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1 SAMUEL 30
PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
| NASB | NKJV | NRSV | TEV | NJB (MT versing) |
| David's Victory Over the Amalekites | David's Conflict Wwith the Amalekites | An Interlude: the Burning of Ziklag and David's Pursuit of the Amalekites | The War Against the Amalekites | Reprisal Against the Amalekites |
| 30:1-6 | 30:1-10 | 30:1-6 | 30:1-5 | 30:1-5 |
| 30:6-8c | 30:6-10 | |||
| 30:7-10 | 30:7-10 | |||
| 30:8d | ||||
| 30:9-13b | ||||
| 30:11-15 | 30:11-20 | 30:11-15 | 30:11-15 | |
| 30:13c-14 | ||||
| 30:15a | ||||
| 30:15b | ||||
| 30:15c-16a | ||||
| 30:16-20 | 30:16-20 | 30:16b-20 | 30:16-20 | |
| The Spoils Are Divided | ||||
| 30:21-25 | 30:21-25 | 30:21-25 | 30:21-25 | 30:21-25 (24b-c) |
| 30:26-31 | 30:26-31 | 30:26-31 | 30:26-31 | 30:26-31 |
READING CYCLE THREE (see
"Bible Interpretation Seminar")
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:1-6
1Then 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; 2and
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. 3When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with
fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. 4Then David and
the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep.
5Now David's two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow
of Nabal the Carmelite. 6Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of
stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
30:1 "Ziklag" This was the city that Achish gave to David and his men (cf. 1 Sam. 27:5-7). It is northwest of Beer-sheba. The Amalekites probably attacked Ziklag because of David's attacks on them (cf. 1 Sam. 27:8).
▣ "the Amalekites" They were enemies of Israel from the exodus days (cf. Exodus 17; Deut. 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 15:2). Saul had killed many of them, as had David, but they were still a nomadic desert force.
30:2 In ancient warfare the victors took everything, including women and children as slaves and servants.
30:6 "the people spoke of stoning him" This shows the degree of sorrow and frustration in David's men. Remember, many of them were disgruntled people from Israel who had deserted Saul and come to David.
▣ "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" David trusted and relied on YHWH. He sensed a divine purpose for his life. Circumstances did not often dampen his faith.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:7-10
7Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me the ephod."
So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8David inquired of the Lord,
saying, "Shall I pursue this band? Shall I overtake them?" And He said to him, "Pursue, for you will surely
overtake them, and you will surely rescue all." 9So David went, he and the six hundred men
who were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those left behind remained. 10But
David pursued, he and four hundred men, for two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook
Besor remained behind.
30:7 "the ephod" This was a way for the High Priest to know the will of God involving the Urim and Thummim.
SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM
30:8 "David inquired of the Lord" The text seems to imply that David himself cast the lots but I think it is just literary imagery. The priest Abiathar would have handled the sacred lots.
David wanted to know YHWH's will before he acted (as did Saul)!
▣ "you shall surely overtake them, and you shall surely rescue all" This is an emphatic construction (i.e., two Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTES with their accompanying Hiphil IMPERATIVES of the same root).
30:9 "he and six hundred men" This was his combined force. This number of men had been with him for several years.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:11-15
11Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate,
and they provided him water to drink. 12They gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins,
and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.
13David 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; and my master left me behind when I fell sick three days ago.
14We 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." 15Then 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 hands of my master,
and I will bring you down to this band."
30:11-15 This was another divine event. YHWH was actively involved in David's life.
30:12 "his spirit revived" This is an idiom for his renewed strength after David provided food and drink.
I am amazed at the detailed list of the food this man was given. This is obviously an eye-witness account, as is v. 17 (i.e., four hundred escaped on camels).
SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE
30:14 The Amalekites attacked not only the Philistine area but all southern Judah (cf. v. 16). The spoils that David gave to Judah were probably their own captured spoils.
▣ "Cherethites" The designation (BDB 504) probably shows that the people group knows as Philistines (or at least part of them) were from the Island of Crete (cf. Zeph. 2:5; Ezek. 25:16).
▣ "the Negev of Caleb" Caleb was given the city of Hebron and its surrounding area (cf. Jos. 14:6-15; 15:13-19).
The Negev (BDB 616) refers to the dry lands in southern Canaan. They could support a limited number of nomadic tribesmen and their livestock.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:16-20
16When 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. 17David 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.
18So David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and rescued his two wives.
19But nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or
anything that they had taken for themselves; David brought it all back. 20So David had
captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of the other livestock,
and they said, "This is David's spoil."
30:16 The Amalekites were having a victory party and sacrifice (BDB 643, KB 695, meaning "take skin off an animal). They were drunk and unsuspecting of an attack.
| 30:17 | |
| NASB, NKJV, NRSV, LXX | "of the next day" |
| NJB | "of the following day" |
| Peshitta | "from the rear" |
| JB | "putting them under the ban" |
The JPSOA footnote says the Hebrew of this phrase is uncertain. Here are the options.
The UBS Text Project, p. 204, gives the MT a "B" rating (some doubt).
30:20 David was given all of the livestock as his portion of the spoils. He uses this as gifts to the places in Judah where he and his men traveled and stayed (see list in vv. 26-31).
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:21-25
21When David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David, who had also
been left at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David
approached the people and greeted them. 22Then all the wicked and worthless men among those
who went with David said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have
recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away and depart."
23Then David said, "You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord
has given us, who has kept us and delivered into our hand the band that came against us. 24And who
will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be who stays by
the baggage; they shall share alike." 25So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute
and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
30:22 "all the wicked and worthless men" These were part of David's 600 disgruntled army. In v. 23, they are called "my brothers." These were not evil people but greedy soldiers who did not want to share the spoils with the 200 who stayed behind (cf. v. 10).
For "worthless man" see full note at 2 Sam. 20:1.
30:25 This is a later editorial note. The OT was written after the events and later edited. We do not know the process or the date of the formation of our OT.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 30:26-31
26Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his
friends, saying, "Behold, a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the Lord:
27to those who were in Bethel, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negev, and to those
who were in Jattir, 28and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth,
and to those who were in Eshtemoa, 29and to those who were in Racal, and to those who
were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites, 30and
to those who were in Hormah, and to those who were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach,
31and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men
were accustomed to go."
30:26 "the elders of Judah" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDERS.
▣ "the enemies of the Lord" Israel was YHWH's unique covenant people (i.e., Exod. 19:5-6). He was their protector and provider. To fight Israel was to fight Him (cf. 1 Sam. 18:17; 25:28). This special relationship, however, was conditional on Israel's obedience to YHWH's covenant (i.e., here, the Mosaic Covenant).
30:27-30 There are several places mentioned with MSS issues.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
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