These formed a part of David’s guard. They are always grouped with the Cherethites. It is uncertain from whence they came or what the name signifies (2 Sam. 8:18; 2 Sam. 15:18; 2 Sam. 20:7,23; 1 Kings 1:38, 44; 1 Chron. 18:17). Gesenius calls them “public couriers,” doubtless because peleth means “swiftness.” The LXX and Vulgate leave the name untranslated. Some trace the word to the Philistines.