Pelethites

Pelethites - mentioned always along with the Cherethites, and only in thetime of David. The word probably means "runners" or "couriers,"and may denote that while forming part of David's bodyguard,they were also sometimes employed as couriers (2 Sam. 8:18;20:7, 23;1 Kings 1:38, 44; 1 Chr. 18:17). Some, however, thinkthat these are the names simply of two Philistine tribes fromwhich David selected his bodyguard. They are mentioned alongwith the Gittites (2 Sam. 15:18), another body of foreign troopswhom David gathered around him.

1 Sam. 30:14 mentions the Cherethites alone as owners of a part of Neguev ("South").A Cretan origin has also been suggested for them.