Ittai

Ittai (meaning with the LORD or near) is the name of two men in David's time. (1.) Ittai the Gittite, a Philistine from Gath who led six hundred men in loyal service to David during Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:18–22). When David urged him to return, saying he had arrived only the day before and had no reason to share in the king's uncertain fortunes, Ittai responded with words of extraordinary loyalty reminiscent of Ruth's pledge to Naomi: "As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be" (2 Samuel 15:21). He was appointed as one of three commanders over David's army alongside Joab and Abishai in the battle against Absalom (2 Samuel 18:2).

(2.) Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah of Benjamin, one of David's thirty mighty warriors (2 Samuel 23:29; 1 Chronicles 11:31). The Gittite Ittai stands as one of the most compelling examples in Scripture of a foreign-born convert whose loyalty to Israel's king surpassed that of native Israelites during the crisis of Absalom's coup.