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David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times.
1 Samuel 27:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for those were the inhabitants of the land, who were of old, on the way to Shur, even to the land of Egypt.
  • KJV And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
  • BSB Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
  • NKJV And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
  • NASB Now David and his men went up and attacked the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

David raids the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites, peoples long settled in the region toward Egypt. He strikes enemies of Israel while pretending loyalty to Achish.

Overview

David attacks ancient enemies of Israel, including the Amalekites whom God had marked for judgment. His campaigns serve Israel's interests while he conceals their true targets from Achish. The Amalekite focus recalls God's standing decree against that nation, though David's deceptive double-dealing shows the moral compromise of his Philistine years.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Josh 13:2“This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all the Geshurites;
  • 1 Sam 15:7–8Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt.
  • Josh 13:13Nevertheless the children of Israel didn’t drive out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this day.
  • Josh 16:10They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the territory of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor.
  • Judg 1:29Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
  • 2 Sam 15:8For your servant vowed a vow while I stayed at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If Yahweh shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve Yahweh.’”
  • 2 Sam 14:23So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.
  • 2 Sam 13:37–38But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day.
  • 2 Sam 14:32Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”’”
  • Exod 17:8Then Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
  • 1 Chr 2:23Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath, and its villages, even sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
  • Exod 17:14–16Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.”
  • Exod 15:22Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
  • 1 Sam 30:1When David and his men had come to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the South, and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire,
  • 1 Kgs 9:15–17This is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 27:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.

How 1 Samuel 27:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.