Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 30:21-31
David Declares That All Must Share The Credit For The Victory, Both Those Who Fought And Those Who Guarded The Baggage, because The Victory Was YHWH's (1 Samuel 30:21).
David's concern for all his men is brought out by his treatment of the exhausted men whom he had left to guard the baggage at the Wadi Besor. He insisted that because all that had been won had been given to them by YHWH, all should be divided equally among all who had come on the expedition, both to those who had fought, and to those who had guarded their baggage and had thus ensured that they could move on swiftly and have somewhere to which they could turn if they ran out of supplies, or anything went wrong.
He then also proceeded to return to neighbouring friendly tribes and clans, something of what had been stolen from them, as a gesture of friendship and gratitude in return for the friendship that they had shown to him and his men when they had been hiding among them.
This last fact emphasises the huge amount of spoil that had been recovered. And it further indicates the large number of Amalekites who must have taken part in the raiding trips, almost certainly the result of the gathering together of a number of sub-tribes of Amalekites in a confederation, partly gathered in order to gain revenge on David because he had attacked and slaughtered their ‘brothers', and also in order to take maximum advantage of the fact that Israelite and Philistine forces had been elsewhere.. This had been no ordinary raid by one tribe, as the fact that they had been able to take a fortified city like Ziklag demonstrated.
Analysis.
a And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor, and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him, and when David came near to the people, he saluted them (1 Samuel 30:21).
b Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows, of those who went with David, and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart (1 Samuel 30:22).
c Then David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what YHWH has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the band that came against us into our hand” (1 Samuel 30:23).
b “And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarries by the baggage. They will share alike.” And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day (1 Samuel 30:24).
a And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Look, a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of YHWH.” To those who were in Beth-el, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negeb, and to those who were in Jattir, and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, and 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, and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who that were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt (1 Samuel 30:26).
Note that in ‘a' David saluted those who were his fellow-comrades and who guarded the baggage, and in the parallel he greeted the elders of Judah who were his friends and who had shown him and his men friendship in their time of need. In ‘b' the base among the four hundred sought to hold all the spoils for themselves, because the others had not fought but had merely watched the baggage, and in the parallel David forbids it and lays down the rule the at the spoil will always be divided between all, both those who fought and those who watched over the baggage. Centrally in ‘c' he emphasises that all the credit must go to YHWH,. and that therefore all is a gift from Him.
‘ And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom also they had made to abide at the brook Besor, and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him, and when David came near to the people, he saluted them.'
Returning triumphantly with their spoils David and his four hundred came back to the two hundred who had had to take time to rest and recover, the ones whom they had left at the Wadi Besor to watch over the baggage that they had stripped themselves of so that they could advance all the faster. And the two hundred, now fully recovered, came forward to meet and greet their comrades, and were themselves saluted by David. He knew that they had done all that they could, and did not want them to feel at all dishonoured. It was the act of a true leader.
The true man of God never despises those who do what they can, but are unable to reach the standard of others. He knows that very often they are the people whom God uses in His own way.
‘ Then answered all the wicked men and base fellows, of those who went with David, and said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them anything of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that he may lead them away, and depart.” '
But not all were as kind as David. There were some among the four hundred who, while doughty fighters, were lacking in compassion and human feeling. And these came to David and suggested that none of the spoil be given to the two hundred, apart from the returning to them of their wives and children. These should be given to them and then they should depart empty handed, made aware of their shame. They wanted all the spoil for themselves.
‘ Then David said, “You shall not do so, my brothers, with what YHWH has given to us, who has preserved us, and delivered the band that came against us into our hand.” '
But David would have none of it. He pointed out that the spoil had been given to them by YHWH. It was YHWH who had preserved them and delivered the marauding band who had come against them into their hand. It was YHWH who had brought them back to Ziklag in time to be able to rectify matters. It was YHWH Who had sent them forth with the guarantee of victory. It was YHWH Who had arranged for them to find an Egyptian in the desert who could lead them to the marauders. It was YHWH who had arranged for the marauders to remain at the oasis in order to celebrate, and had got them into such a condition that they were in no condition to fight. All had been of YHWH.
“ And who will listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down to the battle, so shall his share be that tarries by the baggage. They will share alike.” '
Then he asked them whom they thought would support them in their suggestion. He was confident that most of his men would agree that all who had taken part in the expedition should receive a fair share of the spoils. Indeed all had been necessary. They could never have left the excess baggage behind, knowing that it would be there when they came back, had it not been for those who were left to watch over it. So all were to share alike.
‘ And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.'
And that was the ordinance and statute that he established in Israel from that day forward, and was true ‘to this day'. That those who fought, and those who watched the baggage, would all share equally.
‘ And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Look, a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of YHWH,” '
In his victory David did not forget those who had been friends to them in their greatest time of need, the elders of Judah in the Negeb towns. Much of the spoil had been stolen from them, and so once they had reached Ziklag, he returned it to them in an act of reciprocal friendship, indicating that it was a present to them from YHWH, and from the spoils that YHWH had taken from his adversaries (who were His enemies because they were the enemies of His people).
‘ To those who were in Beth-el, and to those who were in Ramoth of the Negeb, and to those who were in Jattir, and to those who were in Aroer, and to those who were in Siphmoth, and to those who were in Eshtemoa, and 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, and to those who were in Hormah, and to those who that were in Bor-ashan, and to those who were in Athach, and to those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.'
There then follows a list of all the places which benefited, and their very number indicates the amount of spoil recovered (and therefore the size of the band of plunderers that they had defeated). Here we learn that all these peoples had welcomed David and his men when they had been fleeing from Saul. They were the places which David and his men ‘had been wont to haunt', i.e. had been in the habit of sheltering near. Not all had been like the Ziphites.
The names are all of towns and cities in the Negeb, or in the mountains of Judah. ‘Bethel' was also known as Bethuel or Bethul, and was in the neighbourhood of Ziklag and Hormah, being shared by Judah and Simeon (Joshua 15:30; 1 Chronicles 4:30). For Ramoth of the Negeb compare Joshua 19:8. It was possibly the home of Shimei the Ramathite, overseer of David's vineyards (1 Chronicles 27:27). Jattir was a priestly city on the south-west escarpment of the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:48; Joshua 19:4), possibly the home of Ira and Gareb the Ithrites (2 Samuel 23:38). Aroer (not the one near the Arnon) is probably still commemorated by the Wadi Ararah, being some miles south-east of Beersheba. Shama and Jehiel, the sons of Hothan the Aroerite, are mentioned among David's mighty men (1 Chronicles 11:44). Siphmoth is unknown, but may connect with Zabdi the Shiphmite, steward of David's wine cellars (1 Chronicles 27:27). Eshtemoa was a priestly city (Joshua 15:50; Joshua 21:14), some miles south-south-west of Hebron. Racal is unknown. The Jerahmeelites (see 1 Chronicles 2:9; 1 Chronicles 2:25) and Kenites (see Judges 1:16) were semi-independent peoples linked with Judah. Hormah (which means ‘put under the Ban, devoted'; compare Numbers 21:2) was a former Canaanite city in the Negeb assigned to Judah and Simeon (Joshua 15:30; Joshua 19:4). Borashan means ‘cystern of Ashan' (compare Joshua 15:42; Joshua 19:7) and was in the Negeb. Athach is unidentified. Hebron was a very ancient city (Numbers 13:22), known to Abraham and later captured by Caleb (Joshua 14:13). It was the major city in the mountains of Judah, and would later become David's first capital.
There is much discussion as to David's motives in this distribution of spoil, but there is no real reason for doubting that it mainly arose from gratitude to those who had treated him and his men well in the past. That he also did it as a prospective king of Israel, a position that had been promised to him a number of times in the past, we need not doubt, for he had the heart of a king, but it is only said to be to those who had welcomed him and his men in the past. It should also be remembered that he had refused to kill Saul and claim the kingship, even when he knew that he had the support of Jonathan, and that even his later approach to Hebron was only made after consulting YHWH. Thus while he was certainly a man aware of his destiny, he was also one who was prepared for YHWH to bring it about when he willed. He was not just a cynical politician or a power-seeker. He was a man who was aware that YHWH had His hand upon him, and he acted accordingly.