1 Samuel 30:14

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

We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.

The Cherethites, i.e. the Philistines, as is manifest from , who are so called . And upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb: this is added by way of explication: q.d. that part of the south of Judah which belongs to Caleb’ s posterity, .

1 Samuel 30:14 We made an invasion [upon] the south of the Cherethites, and upon [the coast] which [belongeth] to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.Ver. 14. Upon the south of the Cherethites,] i.e., Of the Philistines. See Ezekiel 21:15 Zephaniah 2:5. Some think the Cretians might from these have their name and original. And upon the south of Caleb,] i.e., Of the Calebites, amongst whom lay David’ s possessions which he had with Abigail.

(14) We made an invasion. . . .—The Egyptian, who apparently was a man of education, accurately describes to David the nature and scope of the Amalekite raid, which had closed with so signal a disaster to the inhabitants of his city of Ziklag. Taking advantage of the war between Israel and Philistia, and of the northerly march of the troops of both countries, Amalek made a swift and sudden descent upon the south country. The Cherethites were a Philistine people dwelling in the south, and along the sea-coast.·Some have supposed that the name “Crçthites” which represents the Hebrew more accurately—came originally, as the name seems to indicate, from the island of Crete. Capthor, the home of the Philistines (Amos 9:7), not improbably is identical with Crete. The whole question of the history of this singular Philistine people, who were certainly not indigenous to Canaan, but who were settlers in it at a comparatively recent date, and who gave their name “Palestine” to the whole land, is most obscure. Before the arrival of Israel in Canaan the Philistines held a very strong position on the southern coast, and not long before Samson’s time they had been strengthened by fresh arrivals from Crete and other western regions, and from this date rapidly gained power and influence, and at more than one period disputed the supremacy with the Hebrew race, whom they threatened to supplant altogether. We hear subsequently of the Cherethites mentioned in the passage under the command of Benaiah, as a portion of King David’s body-guard. This troop or regiment of Philistines was first, no doubt, enrolled during his residence at Ziklag. He retained this body of foreigners, of course continually recruited, about his person all through his reign. Such a body-guard, made up of foreigners, has always been a favourite practice among sovereigns. The Scottish archers and the corps of Swiss Guards, at different periods of the French monarchy, and, on a larger scale, the Varangian guard of the Greek emperors of Constantinople in the tenth century, are good examples of this preference for foreigners in the case of the body-guards of the sovereign. And upon the coast which belongeth to Judah.—The eastern portion of the Negeb or south country, reaching from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea. And upon the south of Caleb.—One district of the Negeb or south country was given to Caleb, the companion of Joshua, as a reward for his faith and his courage. His portion, which was called Caleb after the famous chieftain, included all the country and villages round about Hebron, which became subsequently a city of the priests. And we burned Ziklag with fire.—This act, which closed the reign of Amalek, was intended as a piece of stern revenge for the late incursion of David into their country, and for the cruelties practised on the captives.

Verse 14. Upon the south of the Cherethites] Calmet and others maintain, that the כרתי kerethi, which, without the points, might be read Creti, were not only at this time Philistines, but that they were aborigines of Crete, from which they had their name Cherethites or Cretans, and are those of whom Zephaniah speaks, Zephaniah 2:5: Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites. And by Ezekiel, Ezekiel 25:16: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and will cut off the Cherethim. In 2 Samuel 15:18 we find that the Cherethites formed a part of David's guards. South of Caleb] Somewhere about Kirjath-arba, or Hebron, and Kirjath-sepher; these being in the possession of Caleb and his descendants.

14. the Cherethites] Evidently a tribe of Philistines living on the southern border of Philistia, as the spoil is said in 1 Samuel 30:16 to have been taken “out of the land of the Philistines.” Cp. 2 Samuel 8:18 (note); Ezekiel 25:16; Zephaniah 2:5. The name may possibly be connected with Crete, coast] Border. See on ch. 1 Samuel 5:6. the south of Caleb] Joshua’s faithful companion received Hebron for his inheritance (Joshua 14:13), and when he ceded the city to the priests for a city of refuge, retained the surrounding land in his own possession (Joshua 21:11-12; cp. 1 Samuel 25:3). Apparently he gave his name to part of the Negeb (1 Samuel 30:1), which was known as the Negeb of Caleb.

The Cherethites - Here used as synonymous with Philistines 1 Samuel 30:16.

14. The Cherethites — The inhabitants of southern Philistia. Compare Ezekiel 25:16; Zephaniah 2:5.