2 Samuel 15:18

And all his servants passed on beside him,.... Or at his hand or side; his household servants walking perhaps some on one side of him, and some on the other, see 2 Samuel 16:6; and all the

And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.

Of the Cherethites and the Pelethites See Poole on "". The Gittites were either, first, Israelites by birth, called Gittites because they went with him to Gath, and abode with him in that country. Or rather, secondly, Strangers, as Ittai their head is called, , and they are called his brethren, ; and probably they were Philistines by birth born in the city or territory of Gath, as the following words imply, who by David’ s counsel, and example, and the success of his arms, were won to embrace and profess the true religion, and had given good proof of their military skill, and valour, and fidelity to the king.

2 Samuel 15:18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.Ver. 18. Six hundred men which came after him from Gath.] That had stuck to him in all his afflictions; then when he was at Gath, and now also that Absalom was up in arms against him. As any of these six hundred died, others of like fidelity were succenturiated, and set in their room; and these were to David as that Sacra cohors was to the Thebans, who esteemed them the prime of all their strength in battle, God likewise setteth a high price on such as keep close to him in evil times. See Zephaniah 3:18 Luke 22:28-29. Athenaeus, lib. iii.

(18) Cherethites . . . Pelethites.—See Note on 2 Samuel 8:18. Gittites.—This word in its form would naturally mean men of Gath, and it has therefore been understood by some commentators of a body of Philistines in David’s service. But the term is distinctly explained here as meaning the “six hundred men which came after him from Gath,” and called “Gittites” for that reason, a body of men with whom the previous history of David has made us very familiar. They had gathered to him during his outlawry (1 Samuel 22:1-2), had been with him at Keilah (1 Samuel 23:13), in the wilderness of Paran (1 Samuel 25:13), and at Gath (1 Samuel 27:3), “came after him from Gath” to Ziklag, and shared with him in his life and exploits there (1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 29:2; 1 Samuel 30:1-9), and went up with him to Hebron (2 Samuel 23), and thence to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6). They are generally supposed to have afterwards constituted the body of “heroes” or “mighty men,” to whom frequent reference is made (2 Samuel 10:7; 2 Samuel 16:6; 2 Samuel 20:7; 1 Kings 1:8). The Vatican LXX. here, as often, adds considerably to the text.

18. all the Gittites] If the text is sound, we must infer that David had brought with him a body of Philistine followers from Gath, a supposition which is in accordance with the view that the Cherethites and Pelethites were Philistines. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 8:18. But it is possible that we should follow the LXX. in reading Gibbτrξm in place of Gittites. During his wanderings David formed a corps of six hundred picked men, who were particularly distinguished as “David’s men.” They appear first at Keilah (1 Samuel 23:13, cp. 1 Samuel 22:2), were with him in the wilderness of Paran (1 Samuel 25:13), followed him to Gath (1 Samuel 27:2-3) and Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:8, 1 Samuel 29:1, 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:9), came up with him to Hebron (1 Samuel 2:3), and finally to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:6). This corps seems to have been afterwards maintained as a guard with the title of “the Gibbτrξm,” that is, “the Heroes” or “the Mighty Men” (cp. ch. 2 Samuel 10:7, 2 Samuel 16:6, 2 Samuel 20:7; 1 Kings 1:8), and it is natural to identify the six hundred here mentioned with that body. Some critics think that without altering the reading, we should identify the Gittites with the Gibbτrξm, and suppose that they were called Gittites either because they had followed David ever since his residence in Gath; or because the corps had at this time been largely recruited from the natives of Gath. The Sept. text of 2 Samuel 15:18 is as follows: “And all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites, and halted at the olive tree in the wilderness. And all the people marched by close to him, and all his attendants, and all the mighty men, and all the warriors, six hundred men, and were present by his side; and all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, the six hundred men who came after him from Gath, marched on before the king.” This appears to be the rendering of a text differing somewhat from the present Hebrew, to which has been added a rendering of the present Hebrew text, with some further glosses or alternative renderings. “The olive tree in the wilderness,” which marked the scene of the second halt, (if the reading is genuine and not a mere mistranslation), was probably beyond the Mount of Olives on the road to the Jordan.

Passed on - Rather, “crossed” the Brook Kidron, as in 2 Samuel 15:22-23.

18. Cherethites — See note on 2 Samuel 8:18. The Gittites, six hundred men — That old, tried, and faithful band whom he had gathered around him principally when he enjoyed the protection of the king