1 Samuel 30:17

17 From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels.

1 Samuel 30:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 30:17

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, and then early in the morning fell upon them, and smote them until the evening; so Josephus F19 relates it; but others take it to be the twilight of the evening, and that he fell upon them that night, and continued the slaughter of them to the evening of the next day, with which agrees the Targum; nay, some take the next day, or the morrow, to be that which followed after the two evenings; so that this slaughter was carried on to the third day:

and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men that
rode upon camels, and fled;
that sort of camels called dromedaries, according to Josephus F20, and which were very swift, and much used by the Arabians, near whom these people dwelt, see ( Isaiah 60:6 ) ( Jeremiah 2:23 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 6.
F20 Ibid.

1 Samuel 30:17 In-Context

15 "Will you lead me to these troops?" David asked him. He answered, "Take an oath in front of God that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master, and I'll lead you to these troops."
16 The Egyptian led him [to them]. They were spread out all over the land, eating, and drinking. They were celebrating because they had taken so much loot from Philistine territory and from the land of Judah.
17 From dawn until evening the next day, David attacked them. No one escaped except 400 young men who rode away on camels.
18 David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 Nothing was missing--young or old, sons or daughters, the loot or anything else they had taken with them. David brought back everything.
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