Lives of Scripture

Ittai the Gittite, a Philistine from Gath who had only recently come over to David's service, appears as David flees Jerusalem during Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:18-19). Passing his loyal troops in review, David specifically singled Ittai out and urged him to turn back with the new king Absalom instead, reasoning that Ittai was a foreigner and an exile himself with no long-standing obligation to share in David's uncertain, dangerous flight (15:19-20). Ittai's response was immediate and total: 'As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be' (15:21) -- a declaration of loyalty offered freely by an outsider with every reason to walk away safely. David accepted his commitment, and Ittai crossed the Kidron with his men, women, and children in tow, joining David's retreat (15:22-23). His loyalty proved substantial rather than symbolic: when David organized his forces for the decisive battle against Absalom's army, he divided command into three parts, giving one third each to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai the Gittite -- placing this recent foreign arrival on equal footing with David's own most trusted commanders (18:1-2). Ittai's brief but pointed appearances in David's darkest political crisis stand as one of Scripture's clearest pictures of loyalty chosen rather than owed.