Bible Strands
1 Samuel 30:18
So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports David’s actions immediately after his men defeated the Amalekite raiders, following the timeline of a strike from twilight until the next evening.
The words — The verb וַיַּצֵל (va-yatzel, “he rescued” or “he recovered”) stands opposite לָקְחוּ (laqehu, “they had taken”), structuring the passage around a completed transaction of loss and retrieval.
The thread — The narrative pattern of total recovery after battle appears in Genesis 14:16, where Abraham restores seized goods and captives, though the Hebrew verbs for restoration differ between the two accounts.
Why it lands — The text states plainly that David brought back every captured person and item without omission, providing a historical record of complete restitution before any reader draws conclusions about divine justice or provision.
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 David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:16 He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.