2 Samuel 1:1

After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag.

After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.

Shortly after Saul died, David returned to Ziklag from his rout of the Amalekites.

Now after the death of Saul, when David, having come back from the destruction of the Amalekites, had been in Ziklag for two days;

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag,

After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

¹ sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.

² sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).

³ sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.