought him to David. They gave him X
water
|
11 Presently they found an Egyptian man in the field, and they took him to David. They also they gave bread to him and he ate, and they let him drink some water, |
11 וַיִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ-מִצְרִי בַּשָּׂדֶה וַיִּקְחוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל-דָּוִד וַיִּתְּנוּ-לוֹ לֶחֶם וַיֹּאכַל וַיַּשְׁקֻהוּ מָיִם: |
12 καὶ διδόασιν αὐτῷ κλάσμα παλάθης, X X XAK καὶ ἔφαγεν, καὶ κατέστη τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ, ὅτι οὐ βεβρώκει ἄρτον καὶ οὐ πεπώκει ὕδωρ τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας. |
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs X X X, and he ate, and his spirit was restored in him; for he had not eaten bread, and had not drunk water three days and three nights. |
12
|
12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came againAL to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. |
12 X They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived X X. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. |
12 X X X X X part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. X He ate and X X was revived X X, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights. |
12 and they gave him a slice of fig-cake and two raisin-cakes. And as he ate, his breathing returned to him, for he had not eaten food and had not drunk water for three days and three nights. |
12 וַיִּתְּנוּ-לוֹ פֶלַח דְּבֵלָה וּשְׁנֵי צִמֻּקִיםAM וַיֹּאכַל וַתָּשָׁב רוּחוֹAN אֵלָיו כִּי לֹא-אָכַל לֶחֶם וְלֹא-שָׁתָה מַיִם שְׁלֹשָׁה יָמִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה לֵילוֹת: ס |
13 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυιδ Τίνος σὺ εἶ καὶ πόθεν εἶ; καὶ εἶπεν τὸ παιδάριον τὸ Αἰγύπτιον Ἐγώ εἰμι δοῦλος ἀνδρὸς Αμαληκίτου, καὶ κατέλιπέν με ὁ κύριός μου, ὅτι ἠνωχλήθηνAO ἐγὼ σήμερον τριταῖος. |
13 And David said to him, Whose art thou? and whence art thou? and the young man the Egyptian saidAP, I am the servant of an Amalekite X; and my master left me, because I was taken ill three days ago. |
13 And David said to him: To whom dost thou belong; or whence dost thou come? and whither art thou going? He said: I am a young man of Egypt, the servant of an Amalecite X: and my master left me, because I began to be sick three days ago. |
13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite X; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. |
13 X David said to him, "To whom do you belong? And where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite X; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago. |
13 X David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He said, "I am an Egyptian X, the slave of an Amalekite X. X My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. |
13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where were you [going] from here?” And he said, “I am an Egyptian boy, a servant to an Amalekite man, but my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. |
13 וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ דָוִד לְמִי-אַתָּה וְאֵי מִזֶּה אָתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר נַעַר מִצְרִי אָנֹכִי עֶבֶד לְאִישׁ עֲמָלֵקִי וַיַּעַזְבֵנִי אֲדֹנִי כִּי חָלִיתִי הַיּוֹם שְׁלֹשָׁה: |
14 [καὶ] ἡμεῖς ἐπεθέμεθα [ἐπὶ] νότον τοῦ Χολθι καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς Ιουδαίας μέρη καὶ ἐπὶ νότον Χελουβ καὶ τὴν Σεκελακ ἐνεπυρίσαμεν ἐν πυρί. |
14 [And] we made an incursion [on] the south of the Chelethite, and on the parts of Judea, and on the south of Chelub, and we burnt Sekelac with fire. |
14 [For] we made an invasion [on] the south side of Cerethi, and upon X Juda, and upon the south of Caleb, and we burnt Siceleg with fire. |
14 We made an invasionAQ upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. |
14 "We made a raid on the Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire." |
14
We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and X
|
14 {And} as for us, we made a surprise-attack {against} the Negev of the Cherethites and against what belongs to Judah and against the Negev of Caleb, then Ziklag we burned in the fire.” |
14 אֲנַחְנוּ פָּשַׁטְנוּ נֶגֶבAR הַכְּרֵתִי וְעַל-אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה וְעַל-נֶגֶב כָּלֵב וְאֶת-צִקְלַג שָׂרַפְנוּ בָאֵשׁ: |
15
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς
αὐτὸν Δαυιδ
Εἰ κατάξεις
με ἐπὶ τὸ γεδδουρ
τοῦτο; καὶ εἶπεν
Ὄμοσον [δή]
μοι κατὰ τοῦ
θεοῦ μὴ θανατώσειν
με καὶ μὴ παραδοῦναί
με εἰς χεῖρ |
15 And David said to him, Wilt thou bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear [now] to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, and that thou wilt not deliver me into the hand[s] of my master, and I will bring thee down upon this troop. |
15 And David said to him: Canst thou bring me to this company? and he said: Swear to me by God, that thou wilt not kill me, nor deliver me into the hand[s] of my master, and I will bring thee to this company. [And David swore to him.AS] |
15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hand[s] of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. |
15 Then David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this band?" And he said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand[s] of my master, and I will bring you down to this band." |
15
X
David
asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding
party?"
X
He
answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me
or hand me over to X
X my
master, and I will take you down to |
15 Then David said to him, “Will you lead me down to this troop?” And he said, “Please swear to me [that you’ll be cursed] by God if you put me to death or if you corral me into the hands of my master, and then I will lead you down to this troop.” |
15 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד הֲתוֹרִדֵנִי אֶל-הַגְּדוּד הַזֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר הִשָּׁבְעָה לִּי בֵאלֹהִים אִם-תְּמִיתֵנִי וְאִם-תַּסְגִּרֵנִיAT בְּיַד-אֲדֹנִי וְאוֹרִדְךָ אֶל-הַגְּדוּד הַזֶּה: |
16
καὶ κατήγαγεν
αὐτὸν [ἐκεῖ],
καὶ ἰδοὺ οὗτοι
διακεχυμένοιAU
ἐπὶ πρόσωπον
πάσης τῆς γῆς
ἐσθίοντες
καὶ πίνοντες
καὶ ἑορτάζοντες
ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς
σκύλ |
16 So be brought him down [thither], and behold, they were scattered abroad upon the surface of the whole land, eating and drinking, and feasting by reason of all the great spoil[s] which they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Juda. |
16
And when he had brought him X,
behold they were [lying]
spread abroad upon all the ground, eating and drinking, and [as
it were]
keeping a festival dayAW,
for all the prey [and
the]
|
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. |
16 When he had brought him down, behold, they were spread over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. |
16 X He led [David] down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of Χ the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Χ Χ Judah. |
16 Now, when he led him down, look, they were scattered over the surface of all that land eating and drinking and partying with all the great plunder which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. |
16 וַיֹּרִדֵהוּ וְהִנֵּה נְטֻשִׁיםAX עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים וְחֹגְגִים בְּכֹל הַשָּׁלָל הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ מֵאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמֵאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה: |
17 [καὶ ἦλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς] Δαυιδ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ ἑωσφόρουAY ἕως δείλης [καὶ] τῇ ἐπαύριον, καὶ οὐκ ἐσώθη ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνὴρ ὅτι ἀλλ᾿ ἢ τετρακόσια παιδάρια, ἃ ἦν ἐπιβεβηκότα ἐπὶ τὰς καμήλους καὶ ἔφυγον. |
17 And David [came upon] them, and] smote them from the morning till the evening, [and] on the next day; and not one of them escaped, except four hundred young men, who were mounted on camels, and fled. |
17 And David slew them from the evening unto the evening of the next day, and there escaped not a man of them, but four hundred young men, who had gotten upon camels, and fled. |
17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. |
17 X David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. |
17
X
David
|
17 So David made a strike from twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man from them escaped except for 400 young men who rode on their camels and fled. |
17 וַיַּכֵּם דָּוִד מֵהַנֶּשֶׁףAZ וְעַד- הָעֶרֶב לְמָחֳרָתָםBA וְלֹא-נִמְלַט מֵהֶם אִישׁ כִּי אִם-אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ-נַעַר אֲשֶׁר-רָכְבוּ עַל- הַגְּמַלִּים וַיָּנֻסוּ: |
18 καὶ ἀφείλατο Δαυιδ πάντα, ἃ ἔλαβον οἱ Αμαληκῖται, καὶ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς γυναῖκας αὐτοῦ ἐξείλατο X. |
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and X he rescued both his wives. |
18 So David recovered all that the Amalecites had taken, and X he rescued his two wives. |
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. |
18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and X rescued his two wives. |
18 X David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives X X. |
18 So David rescued all that the Amelekites had taken, especially {he} rescued his two wives. |
18 וַיַּצֵּל דָּוִד אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ עֲמָלֵק וְאֶת-שְׁתֵּי נָשָׁיו הִצִּיל דָּוִד: |
19 καὶ οὐ διεφώνησεν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σκύλων καὶ ἕως υἱῶν καὶ θυγατέρων καὶ ἕως πάντων, ὧν ἔλαβον αὐτῶν· τὰ πάντα ἐπέστρεψεν Δαυιδ. |
19 And nothing was wanting to them of great or small, either of the spoils, or the sons and daughters, or anything that they had taken of theirs; [andBB] David recovered all. |
19 And there was nothing missing X X small or great, neither of [their] sons or [their] daughters, nor of the spoils, and whatsoever they had taken X X, David recovered all. |
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. |
19 But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, X sons or daughters, X spoil or anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. |
19
X
Nothing
was missing X
X:
X
young
or old, X
|
19 and nothing of theirs was missing, from the youngest up to the oldest, whether sons or daughters or plunder, indeed everything which they had taken for themselves, David brought back the entirety. |
19 וְלֹא נֶעְדַּר- לָהֶם מִן-הַקָּטֹן וְעַד-הַגָּדוֹל וְעַד-בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת וּמִשָּׁלָל וְעַד כָּל- אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ לָהֶם הַכֹּל הֵשִׁיב דָּוִד: |
1“The language implies that the smoke of the conflagration was still visible, and the sacking very recent.” ~R. Jamieson
2There is debate whether this was just a random raid across multiple countries (Goldman), or a counterattack against David for the raids he had been conducting (Henry, Gill, Jamieson).
3Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5
4Moses found himself in a similar situation in Ex. 17:3-4.
5Greek translations of this Hebrew word are κραταιόω (LXX), ενισχυω (Aq.), and κατεθάρσησεν (Theod.). For OT quotes, I have provided root words from the Septuagint Greek and MT Hebrew, and for NT quotes, I have provided root words from the Greek and the Salkinson-Ginsburg Hebrew translation to help with tracking words. Yellow highlight indicates a Greek or Hebrew root that is the same as the root of the Greek or Hebrew word in this verse for “strengthened.”
6The first mention of this word in the Hebrew Bible is Gen. 48:2, where Jacob, as an old man on his deathbed, “strengthened himself” [יתחזק/ἐνισχύω] to sit up one last time and speak blessings over his children and grandchildren. Often in the historical books of the O.T., kings would “strengthen themselves” as preparation for going to war or as preparation for defending their cities in war.
7He also and he exhorted those Christians in chapter 6:10 to “be strong [ἐνδυναμόω/הִתְעוֹדְדוּ] in the Lord and in the power of His might [κράτει τῆς ἰσχύος].”
8See footnote AZ for more detail.
9“Our Lord Jesus was indeed the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, in this resembling them both, that he took the prey from the mighty, and led captivity captive.” ~M. Henry
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing 1 Samuel 30 is 4Q51Samuela, which
contains fragments of vs. 22-31 and which has been dated between
50-25 B.C. Where the DSS is legible and matches the MT, the MT is
colored purple. Where the DSS or Vulgate support the LXX with
omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and, where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BKittel noted that there were some Hebrew manuscripts and commentaries which rendered “Amalek” singular like the LXX did, rather than plural “Amalekites” like the MT, but there is no difference in meaning when we realize that the singular is a figure of speech representing a nation’s army by the name of the nation’s founder.
CNASB, NIV, and ESV = “raided/made a raid”
DThe Hebrew word for “south” is “Negev,” which also designates the wilderness to Israel’s south. NASB, NIV = “Negev.” Also in v.14.
EThe central meaning of this Hebrew root is “strike/smite,” NASB = “overthrown,” NIV = “attacked,” ESV = “overcome”
FIt shouldn’t have taken David any more than three days to march back from Aphek to Ziklag, so the “third day” seems to be at some point after the second day when David arrived at Ziklag to find it burnt. K&D agreed, writing, “The apodosis to ‘It came to pass, when,’ etc. (v.1), does not follow till v.4, ‘Then David and the people,’ etc.” NICOT commentator Tsumura also agreed, explaining that the words in v.1 (including a movement verb, a geographical locator, and a temporal expression) were all necessary to signal a new event narrative, but since the new event needed background explanation, the writer had to do a “flashback” in verses 2 and 3 to explain “what had happened at Ziklag before David returned from Aphek” on the third day of his march.
GCuriously, the ESV and NIV follow the Septuagint here instead of the MT. (KJV and NASB follow the MT.)
HKittel noted that this “and” is found in some Syriac and Greek manuscripts too. It doesn’t make a difference in meaning.
Icf. when David did the same sort of thing: 1 Samuel 23:5 “So David (and his men) went down to Q'eilah and fought with the Philistines and led away their livestock and conducted a strike – a heavy strike – against them.
JNASB, NIV, ESV = “strength”
Kcf. 1 Samuel 11:4 “When the messengers came to Saul's hill and told the news within earshot of his people, then all the people raised their voice and wept.” (NAW)
LNASB, NIV, ESV = “widow,” but the word in the MT is the word for “wife,” not the word for “widow.”
MSome Hebrew editions insert an aleph here to match the spelling of the name in 27:3, but it doesn’t change the meaning. Tsumura’s explanation was that 1 Samuel is an orally-dictated document, so words are spelled phonetically rather than according to established spellings.
Ncf. 1 Samuel 27:3 “And David resided with Akish in Gath, he and his men, each with his own household. {So} there was David with two of his wives: Ahinoam the Jezraelitess [הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִית] and Abigail the Carmelitess [הַכַּרְמְלִית] (who had been Nabal's wife). Underlined words are the same as this verse, underlined Hebrew letters are missing in this verse.
Ocf. later Greek versions: Aquila = eluphqh (“pained”), Theodotian = hporeito (“uncertain”).
Pcf. later Greek versions: Aq. = eniscusen (“strengthened,”) Symmachus = eqarshsen (“encouraged”)
QNASB, NIV, and ESV = “bitter” which is the most central meaning of the Hebrew root here.
RNASB & ESV = “strengthened himself,” NIV = “found strength,” “Strong” is the most central meaning of this Hebrew root.
Scf. Ex. 17:4 (Moses threatened by stoning), Deut. 13: 6-10 (Stoning for leading God’s people into apostacy), Josh 7:24-25 (Stoning of Achan)
TThe Qere suggests a more “proper” plural spelling of בָּנָיו, which more clearly differentiates in the unpointed text between a plural and a singular, but this is just a matter of spelling conventions. All the versions understood it as a plural.
UTargums add “in the word of”
VAquila rendered the MT more closely than the LXX with proseggison dh moi to ependuma (“please bring near to me the vest”). Sym. was a little more periphrastic sthson proV me thn epwmida (“Stand the epaulet in front of me.”) It appears that neither of them contained the final clause of this verse in the MT (nor did the Lucian Rescription of the LXX), thus favoring the LXX.
WLXX transliterated the Hebrew word into Greek letters without translating it. Later Greek versions translated it: Aq. euzwnou (“belt”), S. locou (“spear”), Q. sustremmatoV (“band”). They did the same in v.15.
XJerome seems to have translated the emphatic double verb as a verb and a subject instead.
YNASB = “band,” NIV = “raiding party,” When this word recurs in v.15, the KJV renders it “company.”
ZNASB, NIV = “rescue” This word recurs twice more in v.18, where KJV, NASB, NIV, & ESV translate it both “recover” and “rescue.”
AASome
manuscripts place an interrogative He in front of this word,
but without it, an imperfect verb like this can still be a question,
as the context seems to make clear.
cf. previous consultations
of Yahweh in 1 Samuel 14:37 Saul asked of God, "Shall I go down
after the Philistines? Will you give them into the control of
Israel?" and 23:10 Then David said, "Yahweh, God of
Israel, your servant has heard for sure that Saul is trying to come
to Q'eilah to lay waste to the city on my account. 11 Will they shut
me out? Will Saul come down like this [intelligence] your servant
has heard?” (NAW)
ABLit. “stood,” NASB = “remained,” The same word appears in the next verse, where KJV translates “abode behind,” as though the adjectival participle (from יטר “left”) from the previous verse were recurring here instead. At least that’s better than the NIV, which omitted it altogether in that next verse.
ACLXX translated the Hebrew participle as a noun rather than as a verbal. Later versions opted for verbal renderings like the English ones S. oi htonhsan (s. hdunathsan) tou diabhnai (“those without the endurance to go over”), Q. (oi) apenarkhsan parelqein (“those who were averse to going along”), but Aquila’s was odd: (oi) eptwmatisqhsan (“the seven-times worthless ones”).
ADcf. Sym. faraggoV = “ravine”
AENASB,
NIV, ESV = “too exhausted to cross”
Targums and
Syriac curiously indicate that David actively forbade the 200 from
crossing the creek.
AFEverywhere outside of 1 Samuel 30, this Hebrew root is translated “corpse/dead body.”
AGThe Hebrew is literally “they received him to David.” “Take/capture/receive” does not seem to fit with the prepositional phrase “to David,” which explains why all the English versions change the verb to “brought” (which is a different Hebrew word). It also makes plausible the possibility that the LXX is original and its “extra” words “and brought” were not added but instead were dropped out of the MT between 200BC (when the LXX was translated) and 400AD when the Vulgate (which does not have the extra words) was translated. On the other hand, the modern English conflation “took it to” instead of “picked it up and carried it to” has gained popular use, and we could be seeing a similar idiom in the Hebrew here. It would be interesting if there were a Dead Sea Scroll of this verse which had survived, but there are none known.
AHThe word “man” is there in both Greek and Hebrew, so I don’t understand why all the English versions dropped it out.
AIESV strangely has “open country” which isn’t inaccurate, just odd that they would feel the need to differ from every other English version.
AJNASB = “provided,” ESV = “gave,” NKJV = “let.” All translate the Hiphil causative stem of the verb “drink.”
AKLater Greek versions supplied the words in the MT missing in the LXX: Aq. kai duo stafidaV (“and two raisin-cakes”), S. (kai duo) endesmouV stafidwn (“and two bindings of raisins”).
ALLit. = “returned,” NASB, NIV, ESV = “revived”
AMHow much you want to bet that those figs and raisins came from Abigail’s farm? (1 Samuel 25:18)
ANThe only other place in the Bible where the same words “spirit” and “return” are used together in any similitude of this context is with Sampson in Judges 15:19 “So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived [חוה – a word not found in the 1 Samuel verse.]”. (NKJV)
AOcf. later Greek versions: A. grrwsthsa (“standing like a woman?”), S. enoshsa (“standing as one” curled up in a ball?), Q. emalakisqhn (“weak”).
APThe cantillation marks in the modern Hebrew text indicate that the Egyptian’s quote began earlier, but as the text stood at the time of the Septuagint before pointings were added, the Egyptian’s quote could just as well have begun here.
AQNASB & NIV = “raid”
ARAll the ancient Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Chaldee versions insert the preposition “upon” here. It would naturally be assumed, however, so it doesn’t change the meaning.
ASSyriac and Arabic versions comport with this, starting v.16 with, “After David swore to him...”
ATcf. 23:11, 12, 20
AUcf. later versions: A. ektetamenoi (“set out”), S. anapeptwkoteV (“sent abroad”), Q. eskorpismenoi (“scattered”).
AVThe Hebrew gadol can mean “great in quality” (as per the LXX μεγα-) or “great in quantity,” the latter of which was Symmachus’ choice (polloiV).
AWThe Vulgate fits with Symmachus (wV en panhgurei) but not the MT or LXX.
AXGill noted that this indicates they were no longer in their military ranks. They were now at ease, scattered here and there.
AYNotwithstanding K&D to the contrary, the Hebrew word can mean “morning twilight” or “evening twilight,” and the LXX seems to have opted for the former whereas the later Greek versions opted for the latter with A. skotomhnhV (“barely dark”) and S. suneskotasen (“gathering darkness”).
AZThis is the first of the 12 instances of this noun in the Hebrew Bible. David arrived late enough in the day to see people partying; Willet said it must therefore be morning rather than evening, but all the parties I’ve ever seen happened at night. The wording describing the timing of his strike is ambiguous: he either 1) arrived in the afternoon, then struck at sunset and fought for 24 hours until sunset of the next day (Pellican, Keil & Delitzsch), or 2) he arrived between noon and midnight, then struck first thing the next morning (morning twilight) and fought about 12 hours until sunset (which, in Jewish reckoning began the next day) or 3) he struck at sunrise and fought 36 hours until the evening of the following day (Vatablus). I’m inclined toward #2, and so was Josephus, the Talmud (Ber 3b), Willett, Gill, Tsumura, and Goldman.
BAThe meaning of the mem suffix on this word is debated. The Groves-Wheeler Westminster Morphology and Lemma Database as well as the Open Scriptures Hebrew Morphology Codes label it as a 3rd plural pronoun (“their”), but how could the next day belong any more to one group than to another? McCarter correlated it with the Lucian Rescription as the end of a missing word (“he killed them”), and Tsumura maintained that it “could be an enclitic mem functioning adverbially,” which seems to fit the entry in Davidson’s Analytical Lexicon and the way most English versions rendered the word.
BBThe “and” is in the ancient Vaticanus Greek manuscript, but not in the standard Septuagint.