841 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David's two wives were taken captives,.... Which is observed as one cause of his particular distress, and another follows in 1 Samuel 30:6: Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite: that is, who had been his wife; for he was now dead, 1 Samuel 25:39, and was so before she was married to David; both these came with...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David was greatly distressed,.... Partly for the loss of his two wives, and partly because of the mutiny and murmuring of his men: for the people spake of stoning him; as the Israelites did of Moses and Aaron, Numbers 14:10; the reason of this was, because, as they judged, it was owing to David that they went along with Achish, and left the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son,.... The son of Ahimelech, who was slain at Nob by the order of Saul, 1 Samuel 22:19; and Abiathar his son, who fled to David with the ephod, on the death of his father, 1 Samuel 22:20, was now high priest in his room; and who it seems was with David when he went with Achish, and returned with...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David inquired of the Lord,.... That is, by Abiathar, who reported his questions to the Lord in his name: saying, shall I pursue after this troop? the large company of the Amalekites, as it appears by what follows they were: shall I overtake them? two questions are here put together, and answers returned to them, contrary to a notion of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So David went, he and the six hundred men that [were] with him,.... Encouraged by the oracle of the Lord: and came to the brook Besor; which Adrichomius (q) places in the tribe of Simeon; it is thought to be near Gaza. Aristaeus (r) speaks of brooks that flowed by Gaza and Ashdod, places that belonged to the Philistines; some take it to be the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But David pursued, he and four hundred men,.... Not discouraged with being obliged to leave a third part of his little army behind; though it was doubtless a trial of his faith, with these to pursue an enemy, whose numbers he knew not, which must greatly exceed his; for after the rout and slaughter of them, as many escaped on camels as David had...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they found an Egyptian in the field,.... As they passed along, lying there, having been sick, and was half starved, almost dead: and brought him to David; to know what was to be done with him; being in the habit of a soldier, they concluded he might be one of the company they were in pursuit of; but whether they should kill him, or make use of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they gave him a piece of cake of figs,.... That were dried and pressed together, and made into cakes: and two clusters of raisins; or dried grapes, as the Targum: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; he seemed to be quite dispirited, almost lifeless, but upon eating some food he was refreshed, and his spirits revived, and he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David said unto him, to whom [belongest] thou?.... To what country or people? and to whom among them? and whence [art] thou? of what nation? where wast thou born? what countryman art thou? for his being called an Egyptian before seems to be by anticipation, unless it was guessed at by his habit; for until he had eaten and drank he could not...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
We made an invasion [upon] the south of the Cherethites,.... The Philistines so called, or at least one nation of them, such that dwelt to the south of the land, 1 Samuel 30:16; [See comments on Zephaniah 2:5]; and upon [the coast] which [belongeth] to Judah; the south of Judah, where David pretended he had been, and had spoiled, and which was now...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David said unto him, canst thou me down to this company?.... That is, show him, or direct him where they were: and he said, swear unto me by God; the Targum is, by the Word of the Lord; but it is highly probable this man had no notion of Jehovah, and his Word, or of the true God; only that there was a God, and that an oath taken by him was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when he had brought him down,.... To the place where the company of the Amalekites were, or near it: behold, [they were] spread abroad upon all the earth; they were not in any regular order, and much less in any military form, but lay about in the fields, scattered here and there, were in detached parties: some eating and drinking; in one...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day,.... As there are two twilights, the twilight of the morning, and the twilight of the evening; this is differently understood some take it for the twilight of the morning, and that it was night when David came to them, and let them alone till they were drunk and asleep,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away,.... The wives and children of the Israelites, and their goods, excepting the provisions they had eaten: and David rescued his two wives; which is particularly observed, because a special concern of his.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters,.... Not any of the least or youngest, nor any of them that were grown up; for as these were not slain but carried captive, so they were brought back, and not one missing, see 1 Samuel 30:2; neither spoil, nor any [thing] they had taken to them: except the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David took all the flocks, and the herds,.... Which they had taken from the land of the Philistines, or which belonged to the Amalekites properly: [which] they drave before those [other] cattle; which had been carried from Ziklag; first went the spoil taken from other places, and then those taken from David and his men, or what was found at...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David came to the two hundred men,.... Left at the brook Besor: who were so faint that they could not follow David; or, as the Targum, were restrained from going over after him; either through faintness of spirits, and weakness of body, or through the order of David that they should not follow him; and which seems to receive some countenance...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then answered all the wicked men, and [men] of Belial, of those that went with David,.... Who were ill natured men, and of covetous dispositions, as what is called their answer shows; and it seems by that as if the two hundred men had moved that they might have their share in the spoil, or that David had given some intimation that they should: and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then said David, ye shall not do so, my brethren,.... Though he saw through their wickedness, and disapproved of the bad sentiments they had embraced, yet he deals gently with them, calling them brethren, being of the same nation and religion, and his fellow soldiers; yet at the same time keeps up and maintains his dignity and authority as a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For who will hearken unto you in fit is matter?,.... No wise and just man will take on your side of the question, and join with you in excluding your brethren from a share in the spoil: but as his part [is] that goeth down to the battle, so [shall] his part [be] that tarrieth by the stuff; as these two hundred men did; they were placed to abide by...