Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
Tell it not in Gath ... In David's time Gath was one of the principal towns in the Philistine territory, ranking, in point of population, prosperity, and strength, with Askelon. In the age of Micah it had fallen into obscurity and insignificance, if it existed at all. Yet the poetical apostrophe of David, which had become proverbial, was still used by the Hebrews, as it often is by ourselves, although its original application has ceased.
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph - (see the note at 1 Samuel 18:25, where the discrepancy between the language of Scripture and the statement of Herodotus, b. 2:, 104, as to the early practice of circumcision, is shown to be easily reconcilable.)