Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
14. the Cherethites ] Evidently a tribe of Philistines living on the southern border of Philistia, as the spoil is said in 1Sa 30:16 to have been taken “out of the land of the Philistines.” Cp. 2Sa 8:18 (note); Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5. The name may possibly be connected with Crete,
coast ] Border. See on ch. 1Sa 5:6.
the south of Caleb ] Joshua’s faithful companion received Hebron for his inheritance (Jos 14:13), and when he ceded the city to the priests for a city of refuge, retained the surrounding land in his own possession (Jos 21:11-12; cp. 1Sa 25:3). Apparently he gave his name to part of the Negeb ( 1Sa 30:1), which was known as the Negeb of Caleb.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Cherethites – Here used as synonymous with Philistines 1Sa 30:16. In Davids reign the body-guard commanded by Benaiah consisted of Cherethites and Pelethites (Philistines?) and a picked corps of six hundred men of Gath commanded by Ittai the Gittite. It would seem from this that the Cherethites and Philistines were two kindred and associated tribes, like Angles and Saxons, who took possession of the seacoast of Palestine. The Philistines, being the more powerful, gave their name to the country and the nation in general, though that of the Cherethites was not wholly extinguished. Many persons connect the name Cherethite with that of the island of Crete.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. Upon the south of the Cherethites] Calmet and others maintain, that the 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, Zep 2:5: Wo to the inhabitants of the sea-coasts, the nation of the Cherethites. And by Ezekiel, Eze 25:16: Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and will cut off the Cherethim. In 2Sa 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Cherethites, i.e. the Philistines, as is manifest from 1Sa 30:16, who are so called Zep 2:5.
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 Calebs posterity, Jos 14:13.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. the Cherethitesthat is,the Philistines (Eze 25:16;Zep 2:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, 1Sa 30:16;
[See comments on Zep 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 actually done by the Amalekites, 1Sa 27:10;
and upon the south of Caleb; that part of the tribe of Judah which belonged to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and his posterity, and which was the southern part of it, Jos 15:19;
and we burnt Ziklag with fire; and then departed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(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 Crthites which represents the Hebrew more accuratelycame originally, as the name seems to indicate, from the island of Crete. Capthor, the home of the Philistines (Amo. 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 Samsons 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 Davids 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. The Cherethites The inhabitants of southern Philistia. Compare Eze 25:16; Zep 2:5. The origin of the name is involved in obscurity, but the most plausible opinion is, that both the Cherethites and the Philistines came from Crete, and that the Cherethites, as distinguished from the Philistines, were the later immigrants who settled in the land after the colonial origin of their neighbours had become generally forgotten or ignored. See note on 2Sa 8:18. Compare Deu 2:23; Amo 9:7; Jer 47:4.
The south of Caleb The neighbourhood just south of Hebron. Compare Jos 14:14.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 30:14. Upon the south of the Cherethites It is plain, from this relation, that the Cherethites were Philistines, see 1Sa 30:16 and that the Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines; and therefore, however David might have asked beside the intentions of his benefactor, yet he certainly did not act against his interest in destroying them. Calmet, in his dissertation upon the origin of the Philistines, says, that the name Cherethites, or Cherethians, is the same as Cretans; and he maintains that this people were Aborigines of Crete.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Sa 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. 1Sa 30:16 See Eze 21:15 Zep 2:5 . Some think the Cretians might from these have their name and original.
And upon the south of Caleb,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Cherethites. Probably a clan of Php 30:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Cherethites: Calmet and others suppose that these people, who inhabited the same district as the Philistines, were the aborigines of the island of Crete, from which they derived their name. 1Sa 30:16, 2Sa 8:18, 1Ki 1:38, 1Ki 1:44, 1Ch 18:17, Eze 25:16, Zep 2:5
Caleb: A district in the south of Judea, in which were the cities of Kirjath-Arba or Hebron, and Kirjath-sepher, belonging to the family of Caleb. Jos 14:13, Jos 15:13
we burned: 1Sa 30:1-3
Reciprocal: 1Sa 27:6 – Ziklag 2Sa 15:18 – Cherethites 1Ch 2:24 – Calebephratah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 30:14. Upon the south of the Cherethites That is, of the Philistines; for it is explained, 1Sa 30:16, to have been the land of the Philistines. Hence it appears that the Amalekites were enemies to the Philistines. So that David did not act against the interests of his benefactor, Achish, in making incursions upon those people. And upon the south of Caleb We read nowhere else of this land; but, in all probability, it was that south part of Judah which was given to Caleb, and which his posterity inherited, Jos 14:13.