Did You Know?

AMONG the foreign warriors in David’s army were such men as Zelek the Ammonite, Uriah the Hittite, and Ithmah the Moabite.a (1 Chron. 11:39, 41, 46) David’s forces also included “the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the Gittites.” (2 Sam. 15:18) The Cherethites and the Pelethites were generally thought to be closely related to the Philistines. (Ezek. 25:16) The Gittites originated from the Philistine city of Gath.​—Josh. 13:2, 3; 1 Sam. 6:17, 18.

Why could David enlist foreigners in his army? He was confident that they were loyal to him and, more important, to Jehovah. For example, regarding the Cherethites and the Pelethites, The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says: “They remained loyal to David in the most difficult circumstances during his reign.” How so? When “all the men of Israel” deserted King David to follow “a troublemaker named Sheba,” the Cherethites and the Pelethites stayed true to David and helped to suppress Sheba’s rebellion. (2 Sam. 20:1, 2, 7) On another occasion, King David’s son Adonijah attempted to usurp the throne. However, the Cherethites and the Pelethites remained loyal to David and helped to install Solomon, the one whom Jehovah had chosen, as the king’s successor.​—1 Ki. 1:24-27, 38, 39.

Another foreigner who remained fiercely loyal to David was Ittai the Gittite. Ittai and his 600 warriors supported King David when David’s son Absalom rebelled and turned the hearts of the men of Israel against the king. David initially suggested to Ittai that because he was a foreigner, it was not his fight. But Ittai said: “As surely as Jehovah is living and as surely as my lord the king is living, wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there your servant will be!”​—2 Sam. 15:6, 18-21.

Even though the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and the Gittites were foreigners, they recognized Jehovah as the true God and David as Jehovah’s anointed one. How grateful David must have been to have such loyal men at his side!