Besides recovering all the spoil that had been taken from Ziklag, David and his band had captured extensive flocks and herds belonging to the Amalekites. These were called "David's spoil;" and upon returning to Ziklag, he sent from this spoil presents to the elders of his own tribe of Judah. In this distribution all those were remembered who had befriended him and his followers in the mountain fastnesses, when he had been forced to flee from place to place for his life. Their kindness and sympathy, so precious to the hunted fugitive, were thus gratefully acknowledged.

Foruden at bringe alt det bytte tilbage, som fjenderne havde taget i Ziklag, erobrede David og hans mænd meget småkvæg og hornkvæg fra amalekitterne. Dette blev betegnet som "Davids bytte". Da David kom tilbage til Ziklag, sendte han gaver af sit bytte til de ældste i Judas stamme, som han selv tilhørte. Ved denne lejlighed betænkte han alle dem, der havde vist ham og hans mænd venlighed i bjergfæstningerne, da han var tvunget til at flygte fra sted til sted for at redde livet. På denne måde gengældte han dem den venlighed og sympati, der betød så meget for ham, da han var på flugt.