1 Samuel 30:1–31

30:2 No one has been left in the city. “Small and great” might indicate physical stature or age range, but here “of every social status” is probably what is intended. However, the absence of corpses shows that there have been no deaths. “Carried . . . off” (“lead away,” v. 22; “brought away,” 23:5) does not mean the captives have been provided with transport but rather that they have been rounded up like a herd of cattle. At one level the Amalekites act more benevolently than David, who, because of his need for secrecy, had slaughtered the inhabitants of the settlements he had raided. However, the raiders’ intention would be to sell their prisoners as slaves. Even so their restraint is a sign of divine providence in that the severity of David’s trial is limited.

30:3–5 “They found it” (lit., “behold”) conveys the surprise and shock of David and his soldiers at the scene before them. They express their grief together “until they had no more strength to weep,” mirroring Saul in his own crisis (28:20). By naming David’s wives (cf. comment on 27:3), it is pointed out that this is a blow to him personally just as much as it is to his men.

30:6 “David was greatly distressed” is primarily a statement not about his feelings but about his precarious situation, “for” in their bewildered anguish the sentiment of his own men has turned swiftly and completely against him to the extent that they “spoke of stoning him.” Among their number are those who had been “bitter in soul” when they first joined David (22:2), and now disillusionment rekindles their former emotion. No doubt they accuse David of failing to leave adequate protection for Ziklag, although the scope of Achish’s marching orders may have precluded that. At any rate David is isolated and threatened, no longer commanding the loyalty of his core supporters.

This crisis forces David to reassess his own conduct. Unlike Saul, whose “great distress” (28:15) has driven him from the Lord, “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” For some time David has opted to pursue the path he personally has felt to be best, but the Lord has remained “his God,” and now David learns that God has been speaking to him through these adverse situations. So, committing himself anew to God, David finds strength through relying upon God to provide for him (cf. 23:16). This spiritual restoration and empowerment is reflected in many psalms (e.g., Pss. 25:16–20; 56:3–4).

30:7–8 Unlike Saul, who sought recourse to the medium at En-dor, David calls for Abiathar, the high priest, to bring the ephod so that he might have divine guidance on how to proceed (cf. 22:20–23; 23:6–9). He asks the Lord if he should pursue “this band” of raiders and if he would catch up with them. “Band” implies that they are organized not to fight fixed battles but to spread themselves over the land to raid and loot.

Since David has come to his senses spiritually, God answers him (unlike Saul) and urges him to act, giving him categorical assurances that he would “overtake” and “rescue,” with the force of both verbs intensified by accompanying infinitives, rendered “surely.” The divine promise is specifically of “rescue,” taking back from their captors those whose lives and freedom are in peril.

30:9–10 David heads south for 15 miles (24 km) until they reach the brook Besor, which probably marked the southern boundary of Philistine territory. Since they have all marched for the greater part of three days from Aphek and also have suffered the trauma of losing their families, unsurprisingly some can go no farther. “Exhausted” is related to the term for a corpse; they are “dead-beat.” “Those who were left behind” (v. 9) and “two hundred stayed behind” (v. 10) refer to the same group, left to guard supplies and equipment (v. 24). The reduction in the numbers resembles Gideon’s encounter with the Midianites (Judg. 7:2–8), highlighting that the victory is from the Lord (1 Sam. 30:23).

According to 1 Chronicles 12:20–21, David enjoys the help of men from Manasseh in his fight against the Amalekites. Perhaps these new recruits compensate for those who were overwhelmed with fatigue, so that there are still six hundred men with David, as earlier (1 Sam. 27:2).

30:11–12 As David’s scouts scour the territory south of Besor for signs of the raiding band, they come across an individual who later identifies himself as an Egyptian. He is in dire straits, having been exposed to the heat without water and food for three days and nights. When he is taken to David, he is given nourishment, including figs and raisins (cf. 25:18), to revive him. This is a magnanimous gesture, though David also values him as a potential informant.

30:13 After the Egyptian has recovered somewhat, David interrogates him. “To whom do you belong?” probably surmises his status as a slave from his lack of weapons. He replies that he is a “servant” (or “slave”) to an Amalekite but had become ill during their raid and been left to die.

30:14 The Egyptian gives an account of the Amalekite raid against the Cherethites, a subgroup of the Philistines living south of Gaza (cf. comment on 2 Sam. 8:18), and against the south of Judah, including the “Negeb of Caleb” to the south of Hebron. Most significantly, the Egyptian confirms that “we burned Ziklag with fire.”

30:15 David asks for the Egyptian’s cooperation in leading them “to this band,” presumably to the base camp from which they had set out. He agrees if it is solemnly guaranteed that he would not be killed or returned to his master. David doubtless grants him his request in line with the provisions of Deuteronomy 23:15–16.

30:16 When the Egyptian leads David to the Amalekite camp, they are celebrating their recent successes. “Spread abroad over all the land” pictures them as not being in a tight, easily defended encampment but rather relaxed and feasting over a wide area, so that they are vulnerable to surprise attack by a smaller force.

30:17 “Twilight” could refer to the semidarkness at the beginning or, more usually, the close of a day. Here a dawn attack after a night’s rest is more probable. Since a new day began at sunset, “until the evening of the next day” means the battle lasts from dawn to dusk. The raiding party is slaughtered, apart from “four hundred young men [“soldiers,” as in 21:2]”—implying the raiders numbered well over a thousand, far in excess of David’s four hundred. For the use of camels, cf. Judges 6:5; 7:12.

30:18 In accordance with God’s promise, David enjoys complete success. “Recovered” and “rescued” render the same verb as “rescue” in verse 8. Neither property nor persons are lost. “All” is repeated in the following two verses to emphasize how complete the recovery is.

30:19 In the Lord’s providence, “nothing was missing.” “Small or great” is again (v. 2) extensive in its reference. Whatever size of objects had been taken, or whoever it was that had been abducted (though again, as in v. 6, wives are not mentioned), David brings them all back.

30:20 In addition to the loot from Ziklag, David captures substantial booty the Amalekites had pillaged from other sites during their extensive campaign. The army’s claim that “This is David’s spoil” shows that this is not a war of the Lord, such as Saul had been directed to undertake, and so David is free to dispose of this plunder as he sees fit.

30:21 David also displays his suitability to rule by ensuring a just distribution of the spoils among his troops (vv. 21–25) and by consideration for the inhabitants of nearby cities in Judah (vv. 26–31). When he returns to “the two hundred men . . . who had been left at the brook Besor” (cf. vv. 9–10), they go out to meet “the people who were with him,” not just the victorious army but also their own wives and children. David “greeted them” (lit., “asked about their well-being [shalom]”; cf. 10:4; 17:22; 25:5), particularly in light of the distressed state in which he had left them.

30:22 But among the motley collection of individuals who have gathered around David are “wicked and worthless [cf. 2:12] fellows” who argue that, while those who had been left behind should be reunited with their families (for the disparaging “lead away,” cf. comment on 30:2), they should not share in the general spoil.

30:23 David, however, insists that the spoils be distributed on a different basis. He does not attribute his victory to his personal bravery or military competence, nor to their prowess. The victory is from the Lord, and the spoil is “what the Lord has given us.” Consequently, in a speech befitting a true covenant king, David urges his “brothers” to acknowledge their covenant relationship with one another under God and not act selfishly. Saul had once exhibited a similar attitude (11:13), but it did not last long.

30:24 “Who would listen to you in this matter?” is a rhetorical question asserting that others would not accept the worthless fellows’ arguments. David then states the principle that the two groups are to be treated with parity. Those who had stayed by the “baggage” (equipment and supplies) have contributed to the victory just as those who fought in the battle, and thus should “share alike” (Num. 31:25–54; Josh. 22:8).

30:25 David then establishes this as the binding procedure to be followed by Israel’s armies. “A statute and a rule” (a set phrase as in Ex. 15:25; Josh. 24:25) anticipates the royal role he is about to assume fully. “Rule” is literally “judgment,” that is, a binding precedent. For “to this day,” cf. Introduction: Date and Occasion.

30:26 David also acts generously with the portions of the spoil the Amalekites had acquired elsewhere than Ziklag. Identifying with the wider covenant community, he shares the proceeds of victory with them. This combines gratitude for past favors, compensation for recent losses, and adroit political calculation for future support. “Present” (lit., “blessing”; cf. 25:27) and mention of the “enemies of the Lord” portray him as conscious of his indebtedness to the Lord, in whose cause he is fighting.

30:27–31 What follows is a list of the places where the elders of Judah reside. Only some locations have been identified, but all are within the tribal territory of Judah.¹ “Hebron” is the first mention in Samuel of David’s future capital (cf. comment on 2 Sam. 2:1) and ends the list on a forward-looking note. “For all the places where David and his men had roamed [lit., “moved to and fro”; cf. 1 Sam. 23:13]” stands in apposition to the preceding catalog of places and categorizes them as constituting the region where David has sought refuge from Saul’s persecution.