Bible Strands
1 Samuel 17:53
When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the Israelite army returning from a military chase of the Philistines immediately after David’s victory.
The words — וַ/יָּשֹׁ֖סּוּ (va/i.ya.Sho.su) translates as "and they plundered," while מִ/דְּלֹ֖ק (mi./de.Lok) means "from hotly pursuing."
The thread — The motif of fleeing armies abandoning camps appears in 2 Kings 7:7, while the theme of conquered adversaries facing ruin runs through Jeremiah 4:20 and Jeremiah 30:16.
Why it lands — The text records a tactical consequence of victory rather than a moral lesson, requiring the reader to track how military success transitions into material acquisition without spiritual reflection.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 7:7 Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.
- Jeremiah 4:20 Disaster after disaster is proclaimed, for the whole land is laid waste. My tents are destroyed in an instant, my curtains in a moment.
- Jeremiah 30:16 Nevertheless, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—every one of them—will go off into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered, and all who raided you will be raided.