Pelethites

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Pelethites - mentioned always along with the Cherethites, and only in the time of David. The word probably means "runners" or "couriers," and may denote that while forming part of David's bodyguard, they were also sometimes employed as couriers (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:7, 23;1 Kings 1:38, 44; 1 Chr. 18:17). Some, however, think that these are the names simply of two Philistine tribes from which David selected his bodyguard. They are mentioned along with the Gittites (2 Sam. 15:18), another body of foreign troops whom David gathered around him.

1 Sam. 30:14 mentions the Cherethites alone as owners of a part of Neguev ("South"). A Cretan origin has also been suggested for them.

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.