XX (executioners ) and of King David. ( 2 Samuel 8:18 ; 15:18 ; 2 Samuel 20:7 2 Samuel 20:23 ; 1 Kings 1:38 1 Kings 1:44 ; 1 Chronicles 18:17 ) It is plain that these royal guards were employed as executioners., ( 2 Kings 11:4 ) and as couriers, ( 1 Kings 14:27 ) But it has been conjectured that they may have been foreign mercenaries, and therefore probably Philistines, of which name Pelethites may be only another form.