all the Gittites
2 Samuel 15:18
15:18 all the Gittites. The Cherethites, Pelethites and Gittites all seem to have been foreign soldiers who had chosen to serve David. They were apparently of Philistine background. The name Chereth probably was related to Crete, the ancestral home of the Philistines. The Gittites were from Gath, where David had spent some time while in exile from Saul. David gave them the opportunity to stay in Jerusalem, to continue in service to any future kings there, but they elected to stay with David. Benaiah was captain over the Cherethites and Pelethites (see II Samuel 20:23), and Ittai over the Gittites. The six hundred men who had served with David in Gath (I Samuel 27:2), many of whom probably were estranged Israelites, were still with David.