The Philistine in David’s Army - Emily Woodard
Some of the stories I particularly enjoy in the Old Testament are those about people ‘outside’ of Israel who come to take refuge under the wings of Yahweh (Ruth 2:12). Each narrative is both a small taste of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that all families of the earth will be blessed in him (Genesis 12:3), and a foretaste of the breaking down of the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:14). The stories are also reminders of the grace shown to those of us who are spiritual, but not physical, heirs of Abraham. Two well-known examples of these types of stories are those of Rahab and Ruth, told in the books of Joshua and Ruth. In each case, Bible readers are given not only glimpses into the conversions of these women in the Old Testament, but their grafting into Israel is also confirmed by their inclusion in Jesus’ genealogy in the New (Joshua 2:8-13, Ruth 1:16-17, Matthew 1:5).
In the chapters of 2 Samuel that cover Absalom’s conspiracy and rebellion against his father, King David, another ‘outsider’ in Israel is mentioned. In this case, we are not given much background on him or hints of a conversion story. And yet, this non-Israelite is an example of faith in God and a willingness to die to self. He also serves as a help to God’s anointed king in a time of need. In 2 Samuel 15:13f, when David is informed of Absalom’s conspiracy, he acts hurriedly to leave Jerusalem, a move that is militarily strategic and purposed to limit the trouble to the city and its people (1). The chaos and intensity of the moment is highlighted in David’s words to his servants, “Arise, and let us flee, or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom. Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly and bring down ruin on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword” (2 Sam. 15:14, emphasis added). As David hastily packs up and escapes, presumably in a state of shock due to the betrayal of his own son (2), the narrative itself slows down as its author pauses to include a conversation between David and one of his soldiers (3).
David’s conversation with Ittai the Gittite is bordered by descriptions of the action in the story. In verse 17, King David is quickly leaving his palace and the royal city and all the people of his household are with him. In verse 23, the whole group crosses the Kidron valley and heads into the wilderness. The frantic and yet dramatically somber moment is briefly softened by this pause for dialogue. The words that the men exchange provide a break in the intensity of the story and an allowance for the reader to have some insight into the concerns and commitments of the two men. David seems unsure of what the future holds for him. What he does know is that “there will be no escape… from Absalom” if he stays in Jerusalem (v.14). He anticipates a period of wandering, not knowing where he is going, or when (or if) he’ll return. David is perhaps in the midst of one of his darkest hours but the encounter with Ittai the Gittite becomes a moment in which he (and the reader of Samuel) can remember the Lord’s faithfulness to his anointed king. Though he is a foreigner, and perhaps especially because he is, Ittai stands out as “an island of fidelity in a sea of treachery” (4).
The Gittites were Philistines specifically from Gath, one of the five major Philistine cities (Josh. 13:3, 1 Sam. 6:17) and the home of their fallen champion Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4). It was also the location of a refuge for David during the time he was on the run from Saul (1 Sam. 21:10-15). The text initially gives the impression that the Gittites had followed David from Gath, presumably from the latter’s extended stay there, but David’s comments to Ittai indicate that he, at least, had only been in David’s company for a short time, “you came only yesterday” (2 Sam. 15:20). The meaning of Ittai’s name is unknown and the reader is not given any background relating to his past, though it can be inferred from David’s comments that he was exiled from his native land for some reason; he was a refugee. Ittai is later given command of one third of David’s army (2 Sam. 18:2) which have led some to conflate the loyal soldier-turned-commander with the Ittai included in the list of David’s mighty men who was “the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin (2 Sam. 23:29),” the “Ithai” of 1 Chronicles 11:31. But it seems unlikely that Ittai would be referred to both as a Gittite and as a Benjamite, and were they the same man, it becomes hard to reconcile David’s labeling of him as a foreigner (vs. 19).
As all his household, servants, and soldiers march past, David stops Ittai to ask why he is coming with them. It seems that, from David’s perspective, Ittai owes him no loyalty: he is, after all, a foreigner, so no Israelite laws tie him to David’s service. David even encourages Ittai to stay in Jerusalem with “the king” (NIV inserts Absalom’s name here to clarify). He emphasizes that his own future is certain only in its uncertainty; he is leaving to wander he knows not where (v.20). And in a final generous push, David insists there is no ill will against Ittai if he does stay in the city and choose the path of least resistance, “may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you” (2 Sam. 15:20). Whether or not David actually invokes the personal and covenant name of Yahweh at this juncture is a point of dispute, displayed in the variety within English translations. What is certain, however, is that Ittai replies with it. Ittai employs the oath-formula often used within Scripture, “as the LORD lives” (5). It is significant, however, that this common phrase comes here from the mouth of a Philistine. It is here we may be reminded of the other foreigners that have spoken of Yahweh during instances that can be equated to a statement of faith, like both Rahab and Ruth (Joshua 2:8-13, Ruth 1:16-17). In support of the identification of Ittai as a proselyte is what he goes on to say. Ittai not only swears “as the LORD lives,” but also by the life of “[his] lord the king,” an “oath of conscious deference” (6). Ralph Davis remarks that Ittai uses a double oath to “underscore how seriously he means his words” (7). And while David refers to the treasonous Absalom as “the king,” Ittai refers to David as “[his] lord the king” not once, but twice. Ittai acknowledges the LORD and the LORD’s anointed and he goes on to pledge his loyalty to David come what may. The NIV perhaps misses some of the significance of Ittai’s statement as it uses the more familiar word order of “life or death,” but Ittai seemingly follows David’s realistic assessment of the situation in assuming that what may come is much more likely to be death. Deepening the solemnity of the situation is the fact that Ittai speaks not just for himself but for his brothers (v. 20) and “all the little ones who were with him” (v. 22).
Ittai is a picture of one who seems to understand the idea of suffering as a part of the life of a kingdom disciple. He has counted the cost of being loyal both to the LORD and to the LORD’s anointed king (8). He seems to expect that he might die for his faithfulness and yet he has determined that the safest place to be (at least in eternal terms) was “wherever [his] lord the king shall be” (vs. 21). In his courageous support of the king even at “the very moment that David looked to be a bad bet,” and in his willingness to die if it meant being on the side of Yahweh and his anointed, Ittai is an example for believers who are called to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23) (9).
It would be a mistake to stop the application of this passage with the examples of David and Ittai. For though in one sense the book of 2 Samuel is mainly about King David, and this pericope specifically highlights a foreign-born soldier named Ittai, like all Biblical narrative this passage is primarily about their God. Scripture contains the revelation of God and the record of how he has dealt with his people throughout history. Through the conversation of David and Ittai, the reader of 2 Samuel learns something about God: God never abandons his people, and sometimes he sends help from the most unexpected places. Ittai hailed, after all, from Gath of the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. Perhaps he had even been in the Philistine army that sent Goliath out as their champion against Israel who was ultimately and victoriously represented by David. The text leaves questions for the reader regarding Ittai’s history with David. What is clear, though, is that God provided Ittai as a strength and support for David in his time of need. He proved to be loyal friend and trusted soldier. His faithfulness stands in stark contrast to the betrayal David experienced from his own son (10). It is helpful to remember that we serve a God who gives good gifts like Ittai. Ralph Davis says that “Ittais are God’s gifts” and points out that Paul too, was given an Ittai-like friend in Onesiphorus, who searched earnestly for Paul and refreshed him, not being ashamed of his chains even when many had turned away from him (2 Tim. 1:15-18) (11). Ittai was the first glimpse of hope given to David after the news arrived of Absalom’s conspiracy, a situation that David later wrote about in Psalm 3. Perhaps Ittai was a reminder to David that when he cries out to God, God will answer from his holy hill. Though God is and will be the lifter of his head, sometimes he uses men like Ittai to do it (Psalm 3:3-4).
Ittai’s story, like so many others in the Old and New Testaments, reminds the reader of another wonderful aspect of God’s saving character. God called the Israelites to be a special and set apart people for himself. The Bible tells us about the origin of Israel from one man, Abraham, to whom God promised descendants as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5). But Scripture also includes a number of these wonderful stories of those who were not of the fold of Israel and yet came to faith in Israel’s God: Rahab the Canaanite, Ruth the Moabitess, the Syrophoenician woman, the Philippian jailer, the Roman centurion at the foot of the cross, and Ittai the Gittite, to name a few (12). Often when faith is found in unexpected places, it serves as a great example. The reader of 2 Samuel 15 is not told how David responded to Ittai’s vow of fidelity, but he might have reacted as Jesus did in Luke 7 when he, too, was surprised by the faith of a foreigner: he marveled, and said “… not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Luke 7:9). Ittai’s faith in the God of Israel resulted in his faithfulness to the King of Israel which was a gift to that king in a very dark hour. Thanks be to God that he is building a church with people from every tribe and nation and that he is a God who delights to give good gifts, friends like Ittais, to his children (Revelation 5:9, Matthew 7:11).*
(1) Robert P. Gordon, I&II Samuel: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986), 272.
(2) Richard D. Phillips, 2 Samuel (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2018), 286.
(3) Several authors commented on the inclusion of a number of individual conversations that David has during both his flight from Jerusalem and his return to the city in chapter 19.
(4) Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity (Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus, 1999), 157.
(5) Yael Ziegler, “As the Lord Lives and as Your Soul Lives’: An Oath of Conscious Deference,” Vetus Testamentum 58 (2008), 117.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Davis, Adversity, 156.
(8) Gordon, Commentary, 273.
(9) Tim Chester, 2 Samuel For You (Charlotte: The Good Book Company, 2017), 117.
(10) Nadav Na’aman, “Ittai the Gittite,” in Biblische Notizen 94 (1998), 22.
(11) Davis, Adversity, 157.
(12) Hebrews 11:31, Ruth 1:16, Mark 7:28-29, Acts 16:30-34, Mark 15:39, John 10:16
* A portion of this article was previously published in The ARP, January-February 2021.