Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 30:11

"And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they gave him water to drink." — 1 Samuel 30:11 (ASV)

An Egyptian. —The Amalekites, as stated above, were a nomad race; their wanderings would have taken them to the frontiers of Egypt, which explains the probability of their having Egyptian slaves in their tribe. The savage nature of these untamed sons of the desert has already been commented upon when the war of extermination with Amalek was discussed. They seem to have been a ruthless, cruel race, the scourge of the desert, and of the people dwelling near its borders. From the narrative, they evidently had many camels in their force (1 Samuel 30:17), so the abandonment of the sick slave—left without food or water to die of hunger—was a needless act of barbarity on their part.