Reference: Ziklag
American
A city of Judah and Simeon, on the borders of the Philistines, Jos 15:31; 19:5, who held it until the time of Saul, when Achish king of Gath gave it to David. Hither many other refugees from Judah resorted, and David was thus enabled to aid Achish, and to chastise the Amalekites who had sacked Ziklag during his absence, 1Sa 27:1-6; 30; Ne 11:28.
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Then David {thought to himself}, "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me but [that] I must certainly escape to the land of [the] Philistines. Then Saul will desist from searching for me further in all of the territories of Israel, and so I will escape from his hand." So David got up and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who [were] with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, the king of Gath. read more. David settled with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each with his household. David [took along] his two wives Ahinoam {from Jezreel} and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And it was reported to Saul that David had fled [to] Gath, so {he no longer searched for him}. Then David said to Achish, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let them give me a place in one of the {country towns} that I can live there. Why should your servant live in {the royal city} with you?" So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)
Easton
a town in the Negeb, or south country of Judah (Jos 15:31), in the possession of the Philistines when David fled to Gath from Ziph with all his followers. Achish, the king, assigned him Ziklag as his place of residence. There he dwelt for over a year and four months. From this time it pertained to the kings of Judah (1Sa 27:6). During his absence with his army to join the Philistine expedition against the Israelites (1Sa 29:11), it was destroyed by the Amalekites (1Sa 30:1-2), whom David, however, pursued and utterly routed, returning all the captives (1Sa 30:26-31). Two days after his return from this expedition, David received tidings of the disastrous battle of Gilboa and of the death of Saul (2Sa 1:1-16). He now left Ziklag and returned to Hebron, along with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, and his band of 600 men. It has been identified with 'Asluj, a heap of ruins south of Beersheba. Conder, however, identifies it with Khirbet Zuheilikah, ruins found on three hills half a mile apart, some seventeen miles north-west of Beersheba, on the confines of Philistia, Judah, and Amalek.
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So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)
So David set out early, he and his men, to leave in the morning to return to the land of [the] Philistines, but [the] Philistines went up [to] Jezreel.
{Now} when David and his men came [to] Ziklag on the third day, [the] Amalekites had raided [the] Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire. They took captive the women who were in it, {from the youngest to the oldest}. They did not kill anyone, but carried [them] off and went on their way.
Then David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "{Here is} a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh!" [It was] for those in Bethel, for those in Ramoth of the Negev, for those in Jattir, read more. for those in Aroer, for those in Siphmoth, for those in Eshtemoa, for those in Racal, for those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, for those in the towns of the Kenites, for those in Hormah, for those in Bor Ashan, for those in Athach, for those in Hebron, and for all the places {where David and his men had roamed}.
{After} the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days. On the third day, a man came from the camp from [being with] Saul, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. {When he came} to David, he fell to the ground and bowed down. read more. David said to him, "Where did you come from?" He said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel." Then David said to him, "{How did things go}? Please tell me." He answered, "{When} the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died." Then David asked the young man who [was] reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?" The young man who [was] reporting to him said, "I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul [was] leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen [were] getting close to him. When he turned around and saw me, he called to me, and I said, 'Here I [am].' Then he said to me, 'Who [are] you?' And I said to him, 'I [am] an Amalekite.' He said to me, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, even though my life [is still] in me.' So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that [was] on his head and [the] bracelet which [was] on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord. David grabbed [at] his clothes and tore them, [as did] all of the men who [were] with him. Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the young man who [was] reporting to him, "Where [are] you from?" And he said, "I [am] the son of an alien man. I [am] an Amalekite." David said to him, "How [is it that] you [were] not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed one?" Then David called to one of the young men and said to him, "Come near; strike him." So he struck him down and he died. David said to him, "Your blood [is] on your head, for your mouth has testified against you by saying, 'I killed Yahweh's anointed one!'"
Fausets
A city in southern Judah, associated with Chesil and Hormah (Jos 15:31; 19:5; 1Ch 4:30). Lieut. Conder identifies it with Zehleika or Khirbet Zuheilikah in the middle of the plain N. of Beersheba, 200 miles square, just where the narrative concerning David would lead us to look for it. The ruins are on three small hills, forming an equilateral triangle, almost half a mile apart; among the ruins are several cisterns. Simeon possessed it. Assigned by Achish king of Gath to David, for the Philistines had taken it.
Thence David went up against the Geshurites, Gezrites, and Amalekites (1Sa 27:8-9; 30:14,26), for these tribes occupied the plateau overhanging the Philistine plain to the W. and wady Murreh to the S. He resided there a year and four months; it was there he received daily new accessions of forces (1Ch 12:1-20), and heard of Saul's death (2Sa 1:1; 4:10); thence he went to Hebron (2Sa 2:1). Thus Ziklag lay at the confines of Philistia, Judah, and Amalek. Its position probably was in the open country, pastoral and amble, reached from the S. after passing out of wady er Ruheibeh. The term used in 1Sa 30:11 is "the field (sadeh) of the Philistines"; sadeh is applied to the country of Amalek (Ge 14:7). Reoccupied after the Babylonian captivity by the men of Judah (Ne 11:28).
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Then they turned back and came to En-Mishpat (that [is], Kadesh). And they defeated the whole territory of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were living in Hazazon-Tamar.
Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites, for they had been living [in] the land for a long time {in the direction of} Shur and {as far as} the land of Egypt. So David struck the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive; he took the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.
Then they found an Egyptian man in the open country and brought him to David, and they gave him food and he ate; they also gave him water.
We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that [which belongs] to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."
Then David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "{Here is} a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh!"
{After} the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days.
It happened after this that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" And Yahweh said to him, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."
when the [one] who told me, "Look, Saul [is] dead," {thought that he [was] bringing good news}, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which [was] as my giving the news [back] to him.
Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because {of Saul}, the son of Kish. And they [were] the mighty warriors helping [with] the war. [They were] armed with [the] bow, [able to shoot] right-handed or left-handed, [slinging] stones or [shooting] arrows with the bow; [they were] kinsmen of Saul from Benjamin. read more. The leader [was] Ahiezer, then Jehoash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeonite; Jeiel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite; Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty warrior among the thirty [who was] over the thirty; Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad the Gederathite; Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Hariphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam the Korahites; Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from the Gedor. And from the Gadites, valiant mighty warriors, {soldiers fit for war}, expert with shield and spear, defected to David at the fortress toward the wilderness. And {they had faces like lions} [and were] swift as gazelles upon the mountains. Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, Jehonan eighth, Elzabad ninth, Jeremiah tenth, Macbannai eleventh. These [were] the sons of Gad, leaders of the army. The smallest one [was] as a hundred, and the greatest as a thousand. These [were] they who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was filled over its banks. And they put to flight all [who were in] the valley to the east and to the west. And some of the sons of Benjamin and [from] Judah came to the fortress, to David. And David went out {to meet them} and answered and said to them, "If you come in peace to me, to help me, {my heart will be joined with you}, but if [you come] to betray me to my adversaries, although [there is] no wrong on my hands, may the God of our fathers see and pass judgment." Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the thirty [who said]: "[We are] yours, O David! And [we are] with you, O son of Jesse! Peace! Peace to you, and peace to those who help you, for your God helps you." So David appointed them as heads of the troops. And some Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to the battle against Saul, but he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines sent him away upon counsel, saying, "He will desert to his master Saul at [the cost of] our heads." When he went to Ziklag some Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jehozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, heads of the thousands that [were] for Manasseh.
Hastings
A town given by Achish king of Gath to the outlawed David (1Sa 27:6; 30:1 ff., 2Sa 1:1; 4:10; 1Ch 12:1,20). In the national register of cities it is assigned to Judah (Jos 15:31) or to Simeon (Jos 19:5), and is mentioned also in the post-exilic list (Ne 11:28). It has been identified with Zuheil
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So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)
{Now} when David and his men came [to] Ziklag on the third day, [the] Amalekites had raided [the] Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire.
{After} the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days.
when the [one] who told me, "Look, Saul [is] dead," {thought that he [was] bringing good news}, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which [was] as my giving the news [back] to him.
Morish
Zik'lag
City in the south of Judah given to David by Achish, one of the Philistine kings. It was burned down by the Amalekites, and the inhabitants carried away during the absence of David; but the captives and the spoil were recovered. It afterwards returned to the tribe of Judah. A list is given of the warriors who resorted to David at Ziklag while Saul was yet alive, and therefore while David was in rejection by the nation. 1Ch 12:1-22. Amasai, chief of the captains, said "Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee." Cheering words to one thus placed! They were apparently a type of those who follow the Lord Jesus now while He is still rejected by the world at large. Jos 15:31; 19:5; 1Sa 27:6; 30:1-26; 2Sa 1:1; 4:10 , 1Ch 4:30; Ne 11:28. Identified by some with Asluj, 31 3' N, 34 48' E.; but ruins at Zuheilikah, some 17 miles N.W. of Beersheba have been preferred by others.
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Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because {of Saul}, the son of Kish. And they [were] the mighty warriors helping [with] the war. [They were] armed with [the] bow, [able to shoot] right-handed or left-handed, [slinging] stones or [shooting] arrows with the bow; [they were] kinsmen of Saul from Benjamin. read more. The leader [was] Ahiezer, then Jehoash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeonite; Jeiel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu the Anathothite; Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty warrior among the thirty [who was] over the thirty; Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad the Gederathite; Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Hariphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam the Korahites; Joelah and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham from the Gedor. And from the Gadites, valiant mighty warriors, {soldiers fit for war}, expert with shield and spear, defected to David at the fortress toward the wilderness. And {they had faces like lions} [and were] swift as gazelles upon the mountains. Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, Jehonan eighth, Elzabad ninth, Jeremiah tenth, Macbannai eleventh. These [were] the sons of Gad, leaders of the army. The smallest one [was] as a hundred, and the greatest as a thousand. These [were] they who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was filled over its banks. And they put to flight all [who were in] the valley to the east and to the west. And some of the sons of Benjamin and [from] Judah came to the fortress, to David. And David went out {to meet them} and answered and said to them, "If you come in peace to me, to help me, {my heart will be joined with you}, but if [you come] to betray me to my adversaries, although [there is] no wrong on my hands, may the God of our fathers see and pass judgment." Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the thirty [who said]: "[We are] yours, O David! And [we are] with you, O son of Jesse! Peace! Peace to you, and peace to those who help you, for your God helps you." So David appointed them as heads of the troops. And some Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to the battle against Saul, but he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines sent him away upon counsel, saying, "He will desert to his master Saul at [the cost of] our heads." When he went to Ziklag some Manassites deserted to him: Adnah, Jehozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, heads of the thousands that [were] for Manasseh. And they themselves helped David against the troops, for all of them [were] mighty men of strength and were commanders in the army. {Day in and day out} they came to David to help him until [there was] a great army, like the army of God.
Smith
Zik'lag
(winding), a place which possesses a special interest from its having been the residence and the private property of David. It is first mentioned in the catalogue of the towns of Judah in
and occurs, in the same connection among the places which were allotted out of the territory of Judah to Simeon.
We next encounter it in the possession of the Philistines
when it was, at David's request, bestowed upon him by Achish king of Gath. He resided there for a year and four months.
1Sa 27:6-7; 30:14,26; 1Ch 12:1,20
It was there he received the news of Saul's death.
He then relinquished it for Hebron.
Ziklag is finally mentioned as being reinhabited by the people of Judah after their return from captivity.
The situation of the town is difficult to determine, and we only know for certain that it was in the south country.
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So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)
So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.) The number of days that David lived in the countryside of the Philistines [was] one year and four months.
We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and that [which belongs] to Judah and then the Negev of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire."
Then David came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "{Here is} a gift for you from the plunder of the enemies of Yahweh!"
{After} the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days.
It happened after this that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" And Yahweh said to him, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."
when the [one] who told me, "Look, Saul [is] dead," {thought that he [was] bringing good news}, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which [was] as my giving the news [back] to him.
Watsons
ZIKLAG, a city of the Philistines, first assigned to the tribe of Judah, and afterward to that of Simeon, Jos 15:31; 19:5; but it does not appear that the Philistines were ever driven out; as, when David fled into their country from Saul, Achish gave the city to him, 1Sa 27:5-6. It was afterward burned by the Amalekites, 1Sa 30:1. But it appears to have been rebuilt, as the author of the First Book of Samuel, when relating its being given to David, adds, that it pertained to the kings of Judah in his time.
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Then David said to Achish, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then let them give me a place in one of the {country towns} that I can live there. Why should your servant live in {the royal city} with you?" So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (Therefore, Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this day.)
{Now} when David and his men came [to] Ziklag on the third day, [the] Amalekites had raided [the] Negev and Ziklag. When they attacked Ziklag, they burned it with fire.