1 Samuel 30:13 Meaning and Explanation
“And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The revived man tells David he is an Egyptian slave whose Amalekite master abandoned him when he fell sick.
What Does 1 Samuel 30:13 Mean?
Only now does David ask who the man is. He is a young Egyptian, a slave of one of the very Amalekites David is hunting. When he fell sick three days before, his master simply left him in the field to die. His own people had no use for him once he was weak.
The contrast could not be sharper: the Amalekites abandon their own servant the moment he is no longer useful, while David's men revive a stranger. The world's way is to discard the weak; God's way, embodied here, is to lift them up. The very cruelty of the enemy toward the lowly becomes the doorway to their defeat, for the discarded slave will lead David straight to them.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Samuel 30:13
What does 1 Samuel 30:13 mean?
The revived man tells David he is an Egyptian slave whose Amalekite master abandoned him when he fell sick.