And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
Slew not any ... but carried them away. Their conduct seems to stand in favourable contrast to that of David (1 Samuel 27:11). But their apparent clemency did not arise from humane considerations. It is traceable to the ancient war usages of the East, where the men of war, on the capture of a city were unsparingly put to death; but there were no warriors in Ziklag at the time, and the women and boys were reserved for slaves, and the old people were spared out of respect to age.