Burning Cities and Captive Kin: The Syntax and Semantics of 1 Samuel 30:3
וַיָּבֹ֨א דָוִ֤ד וַֽאֲנָשָׁיו֙ אֶל־הָעִ֔יר וְהִנֵּ֥ה שְׂרוּפָ֖ה בָּאֵ֑שׁ וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֛ם וּבְנֵיהֶ֥ם וּבְנֹתֵיהֶ֖ם נִשְׁבּֽוּ׃ Contextual Introduction 1 Samuel 30:3 narrates the devastating moment when דָוִד and his men return to their temporary base at צִקְלָג only to find it burned by the Amalekites and their families taken captive. This verse is situated in a climactic section of David’s…