1 Samuel 30


1 Samuel 30 is the thirtieth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David's escape from Saul's repeated attempts to kill him. This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 which records the rise of David as the king of Israel.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 31 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 with extant verses 22–31.
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.

Places

  • Aroer
  • Besor
  • Bethel
  • Eshtemoa
  • Hebron
  • Hormah
  • Jattir
  • Jezreel
  • Ramoth
  • Ziklag

    The Amalekites raid Ziklag (30:1–6)

While Saul battled the Philistines David returned to Ziklag only to find it burned by the Amalekites and its inhabitants carried away. The attack was probably in retaliation for David's raid on the Amalekites. David and his men lost their wives and families, causing great lamentation and even placing David in personal danger.

Verse 1

  • " Negeb": means "south", referring to the southern part of Judah, and the adjacent country.

    Verse 2

  • "They did not kill anyone": Because all the men of war were away, the city could not provide any resistance, and because women and children were valuable to be sold as slaves, mainly to the neighboring Egypt, so nobody was killed. However, leaving their wives and families absolutely defenseless probably made the men so angry at David that they were ready to kill him.

    David destroys the Amalekites (30:7–20)

One unique feature in the narrative is David's ability to consult YHWH, in contrast to Saul's illegal consultation at Endor. David 'strengthened himself in the LORD', contacted YHWH through Abiathar the priest and received a positive answer, so he was encouraged to pursue the attackers. A providential meeting with an exhausted Egyptian who had gone three days without food, and who, after being revived with a fig-cake and raisins, provided David and his men instant information to the raiders of Ziklag, even securing the service to guide them down to the Amalekite camp. In another coincidence David and his troops arrived just as the Amalekites were obliviously celebrating their victory with feasting, giving a good opportunity to revenge allowing only 400 camel riders to escape. The captured families were saved intact and their possession was reclaimed with more booty to collect. Moreover, David had avenged not only Ziklag but also other areas as mentioned in verse 14—the Negeb of the Cherethites in the southern area controlled by the Philistines, the Negeb of Caleb, which was around Hebron, as well as Judean areas, providing special bond with the people of the areas as described later in 2 Samuel 2:1–4, when David becomes king of Judah.

Verse 19

Through this victory David rescued all that the Amalekites had taken, his two wives, his men's wives, and all the children great and small, as well as all stuffs that were taken from Ziklag, so that nothing was missing.

Dividing the spoils (30:21–31)

David's successful attack obtained so much booty that enabled him to hand over some as gifts to the people of Judah. This act and his ruling on the suggestion made by 'worthless fellows' displayed David's readiness to assume the role of king. Thus, Saul's sparing the Amalekites led to his downfall, whereas David's successful attack led to his rise as a king who was obedient to God.

Verse 26

  • "Spoil": or "booty"

    Commentaries on Samuel

General

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