April 29, 2008

Breadcrumb: Don't piss off the heir-apparent

When David and his men go back to Ziklag, the town granted to them by King Achish, they find that Amalekites have burned the buildings and run off with their wives. This cannot be tolerated. David takes 400 of his men in pursuit (200 were so weary they couldn't go with the main force). Thanks to a chance encounter with an Egyptian ex-slave of the Amalekites, David gets led straight to the revelling Amalek camp and slaughters them for a full 24 hours. He kills them all except for 400 camel-riders who flee, but it's enough to rescue all the spoils, the women, and the children. In the end, all the men get their loot back, and David even sends spoils to the elders of Judah because he wants to be in their good books. This is just as well, because Saul dies in the next chapter, leaving David the new king of Israel.

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