Introduction: Tziklag Burned with Fire
Chapter 30 in Shmuel Aleph is one of the most gripping chapters in the book. David, who had joined Achish king of Gat and set out with him, returns to Tziklag and discovers destruction. Out of great heartbreak he strengthens himself in Hashem, inquires of the Urim VeTumim, pursues the Amalekite band, rescues everything, and ultimately establishes a law in Israel: the portion of the one who goes down to battle is like the portion of the one who stays by the equipment. We will follow the order of the pesukim in light of the explanations of the Malbim.
וַיְהִי בְּבֹא דָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו צִקְלַג בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, וַעֲמָלֵקִי פָשְׁטוּ אֶל־נֶגֶב וְאֶל־צִקְלַג, וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־צִקְלַג וַיִּשְׂרְפוּ אֹתָהּ בָּאֵשׁ. - And it was, when David and his men came to Tziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Tziklag, and had struck Tziklag and burned it with fire.
David had joined Achish king of Gat and was away from home. Who remained in Tziklag? The women and children. When he returns on the third day, he discovers that the Amalekites, those very Amalekites whom David had until now been striking, had raided the Negev and Tziklag, struck the city and burned it with fire. The Radak explains how things came to this: the Amalekites began to investigate who it was that kept striking them, where he came from and what his identity was, until they found that those who came out against them came out from Tziklag. They said: these are men from here, we will show them. They investigated and found that this was David, and they came there, took the women and children and the spoil and the flocks and the cattle, and everything else they burned with fire.
וַיִּשְׁבּוּ אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־בָּהּ מִקָּטֹן וְעַד־גָּדוֹל, לֹא הֵמִיתוּ אִישׁ, וַיִּנְהֲגוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ לְדַרְכָּם. - And they took captive the women who were in it, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but drove them off and went on their way.
"They did not kill anyone" - this is the kindness of Hashem. There was a special personal providence here, that the Holy One, blessed be He, saved David and his men, that not one of them would be harmed.
David's Alibi: The Hidden Kindness of Hashem
The Malbim adds: one who reflects sees here an immense kindness of Hashem. The people of Israel are now in a very difficult war with the Philistines, a war that will end in Israel's defeat and in the death of Shaul king of Israel. Consequently the people could have come and asked: where is David? The people of Israel are in such a difficult situation and David is not here? True, you are being pursued by Shaul, but now, in a time of war, who would pursue you? Now you were obligated to come and help, this is the saving of lives, your brothers are at war! There was, as it were, a complaint against David's conduct. But the Creator of the world arranges an "alibi" for David: the wives and children of David and his men were taken captive by Amalek. There is here a matter of saving life, and he must go to rescue his wives and children, and a person is close to himself. The threat that fell upon him now completely exempted him from the obligation to go out to war, and there is no longer any claim against him: could I at that very moment have gone and fought a different war?
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו אֶל־הָעִיר, וְהִנֵּה שְׂרוּפָה בָּאֵשׁ, וּנְשֵׁיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶם נִשְׁבּוּ. וַיִּשָּׂא דָוִד וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ אֶת־קוֹלָם וַיִּבְכּוּ, עַד אֲשֶׁר אֵין־בָּהֶם כֹּחַ לִבְכּוֹת. וּשְׁתֵּי נְשֵׁי־דָוִד נִשְׁבּוּ, אֲחִינֹעַם הַיִּזְרְעֵלִית וַאֲבִיגַיִל אֵשֶׁת נָבָל הַכַּרְמְלִי. - And David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters had been taken captive. And David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept, until they had no more strength to weep. And David's two wives had been taken captive, Achinoam the Yizre'elite and Avigail the wife of Naval the Karmelite.
They see the magnitude of the heartbreak and the magnitude of the calamity, and they do not even know that the women and children are still alive. As far as they are concerned it is quite possible that they had already died. Therefore they weep until they have no strength left to weep. And David's two wives were also taken captive, Achinoam the Yizre'elite and Avigail the wife of Naval the Karmelite.
A Question: Why does the Navi repeatedly mention "the wife of Naval the Karmelite"?
I have asked before and will ask again: many times the Navi mentions Avigail, and each time calls her "the wife of Naval the Karmelite." And this is puzzling. First, why mention her past? And second, she is not the wife of Naval but the widow of Naval, since "and Hashem struck him." I have not found a satisfying explanation for this. There is one possibility I thought of, though I have not found confirmation for it and it too is not entirely satisfying: it is brought about Avigail that when David went to strike down Naval, she hinted to him, "and when Hashem does good to you, do not forget your maidservant." And we saw that there is in this a flaw in her modesty, for it is the way of the man to court and not the way of the woman to court, and certainly while she was still a married woman, to come and propose to the king that he take her as an option. Incidentally, there she is called "Avigal," missing the letter yud from her name, because she flawed herself. If so, it may be that here, where the verse calls her "Avigail," it reminds us each time that she was the wife of Naval the Karmelite: today she is David's wife, but remember that already while she was the wife of Naval the Karmelite she was planning about David, and there is in this some flaw. I do not know if this is the plain meaning, and if anyone has another explanation, I would be glad for them to tell me.
And David strengthened himself in Hashem his God
וַתֵּצֶר לְדָוִד מְאֹד, כִּי־אָמְרוּ הָעָם לְסָקְלוֹ, כִּי־מָרָה נֶפֶשׁ כָּל־הָעָם אִישׁ עַל־בָּנָיו וְעַל־בְּנֹתָיו, וַיִּתְחַזֵּק דָּוִד בַּה' אֱלֹהָיו. - And David was in great distress, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was embittered, each man over his sons and over his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Hashem his God.
After the verse told us that they wept until they had no strength left, weeping that seemingly reflects a lack of faith, it now comes to show us how David rouses himself, how his trust in Hashem grows stronger, and how he decides to take action. And what in fact did the people want from him? He had no choice, he had gone off with Achish king of Gat! Rather, they wanted to stone him because they said to him: you acted irresponsibly. You should have left part of the people here to guard the women and children. How could you take everyone out to battle with Achish? You should have told him that you must leave a guard here. Despite all this, David strengthens himself in his trust in Hashem and says: we will act and we will succeed.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן־אֲחִימֶלֶךְ, הַגִּישָׁה־נָּא לִי הָאֵפוֹד, וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֶבְיָתָר אֶת־הָאֵפוֹד אֶל־דָּוִד. וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּה' לֵאמֹר, אֶרְדֹּף אַחֲרֵי הַגְּדוּד־הַזֶּה הַאַשִּׂגֶנּוּ, וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ רְדֹף, כִּי־הַשֵּׂג תַּשִּׂיג וְהַצֵּל תַּצִּיל. - And David said to Evyatar the Kohen, son of Achimelech, please bring me the Efod, and Evyatar brought the Efod to David. And David inquired of Hashem, saying, shall I pursue this band, will I overtake it? And He said to him, pursue, for you will surely overtake and you will surely rescue.
Note the precise wording: before the word "אֶרְדֹּף" there is no interrogative hei, while before "הַאַשִּׂגֶנּוּ" there is a hei. The Radak explains that the word "ardof" is also treated as though it had a hei at its beginning, "shall I pursue this band," this being one question, and "will I overtake it" being a second question. But this is puzzling, for we learned earlier that one does not ask two questions of the Urim VeTumim, only a single question. The Radak feels the difficulty and explains that because of the pressing hour he asked two questions and was answered on both, you will pursue and you will overtake, in an exceptional, one time manner.
The Malbim explains differently: the word "ardof" does not come with an interrogative hei at all, but as its plain meaning, I will pursue in any case, and this is not a question. The only question is: will I overtake it? And Hashem answers him "pursue," and the reason is: "for you will surely overtake," this will not be an action in vain, "and you will surely rescue," there will necessarily be people whose lives you will save. And if so, it follows that you must pursue, for there is here a matter of saving lives.
Two groups that halted
וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד הוּא וְשֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ, וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד־נַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר וְהַנּוֹתָרִים עָמָדוּ. וַיִּרְדֹּף דָּוִד הוּא וְאַרְבַּע־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ, וַיַּעַמְדוּ מָאתַיִם אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר פִּגְּרוּ מֵעֲבֹר אֶת־נַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר. - And David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook of Besor, and the rest halted. And David pursued, he and four hundred men, and two hundred men halted, who were too exhausted to cross the brook of Besor.
The Malbim asks: the verses seem cumbersome. David goes with six hundred men, they come to the brook of Besor, "and the rest halted," meaning there were some who remained behind and did not continue the pursuit. And immediately in the following verse: "and David pursued, he and four hundred men, and two hundred men halted." Why repeat this twice? It should have stated from the outset how many went out and finished with that.
Because of this the Malbim explains: even before David came to Tziklag, many mighty men from Binyamin and from the tribe of Menashe joined him, as is brought in Divrei HaYamim. These men were in addition to the six hundred men who were David's permanent force. Accordingly, when the women were taken captive, whose wives were they? Those of the six hundred. Therefore those who went out to the pursuit were only the six hundred, and the additional mighty men from Binyamin and Menashe did not join the pursuit, since it was not their personal concern and not their families. And this is "and the rest halted," the rest and the extra ones beyond the six hundred, the men of Binyamin and Menashe, who remained in Tziklag and did not go out at all.
And afterward a second group is spoken of: out of those very six hundred who pursued, four hundred continued, and two hundred "were too exhausted to cross the brook of Besor," they did not have the strength to continue the pursuit. And King David commands them to stand there and guard the equipment, for when pursuing one does not always take along all the equipment, since it hampers the pursuit. He said to them: you who have fallen behind and find it hard to continue, stay here with the equipment, and we four hundred will continue the pursuit. These stand here at the brook of Besor, in contrast to the first ones who remained in Tziklag and did not go out at all.
The Egyptian lad
וַיִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ־מִצְרִי בַּשָּׂדֶה, וַיִּקְחוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל־דָּוִד, וַיִּתְּנוּ־לוֹ לֶחֶם וַיֹּאכַל, וַיַּשְׁקֻהוּ מָיִם. - They found an Egyptian man in the field, and they brought him to David, and they gave him bread and he ate, and they gave him water to drink.
They find an Egyptian man in the field and understand that it is quite possible they will be able to get information from him. But they saw that he was seized by faintness from hunger, and so they needed to give him food and drink. Therefore they gave him bread and "gave him water to drink" - little by little, for one who is seized by such faintness must not drink a great deal all at once, since that is dangerous for him.
וַיִּתְּנוּ־לוֹ פֶלַח דְּבֵלָה וּשְׁנֵי צִמֻּקִים וַיֹּאכַל וַתָּשָׁב רוּחוֹ אֵלָיו, כִּי לֹא־אָכַל לֶחֶם וְלֹא־שָׁתָה מַיִם שְׁלֹשָׁה יָמִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה לֵילוֹת. - And they gave him a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate, and his spirit returned to him, for he had not eaten bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.
They give him a "piece of a fig cake," that is, a slice of pressed figs, and raisins. And why? The Malbim says: a person seized by such faintness needs to be fed sweet foods, which raise the blood sugar and thereby calm him.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ דָוִד לְמִי־אַתָּה וְאֵי מִזֶּה אָתָּה, וַיֹּאמֶר נַעַר מִצְרִי אָנֹכִי עֶבֶד לְאִישׁ עֲמָלֵקִי, וַיַּעַזְבֵנִי אֲדֹנִי כִּי חָלִיתִי הַיּוֹם שְׁלֹשָׁה. - And David said to him, To whom do you belong, and from where are you? And he said, I am an Egyptian lad, servant to an Amalekite man, and my master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago.
David asks him two questions: "To whom do you belong" - whose servant are you, and "from where are you" - from what place and what city did you come. The lad answers the second question: "I am an Egyptian," I am from Egypt. And to the first question, to whom do you belong - for David could see that he was a servant, and in those times it was recognizable on servants, who bore a mark or other signs - he answers: "servant to an Amalekite man." And he adds this so they would not suspect that he was fleeing from his master, for it was customary in those times to hand over runaway servants, even though the Torah forbids it: "You shall not hand over a servant to his master." So he stresses: "my master abandoned me" - I am not the one fleeing, rather he left me. And not because I did not serve well or was not faithful, but "because I fell sick": it cost him more to care for me than to keep holding on to me, so he threw me out on the road. Look and see what the situation of a servant was in ancient times: when it was not worthwhile to keep him, they threw him out like a dog, needlessly, to die there.
אֲנַחְנוּ פָּשַׁטְנוּ נֶגֶב הַכְּרֵתִי וְעַל־אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה וְעַל־נֶגֶב כָּלֵב, וְאֶת־צִקְלַג שָׂרַפְנוּ בָאֵשׁ. - We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, and that which belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and Ziklag we burned with fire.
Now he begins to tell everything they did: we raided the Negev of the Cherethites, as we saw above, and besides that upon that which belongs to Judah, and besides that upon the Negev of Caleb, and also Ziklag - which is David's own place - we burned with fire.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד הֲתוֹרִדֵנִי אֶל־הַגְּדוּד הַזֶּה, וַיֹּאמֶר הִשָּׁבְעָה לִּי בֵאלֹהִים אִם־תְּמִיתֵנִי וְאִם־תַּסְגִּרֵנִי בְּיַד־אֲדֹנִי, וְאוֹרִדְךָ אֶל־הַגְּדוּד הַזֶּה. - And David said to him, Will you bring me down to this troop? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will not kill me nor hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this troop.
The lad did not know whether David and his men were among the friends of Amalek or the enemies of Amalek, and he had a fear from both sides. Therefore he says "that you will not kill me" - against the possibility that you are among the enemies of Amalek and might want to kill me; and "nor hand me over to my master" - against the possibility that you are among the friends of Amalek. I am afraid from both sides, since I do not know what your ties are with Amalek. And if you swear to me that you will do neither this nor that - I am ready, and I will bring you down to this troop.
Sprawled Across the Land
וַיֹּרִדֵהוּ, וְהִנֵּה נְטֻשִׁים עַל־פְּנֵי כָל־הָאָרֶץ, אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים וְחֹגְגִים בְּכֹל הַשָּׁלָל הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ מֵאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמֵאֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה. - And he brought him down, and behold, they were sprawled across the whole land, eating and drinking and celebrating over all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
What does "scattered" (netushim) mean? Spread out, as opposed to gathered together. And who is scattered? One who is not afraid and not anxious. In contrast, when people fear an attack they always assemble and stay together, gathered. The fact that they were scattered shows that they had no concern at all that they needed to be on guard. Everything was spread out, and on top of that they were eating and celebrating. This was a band whose war had been an absolute victory, and it had no fear whatsoever that the other side might come to strike back. And for David it was excellent that they were so confident.
וַיַּכֵּם דָּוִד מֵהַנֶּשֶׁף וְעַד־הָעֶרֶב לְמָחֳרָתָם, וְלֹא־נִמְלַט מֵהֶם אִישׁ כִּי אִם־אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ־נַעַר אֲשֶׁר־רָכְבוּ עַל־הַגְּמַלִּים וַיָּנֻסוּ. - And David struck them from the twilight until the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped except for four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.
David strikes them "from the twilight," meaning from the evening, "until the evening of the next day." And why does it say "of the next day" (lemachoratam) and not simply "the next day"? Chazal say in the parashah we read this week, Parashat Beshalach: "Go out and fight Amalek tomorrow" - Amalek is accustomed to being struck on the morrow. The day of "tomorrow" is tailored to them. So it was with Yehoshua, "Go out and fight Amalek tomorrow"; and so Esther brings down Haman - "and tomorrow I will do as the king has said"; and here, "And David struck them from the twilight until the evening of the next day." Amalek needs "tomorrow," and this is the way to wipe out Amalek.
And we once explained "Go out and fight Amalek tomorrow" by way of derash as well: go and fight Amalek - what is Amalek? It is the evil inclination. And what is the method of the evil inclination? "Tomorrow." Will you come to the shiur? God willing, Rabbi, tomorrow. And you ask him the next day: why weren't you here yesterday? He tells you: I do not go back on my word, I said tomorrow, and every tomorrow is tomorrow. This is the method of the evil inclination: to postpone. Therefore go out and fight Amalek - against his "tomorrow."
And on Shabbat we gave another explanation: what is this "tomorrow"? Do not worry about tomorrow's trouble. If your situation is still fine, why worry that tomorrow will not be good? "Amalek" (עמלק) has the same numerical value as "doubt" (ספק), and Amalek is the evil inclination that constantly stirs up doubts in a person: who says so? And how will we manage? And he is always worried. And Chazal say: one who has bread in his basket and says what will I eat tomorrow is among those of little faith. In contrast stands Amalek, whose gematria is "doubt" - "Amalek tomorrow." Rise up, go out and fight Amalek, who always stirs up doubts and asks you questions about tomorrow.
As for the four hundred young men who remained and escaped: on the one hand they were young men, swift runners, and on the other hand they had camels, and so they managed to flee.
The Rescue of the Spoils
וַיַּצֵּל דָּוִד אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ עֲמָלֵק, וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּי נָשָׁיו הִצִּיל דָּוִד. - And David rescued all that Amalek had taken, and David rescued his two wives.
Why is "rescued" repeated twice? The intent is: "And David rescued" - that he rescued everyone through the entire band, "and David rescued his two wives" - these he rescued with his own hand, personally and individually. That is why "rescued" is stated twice.
וְלֹא נֶעְדַּר־לָהֶם מִן־הַקָּטֹן וְעַד־הַגָּדוֹל וְעַד־בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת וּמִשָּׁלָל וְעַד כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָקְחוּ לָהֶם, הַכֹּל הֵשִׁיב דָּוִד. - And nothing of theirs was missing, from the small to the great, from sons and daughters, from the spoil and everything they had taken for themselves; David returned it all.
"And nothing of theirs was missing, from the small to the great" - this refers to the people, that he brought them all back. And besides that, he also returned the property. And let us be precise: the Malbim says that there are two kinds of plunder - "spoil" (shalal) and "booty" (bizah). That which the enemies had not yet divided among themselves is called "spoil," and that which they had already divided among themselves and each one received his portion is called "booty." "From the spoil" refers to what they had not yet divided, and "everything they had taken for themselves" refers to the booty, what they had already divided among themselves and each soldier received his portion. Both this and that David took back from them.
"This is David's Spoil"
וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֶת־כָּל־הַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר, נָהֲגוּ לִפְנֵי הַמִּקְנֶה הַהוּא, וַיֹּאמְרוּ זֶה שְׁלַל דָּוִד. - And David took all the flocks and the herds, they drove them before that cattle, and they said: This is David's spoil.
The Radak brings in the name of his father: before their own cattle that they had rescued, they drove the flocks and herds they had taken from Amalek. For there were two things here: our own flock that we went and rescued, and the flocks and herds belonging to Amalek themselves, whatever they had from earlier times or whatever they had taken from the Philistines and from other places. David freed what belonged to Israel, and also took the spoil from them, and what he took from them he drove before their own cattle.
And Chazal say: a king may break through to make himself a path and none may protest against him, as it says "they drove them before that cattle, and they said: This is David's spoil." The meaning is: they were passing and entering into fields and into private places, and when they pass with herds and flocks they also eat and sometimes trample, and seemingly cause damage. And people came to protest against them, and they would say to them "This is David's spoil" - and David has the status of a king, and a king may break through a fence and none may protest against him. Anyone who tried to protest would be told: these are David's servants, this is David's spoil, and you have nothing to protest, for it is permitted for him to do so.
The Malbim gives a further explanation: that we should not think that King David, after they rescued all the spoil, came and took everything for himself. Let us consider what the law of this spoil is. If I found there part of your flock and herd, must I return it to you? No. For one who rescues from the lion, from the bear, from the leopard, from the panther, from the depths of the sea and from the flooding of a river, these are his. It was yours? Go and rescue it, please - you are not able. I went, I rescued, I took, and I acquired it. Yet there was private spoil here, and it is possible that you had more than I, and by law it should now be divided equally: for I rescued just as you did and risked my life just as you did, and it is possible that I had no spoil at all and only you did, and since we fought together I am a partner, for it is like new spoil, like new money; yours was lost, and this is money we received now. And furthermore: what about those who stayed with the baggage, who also had spoil, will they receive? After all, we risked our lives and seemingly we should acquire it.
Therefore the verse says that David took all the flocks and herds and drove them "before that cattle" - before the cattle we mentioned in the previous verse, what they recovered and took back from Ziklag. "And they said" - they say about all of it "This is David's spoil," meaning they declare that they gave up hope on their own cattle and it left their possession, and everything is David's spoil, and whatever David wishes he may do: both with the new spoil that we took, and with the spoil that was ours and was taken from us and now returned. They all accepted upon themselves: everything is yours, David, and however you wish to divide it, divide it, and if you wish it equally, then equally.
The Encounter with the Two Hundred
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד אֶל־מָאתַיִם הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־פִּגְּרוּ מִלֶּכֶת אַחֲרֵי דָוִד, וַיֹּשִׁיבֻם בְּנַחַל הַבְּשׂוֹר, וַיֵּצְאוּ לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וְלִקְרַאת הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ, וַיִּגַּשׁ דָּוִד אֶת־הָעָם וַיִּשְׁאַל לָהֶם לְשָׁלוֹם. - And David came to the two hundred men who had been too faint to follow David, whom they had left at the wadi of Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, and David approached the people and greeted them.
David returns to the men who had lagged behind, approaches them and greets them. This shows, says the Malbim, that he wishes to approach them with love and affection and not as one who bears a grudge against them. And this is what is said "and David approached the people" - the word "את" (with) means together with them, to show them that he does not bear a grudge against them and wishes for their welfare and their good. He asks them how they feel, whether their condition is better now, for we saw earlier that it was difficult for them to pursue.
וַיַּעַן כָּל־אִישׁ־רָע וּבְלִיַּעַל מֵהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הָלְכוּ עִם־דָּוִד, וַיֹּאמְרוּ יַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־הָלְכוּ עִמִּי לֹא־נִתֵּן לָהֶם מֵהַשָּׁלָל אֲשֶׁר הִצַּלְנוּ, כִּי־אִם־אִישׁ אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת־בָּנָיו וְיִנְהֲגוּ וְיֵלֵכוּ. - And every evil and worthless man among the men who had gone with David answered and said: Because they did not go with me, we will not give them any of the spoil that we rescued, except to each man his wife and his children, and let them lead them away and go.
Their claim: they did not go out to pursue, they do not deserve any of the spoil. Each man's wife and children we will return to him, we will not seize their wives and their sons and daughters, but of the spoil we will give none whatsoever. And "of the spoil" here includes also what we rescued, also their own flocks and herds, for the law of "one who rescues from the lion and from the bear" applies, and we acquired it. And why did they understand that they have no claim over the wives and children? Because of the principle that a non-Jew has no acquisition over a Jew - a gentile does not acquire a Jew. Therefore the wife always belongs to her husband and the child to his father, and the gentile has no acquisition over them.
And why does the verse call them "evil and worthless men"? First, because they dared to speak in David's presence. And not only that, but because their eye was grudging toward their brothers. After all, the king is present here - do you render a halachic ruling in the presence of your teacher? Why do you shout when the king is here? Let the king decide. And besides, you yourselves earlier said "This is David's spoil," meaning you gave me all the authority to decide what will be done from here on. And how do you now come and say that these men will not receive? Do I decide or do you decide?
David's Answer: Everything Is by Hashem's Providence
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לֹא־תַעֲשׂוּ כֵן אֶחָי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר־נָתַן ה' לָנוּ וַיִּשְׁמֹר אֹתָנוּ, וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־הַגְּדוּד הַבָּא עָלֵינוּ בְּיָדֵנוּ. - And David said: You shall not do so, my brothers, with that which Hashem has given us, and He guarded us, and He gave the troop that came against us into our hand.
From the standpoint of strict law they are correct, as we said. So what is David's claim? David tells them: If we had succeeded and accomplished something by the strength of our own hand, "my power and the might of my hand made me this wealth," then there would be justice in your words. But we did nothing at all; Hashem fought for us, He is the One who rescued, He is the One who gives and He is the One who guards. And so David says three things: "that Hashem has given us" - from the very outset, where did the sheep and cattle come from at all? Everything is from Him, blessed be He. "And He guarded us" - after they had already taken it from us, the Holy One, blessed be He, guarded the sheep and cattle so that they would not be killed and the property would not be lost. "And He gave the troop that came against us into our hand" - after we came to rescue, Hashem gave them into our hand and returned everything to us, both them and their spoil.
David tells them: If so, everything was done through the providence of Hashem and not by our strength, and reason dictates the complete opposite. See what a reversal of thinking David works upon them: those who remained to sit by the baggage out of their great trust in Hashem, they deserve more than we do, for we trusted in Hashem less and went and took action with our own hands. They have a greater merit: not only did they not despair, but they trusted in Hashem, and furthermore, it was in the merit of their trust that Hashem made this victory for us. If so, they deserve more.
וּמִי יִשְׁמַע לָכֶם לַדָּבָר הַזֶּה, כִּי כְּחֵלֶק הַיֹּרֵד בַּמִּלְחָמָה וּכְחֵלֶק הַיֹּשֵׁב עַל־הַכֵּלִים יַחְדָּו יַחֲלֹקוּ. - And who will listen to you in this matter? For as the share of the one who goes down to battle, so is the share of the one who sits by the baggage; together they shall share.
The Malbim asks: seemingly it should have said it in the reverse order. What did David want to tell them? That the one who goes down to battle receives a share, and the one who sits by the baggage also receives a share. That is, the main figure is the one who goes down to battle, and the verse comes to say: know this, just as you are to receive, so too the one who sits by the baggage is to receive. But if we examine the language precisely, he says it to them the other way around: "as the share of the one who goes down to battle, so is the share of the one who sits by the baggage," meaning that the one who goes down to battle will receive exactly like the one who sits by the baggage, as if the one who sits by the baggage is the main figure.
And the Malbim explains that according to what we have clarified the matter is wonderful: David tells them that according to your words, the one who achieved the victory should take everything. And in my view, the ones who achieved the victory are those who trusted in Hashem, and they are the ones who sit by the baggage. And nevertheless I rule the opposite of this logic: I rule that those who sit by the baggage shall not take everything, but rather they shall divide share for share, so that you too who went down to battle will receive. They thought "only us and not them," and David tells them: not only them, but you as well. He completely changed their thinking.
From a Statute to a Law
וַיְהִי מֵהַיּוֹם הַהוּא וָמָעְלָה, וַיְשִׂמֶהָ לְחֹק וּלְמִשְׁפָּט לְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. - And it was from that day and onward, and he made it a statute and a law for Israel until this day.
From that day onward David established this rule for the community, that as the share of the one who goes down to battle, so is the share of the one who sits by the baggage. And what is the difference between a "statute" (chok) and a "law" (mishpat)? A chok is something without a reason: I have decreed a decree, I have issued a ruling; while a mishpat is something logical, acceptable to reason. The Malbim says: this enactment, that the one who sits by the baggage takes an equal share with the one who goes to war, appears on a superficial glance to be a chok: I went out to battle and risked my life, and he who remained sitting by the baggage will receive like me?! But David explained to them the reason for the statute, and since the statute received a reason, it became a law. And this is the precision of the language: "and he made it a statute and a law" - something that until now was considered a statute and was not accepted, David turned into a law, explained to them the reason for the matter, and from then on this was the practice.
And what is the reason for the matter? That our battles are not like the battles of the nations. The battles of the nations are according to their power, according to the magnitude of their strength, according to the size of the army and according to might; but in our battles everything is through trust in Hashem, and the greater our trust in Hashem grows, the more we will succeed in battle. If so, there is no reason at all that the one who goes out to fight should receive more, unless he ought to have received a smaller share, to such an extent that the main thing is absolute trust in Hashem, blessed be He. And "those who sit by the baggage" are not merely sitting, but praying to Hashem and trusting in Hashem, and they are the ones doing the spiritual work, as opposed to those who go out to battle doing the physical work.
"And Onward" (uma'lah) and Not "and Further" (vahal'ah): From the Root of Avraham Avinu
And let us take note of the language: "and it was from that day and onward." Is this a customary expression? It should have been "from that day and further"! And on this there is a Midrash: Rabbi Yudan said, it does not say "and further" here but rather "and onward," for he learned this matter from Avraham Avinu, who said "apart from only what the young men have eaten."
The Malbim explains the intent of the Midrash: there is a difference between "and onward" and "and above." When I say "and above," I include the past together with the future; but when I say "and onward," I speak only of the future, without including the past at all. With this you will understand what took place here: the verse says "from that day and above," so where is the past included? For this rule already existed in the time of Avraham Avinu, since you see that Avraham gave a portion to those who went with him and a portion to those who stayed with the baggage, namely Aner, Eshkol and Mamre, and their portion was like the portion of those who went out to fight. If so, when David says "from that day" he must say "and above," for it includes the time of Avraham when this rule already existed, and I am now applying it in a more absolute manner so that it will continue to be the rule going forward. But had it been written "and onward," it would have implied that David was the first to establish this, and that in the past no one had set it down.
Gratitude to the Elders of Yehuda
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד אֶל־צִקְלַג, וַיְשַׁלַּח מֵהַשָּׁלָל לְזִקְנֵי יְהוּדָה לְרֵעֵהוּ לֵאמֹר, הִנֵּה לָכֶם בְּרָכָה מִשְּׁלַל אֹיְבֵי ה'. - And David came to Tziklag, and he sent from the spoil to the elders of Yehuda, to his friends, saying: Here is a blessing for you from the spoil of the enemies of Hashem.
One must ask: why did we not see in the past that David sent from the spoil to the elders of Yehuda, and only here? For we saw along the way that David would go out from Tziklag on raids, taking from Amalek and from all the enemies, and we learned that those he killed were Canaanites of whom it was said "you shall not let any soul live." So why did he not then send from the spoil to the elders of Yehuda who were his friends?
And the answer is: from where did the Amalekites take their spoil now? Also from the Negev of Yehuda. As we saw at the beginning of the chapter: "and the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Tziklag," and as the young man said: "we raided the Negev of the Kereti and against that which belongs to Yehuda and against the Negev of Kalev, and Tziklag we burned with fire." It turns out that in the spoil I took there is also a portion belonging to my brethren, for David was from the tribe of Yehuda, and they were the ones who helped David and saved him. And if there is here a portion belonging to my brethren, I must return their portion to them. Therefore David came to Tziklag and sent from the spoil to the elders of Yehuda, returning to them what had been taken from them, and saying: "Here is a blessing for you from the spoil of the enemies of Hashem."
לַאֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית־אֵל וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּרָמוֹת־נֶגֶב וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּיַתִּר, וְלַאֲשֶׁר בַּעֲרֹעֵר וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּשִׂפְמוֹת וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּאֶשְׁתְּמֹעַ, וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּרָכָל וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּעָרֵי הַיְּרַחְמְאֵלִי וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּעָרֵי הַקֵּינִי, וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּחָרְמָה וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּבוֹר־עָשָׁן וְלַאֲשֶׁר בַּעֲתָךְ, וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּחֶבְרוֹן וּלְכָל־הַמְּקֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר־הִתְהַלֶּךְ־שָׁם דָּוִד הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו. - To those in Bet-El, and to those in Ramot-Negev, and to those in Yatir; and to those in Aroer, and to those in Sifmot, and to those in Eshtemoa; and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Yerachmeeli, and to those in the cities of the Keini; and to those in Chorma, and to those in Bor-Ashan, and to those in Atach; and to those in Chevron, and to all the places where David had wandered, he and his men.
And what is meant by "and to all the places where David had wandered"? We saw that David would flee from place to place, and there were people in those places who helped him, assisted him and gave him shelter and refuge. Therefore David now shows them gratitude: when things go well for him, he gives to those people as well, in order to thank them for having assisted him.
In summary:
The chapter opens with the destruction of Tziklag, and hidden within the destruction is a twofold kindness of Hashem: no one was killed, and at that very hour an "alibi" was arranged for David that freed him from the war with the Philistines and from any complaint. From weeping until there was no strength left, David rouses himself and strengthens himself in Hashem, inquires through the Urim VeTumim, and is answered "pursue, for you shall surely overtake and surely rescue." Through the abandoned Egyptian youth, a bitter testimony to the condition of a slave in the ancient world, he reaches the abandoned band that was celebrating in self-confidence, and he strikes them "on the next day," for Amalek is accustomed to being struck on the morrow, like the evil inclination whose entire strength lies in the postponement of "tomorrow" and in the arousing of doubts. David rescues everything, and above all he establishes a foundation of faith: the wars of Israel are not by the strength of the arm but by trust in Hashem, and therefore the portion of the one who stays with the baggage is like the portion of the one who goes down to battle. In this he turns a custom into a law, and restores the ordinance to its root from the days of Avraham Avinu. And in conclusion, gratitude: David sends from the spoil to the elders of Yehuda and to all the places that assisted him during the time of his flight.