The Meaning of 1 Samuel 30:1 Explained

1 Samuel 30:1

KJV: And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

YLT: And it cometh to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed unto the south, and unto Ziklag, and smite Ziklag, and burn it with fire,

Darby: And it came to pass, when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the south, and upon Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire;

ASV: And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had made a raid upon the South, and upon Ziklag, and had smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it came to pass, when David  and his men  were come  to Ziklag  on the third  day,  that the Amalekites  had invaded  the south,  and Ziklag,  and smitten  Ziklag,  and burned  it with fire; 

What does 1 Samuel 30:1 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 30:1-15 - A Blow That Led Back To God
As David was leaving the battlefield, a number of men of Manasseh fell to him, 1 Chronicles 12:20, so his following was greatly increased. It was as if God had anticipated his coming trial, and prepared him to encounter it. "The God of his mercy prevented (literally, went before) him." But what a mercy it was that he had been sent back; that no garrison had been left to guard the women, which might have irritated the depredators; and that nobody had been killed, 1 Samuel 30:2!
In the first outburst of grief and horror, only divine and gracious interposition could have saved David's life. But this was the hour of his return to God. With the charred embers at his feet and anxiety gnawing at his heart, the threat of violence in his ears, and bitter compunction of conscience, "he strengthened himself in the Lord his God." From that hour he was his old, strong, glad, noble self. After months of neglect, he bade Abiathar bring him the ephod, and he inquired the will of God. Then with marvelous vigor he went in pursuit and recovered all. He had been brought out of an horrible pit, and again his feet were on the rock, Psalms 40:2. His "goings" could now be established. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 30

1  The Amalekites raid Ziklag
4  David asking counsel, is encouraged by God to pursue them
11  By the means of a received Egyptian he is brought to the enemies,
18  and recovers all the spoil
22  David's law to divide the spoil equally
26  He sends presents to his friends

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 30:1 mean?

And it came to pass when came David and his men to Ziklag on the day third that the Amalekite had invaded unto the Negev and Ziklag and attacked - and burned it with fire
וַיְהִ֞י בְּבֹ֨א דָוִ֧ד וַאֲנָשָׁ֛יו צִֽקְלַ֖ג בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י וַעֲמָלֵקִ֣י פָֽשְׁט֗וּ אֶל־ נֶ֙גֶב֙ וְאֶל־ צִ֣קְלַ֔ג וַיַּכּוּ֙ אֶת־ וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ אֹתָ֖הּ בָּאֵֽשׁ

וַיְהִ֞י  And  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בְּבֹ֨א  when  came 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
דָוִ֧ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
וַאֲנָשָׁ֛יו  and  his  men 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
צִֽקְלַ֖ג  to  Ziklag 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִקְלַג  
Sense: a town in the south of Judah, later allotted to Simeon; noted for its having been the city of David given to him by king Achish of Gath and his residence when he was joined by many of his mighty warriors and when he received word of the death of Saul.
בַּיּ֣וֹם  on  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י  third 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: שְׁלִישִׁי 
Sense: third, one third, third part, third time.
וַעֲמָלֵקִ֣י  that  the  Amalekite 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲמָלֵקִי  
Sense: descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau.
פָֽשְׁט֗וּ  had  invaded 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: פָּשַׁט  
Sense: to strip, invade, strip off, make a dash, raid, spread out.
אֶל־  unto 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נֶ֙גֶב֙  the  Negev 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶגֶב  
Sense: south-country, Nekeb, south.
צִ֣קְלַ֔ג  Ziklag 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִקְלַג  
Sense: a town in the south of Judah, later allotted to Simeon; noted for its having been the city of David given to him by king Achish of Gath and his residence when he was joined by many of his mighty warriors and when he received word of the death of Saul.
וַיַּכּוּ֙  and  attacked 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ  and  burned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׂרַף  
Sense: to burn.
בָּאֵֽשׁ  with  fire 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.