· Translation: KJV

1 Samuel 30:15David said to him, "Will you bring me down to this troop?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me, nor deliver me up into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this troop."

The setting

Wilderness of southern Israel, ~1010 BC. David stands with 600 desperate men beside an Egyptian slave found dying in the desert. Their families are gone, their city burned...

The emotion here: desperate but calculating

The original word

shaba (שָׁבַע) — to swear a binding oath, literally 'to seven oneself'

Why it matters

Egyptian slaves were often abandoned when sick because they were considered disposable property

Read with care

What most readers miss in 1 Samuel 30:15

This Egyptian was left to DIE by the same raiders who took David's family

Common misconceptionPeople think David was being manipulative, but ancient oaths were sacred contracts that both parties needed for protection.

Bible Genome reading

1 Samuel 30:15 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerEgyptian servant
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typedialogue

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability40%
Memorability40%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone40%
Themes:trustfearnegotiation

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 1 Samuel 30

1 Samuel 30:15 comes from the book of 1 Samuel, written during the United Kingdom period. The setting is the battlefield. These words are attributed to Egyptian servant. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the dialogue genre of biblical literature. Key themes include trust, fear, negotiation. Notable phrases: Swear to me by God.

Your reflection

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