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Texts -- 1 Samuel 30:1-4 (NET)

Context
David Defeats the Amalekites
30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag . Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag . They attacked Ziklag and burned it. 30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest , but they did not kill anyone . They simply carried them off and went on their way . 30:3 When David and his men came to the city , they found it burned . Their wives , sons , and daughters had been taken captive . 30:4 Then David and the men who were with him wept loudly until they could weep no more .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Moses included this relatively short genealogy (toledot) in the sacred record to show God's faithfulness in multiplying Abraham's seed as He had promised. He also did so to provide connections with the descendants of Esau ref...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:101. Hannah's condition 1:1-82. Hannah's vow 1:9-183. Hannah's obedience 1:19-284. Hannah's song 2:1-10B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2...
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
  • In chapters 21-30 we see David's forces growing stronger and stronger while Saul's forces get weaker and weaker. This is a further demonstration of the fertility theme. However these chapters also develop the motif of the pro...
  • As Saul reached the depth of his fortunes, David attained the height of his popularity thus far. This chapter seems to antedate the previous one slightly. The writer appears to have incorporated it in his narrative here to hi...
  • This chapter reveals many qualities that marked David as an outstanding leader. As Saul continued to decline, God perfected the characteristics of leadership in David that prepared him for the throne. The Amalekites' capture ...
  • David also distributed some of the war plunder to the elders of Judah.293He evidently did so because he viewed the booty as coming from the enemies of all Judah, even the enemies of the Lord (v. 26). He may have also done thi...
  • The scene shifts back to Mt. Gilboa in the North. Saul's battle with the Philistines in this chapter may have been simultaneous with David's battle against the Amalekites in the previous one."Chapters 30 and 31 gain in poigna...
  • The other Israelite soldiers retreated when they heard that Saul and his sons had died. This left towns in the region open for Philistine seizure. Instead of driving the native inhabitants out of the land Saul had made it pos...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
  • The young Amalekite must have been a mercenary soldier who had joined Saul's army. It seems more likely that this man's account of Saul's death was not accurate rather than that he had had some hand in killing Saul in view of...
  • Students of David's lament over Saul and Jonathan's deaths have called it the Song of the Bow (cf. v. 22).10Many people in Judah learned and sang it (v. 18). The Book of Jasher (v. 18) is no longer extant (cf. Josh. 10:13)."H...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 1 Samuel 31:1-13The story of Saul's tragic last days is broken in two by the account, in 1 Samuel 29, 30., of David's fortunate dismissal from the invading army, and his exploits against Amalek. The contrast between the two l...
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