Bible Reading March 19 
1 Samuel 17:1--20:42
Context17:1 1 The Philistines gathered their troops 2 for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 17:2 Saul and the Israelite army 3 assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against 4 the Philistines. 17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites 5 on another hill, with the valley between them.
17:4 Then a champion 6 came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. 7 17:5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels. 8 17:6 He had bronze shin guards 9 on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 17:7 The shaft 10 of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. 11 His shield bearer was walking before him.
17:8 Goliath 12 stood and called to Israel’s troops, 13 “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose 14 for yourselves a man so he may come down 15 to me! 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us.” 17:10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight 16 each other!” 17:11 When Saul and all the Israelites 17 heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid.
17:12 18 Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem 19 in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul’s days he was old and well advanced in years. 20 17:13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the 21 three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. 17:14 Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, 17:15 David was going back and forth 22 from Saul in order to care for his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.
17:16 Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. 17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly 23 to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. 24 Find out how your brothers are doing 25 and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. 26 17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army 27 in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
17:20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. 28 After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp 29 as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. 17:21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. 17:22 After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, 30 he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. 17:23 As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, 31 and David heard it. 17:24 When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated 32 from his presence and were very afraid.
17:25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so 33 to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”
17:26 David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? 34 For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?” 17:27 The soldiers 35 told him what had been promised, saying, 36 “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”
17:28 When David’s 37 oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry 38 with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! 39 You have come down here to watch the battle!”
17:29 David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?” 40 17:30 Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, 41 but they 42 gave him the same answer as before. 17:31 When David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. 43
17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. 44 Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 17:33 But Saul replied to David, “You aren’t able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You’re just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!”
17:34 David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd for his father’s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 17:35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 17:36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. 45 For he has defied the armies of the living God!” 17:37 David went on to say, “The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!” Then Saul said to David, “Go! The Lord will be with you.” 46
17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. 17:39 David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. 47 David said to Saul, “I can’t walk in these things, for I’m not used to them.” So David removed them. 17:40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch 48 of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.
17:41 49 The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. 17:42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. 17:43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” 50 Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” 51
17:45 But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! 17:46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God 17:47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”
17:48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. 52 17:49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.
17:50 53 David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. 54 17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s 55 sword, drew it from its sheath, 56 killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.
17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. 57 They chased the Philistines to the valley 58 and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 17:53 When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. 17:54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, 59 and he put Goliath’s 60 weapons in his tent.
17:55 61 Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, “Whose son is this young man, Abner?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.” 17:56 The king said, “Find out whose son this boy is!”
17:57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. 17:58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.” 62
18:1 When David 63 had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. 64 Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. 65 18:2 Saul retained David 66 on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house. 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. 67 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt.
18:5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants. 68
18:6 When the men 69 arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. 70 18:7 The women who were playing the music sang,
“Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands!”
18:8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, 71 “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” 18:9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre 72 that day. There was a spear in Saul’s hand, 18:11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll nail David to the wall!” But David escaped from him on two different occasions.
18:12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 18:13 Saul removed David 73 from his presence and made him a commanding officer. 74 David led the army out to battle and back. 75 18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, 76 for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.
18:17 77 Then Saul said to David, “Here’s my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior 78 for me and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul thought, “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!”
18:18 David said to Saul, “Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father 79 in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 18:19 When the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah.
18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it 80 pleased him. 18:21 Saul said, “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law.” 81
18:22 Then Saul instructed his servants, “Tell David secretly, ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately 82 to David. David replied, “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!”
18:24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said, 18:25 Saul replied, “Here is what you should say to David: ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his 83 enemies.’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.)
18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed 84 to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 85 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out 86 and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
18:28 When Saul realized 87 that the Lord was with David and that his 88 daughter Michal loved David, 89 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him. 90 Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. 91 18:30 92 Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.
19:1 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much. 93 19:2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying 94 to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find 95 a hiding place and stay in seclusion. 96 19:3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, 97 I will let you know.”
19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf 98 to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial 99 for you. 19:5 He risked his life 100 when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”
19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice 101 and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. 102
19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly 103 and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon 104 Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. 105 19:10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence and the spear drove into the wall. 106 David escaped quickly 107 that night.
19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself 108 tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 19:12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.
19:13 Then Michal took a household idol 109 and put it on the bed. She put a quilt 110 made of goat’s hair over its head 111 and then covered the idol with a garment. 19:14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”
19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 19:16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat’s hair at its head.
19:17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’” 112
19:18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19:19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 19:20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 19:21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 19:22 Finally Saul 113 himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”
19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there 114 naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)
20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, 115 “What have I done? What is my offense? 116 How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”
20:2 Jonathan 117 said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing 118 large or small without making me aware of it. 119 Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
20:3 Taking an oath, David again 120 said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact 121 that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 122 ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 20:4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.” 123
20:5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. 124 You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go 125 to his city Bethlehem, 126 for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ 127 then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. 128 20:8 You must be loyal 129 to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name. 130 If I am guilty, 131 you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
20:9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 20:10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”
When the two of them had gone out into the field, 20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. 132 I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? 133 20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know 134 and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. 135 May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 20:15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant 136 with the house of David. 137 20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. 138 20:18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 20:19 On the third day 139 you should go down quickly 140 and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. 141 Stay near the stone Ezel. 20:20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 20:21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, “Go and find the arrows.” If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; 142 get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. 20:22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’ 143 get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!” 144
20:24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him 145 and Abner at his side. 146 But David’s place was vacant. 20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it 147 that day, for he thought, 148 “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 20:27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
20:28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 20:29 He said, ‘Permit me to go, 149 for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged 150 me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go 151 to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan 152 and said to him, “You stupid traitor! 153 Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 20:31 For as long as 154 this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men 155 and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!” 156
20:32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan 157 in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced 158 that his father had decided to kill David. 20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. 159
20:35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 20:36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan 160 shot the arrow beyond him. 20:37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to 161 the servant, “Isn’t the arrow further beyond you?” 20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 20:39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) 162 20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”
20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, 163 knelt 164 with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 20:42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
165 Then David 166 got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city.
[17:1] 1 tc The content of 1 Sam 17–18, which includes the David and Goliath story, differs considerably in the LXX as compared to the MT, suggesting that this story circulated in ancient times in more than one form. The LXX for chs. 17–18 is much shorter than the MT, lacking almost half of the material (39 of a total of 88 verses). Many scholars (e.g., McCarter, Klein) think that the shorter text of the LXX is preferable to the MT, which in their view has been expanded by incorporation of later material. Other scholars (e.g., Wellhausen, Driver) conclude that the shorter Greek text (or the Hebrew text that underlies it) reflects an attempt to harmonize certain alleged inconsistencies that appear in the longer version of the story. Given the translation characteristics of the LXX elsewhere in this section, it does not seem likely that these differences are due to deliberate omission of these verses on the part of the translator. It seems more likely that the Greek translator has faithfully rendered here a Hebrew text that itself was much shorter than the MT in these chapters. Whether or not the shorter text represented by the LXX is to be preferred over the MT in 1 Sam 17–18 is a matter over which textual scholars are divided. For a helpful discussion of the major textual issues in this unit see D. Barthélemy, D. W. Gooding, J. Lust, and E. Tov, The Story of David and Goliath (OBO). Overall it seems preferable to stay with the MT, at least for the most part. However, the major textual differences between the LXX and the MT will be mentioned in the notes that accompany the translation so that the reader may be alert to the major problem passages.
[17:2] 3 tn Heb “the men of Israel” (so KJV, NASB); NAB, NIV, NRSV “the Israelites.”
[17:4] 6 tn Heb “the man of the space between the two [armies].” See v. 23.
[17:4] 7 tc Heb “his height was six cubits and a span” (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV). A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall (cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “over nine feet”; NCV “nine feet, four inches”; TEV “nearly 3 metres”). However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read “four cubits and a span” here, that is, about six feet, nine inches (cf. NAB “six and a half feet”). This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath’s height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 286, 291.
[17:5] 8 sn Although the exact weight of Goliath’s defensive body armor is difficult to estimate in terms of modern equivalency, it was obviously quite heavy. Driver, following Kennedy, suggests a modern equivalent of about 220 pounds (100 kg); see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 139. Klein, taking the shekel to be equal to .403 ounces, arrives at a somewhat smaller weight of about 126 pounds (57 kg); see R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 175. But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed.
[17:6] 9 sn Or “greaves.” These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
[17:7] 10 tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[17:7] 11 sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
[17:8] 12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:8] 13 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”
[17:8] 14 tc The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בחר, bkhr), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (ברה, brh) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.
[17:8] 15 tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.
[17:10] 16 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.
[17:11] 17 tn Heb “all Israel.”
[17:12] 18 tc Some
[17:12] 19 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[17:12] 20 tc The translation follows the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “in years,” rather than MT “among men.”
[17:15] 22 tn Heb “was going and returning.”
[17:18] 24 tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”
[17:18] 25 tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”
[17:18] 26 tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”
[17:19] 27 tn Heb “all the men of Israel.”
[17:20] 28 tn Heb “to a guard”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “with a keeper”; NIV “with a shepherd.” Since in contemporary English “guard” sounds like someone at a military installation or a prison, the present translation uses “to someone else who would watch over it.”
[17:20] 29 tn Or “entrenchment.”
[17:22] 30 tn Heb “the guard of the equipment.”
[17:23] 31 tn Heb “according to these words.”
[17:25] 33 tn Heb “he is coming up.”
[17:26] 34 tn Heb “and turns aside humiliation from upon Israel.”
[17:27] 36 tn Heb “according to this word, saying.”
[17:28] 37 tn Heb “his”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:28] 38 tn Heb “the anger of Eliab became hot.”
[17:28] 39 tn Heb “the wickedness of your heart.”
[17:29] 40 tn Heb “Is it not [just] a word?”
[17:30] 41 tn Heb “and spoke according to this word.”
[17:30] 42 tn Heb “the people.”
[17:31] 43 tn Heb “he took him.”
[17:32] 44 tn Heb “Let not the heart of a man fall upon him.” The LXX reads “my lord,” instead of “a man.”
[17:36] 45 tc The LXX includes here the following words not found in the MT: “Should I not go and smite him, and remove today reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one?”
[17:37] 46 tn Or “Go, and may the
[17:39] 47 tn Heb “he had not tested.”
[17:40] 48 tn This Hebrew word occurs only here and its exact meaning is not entirely clear. It refers to a receptacle of some sort and apparently was a common part of a shepherd’s equipment. Here it serves as a depository for the stones that David will use in his sling.
[17:41] 49 tc Most LXX
[17:43] 50 sn Sticks is a pejorative reference to David’s staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (מַקֵּל, maqqel) is used for both.
[17:44] 51 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[17:48] 52 tc Most LXX
[17:50] 53 tc Most LXX
[17:50] 54 tn Verse 50 is a summary statement; v. 51 gives a more detailed account of how David killed the Philistine.
[17:51] 55 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:51] 56 tc Most LXX
[17:52] 57 tn Heb “arose and cried out.”
[17:52] 58 tc Most of the LXX
[17:54] 59 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[17:54] 60 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:55] 61 tc Most LXX
[17:58] 62 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[18:1] 63 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:1] 64 tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”
[18:1] 65 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
[18:2] 66 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:3] 67 tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”
[18:5] 68 tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.”
[18:6] 69 tn Heb “them.” The masculine plural pronoun apparently refers to the returning soldiers.
[18:6] 70 tn Heb “with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.”
[18:8] 71 tn Heb “said.” So also in vv. 11, 17.
[18:10] 72 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
[18:13] 73 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:13] 74 tn Heb “an officer of a thousand.”
[18:13] 75 tn Heb “and he went out and came in before the people.” See v. 16.
[18:14] 76 tn Heb “in all his ways.”
[18:17] 77 tc Much of the
[18:17] 78 tn Heb “son of valor.”
[18:18] 79 tn Heb “Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?” The term חַי (khay), traditionally understood as “my life,” is here a rare word meaning “family, kinfolk” (see HALOT 309 s.v. III חַי). The phrase “clan of my father” may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
[18:20] 80 tn Heb “the matter.”
[18:21] 81 tc The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX
[18:23] 82 tn Heb “in the ears of.”
[18:25] 83 tn Heb “the king’s.”
[18:26] 84 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
[18:26] 85 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
[18:27] 86 tn Heb “arose and went.”
[18:28] 87 tn Heb “saw and knew.”
[18:28] 88 tn Heb “Saul’s.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[18:28] 89 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 90 tn Heb “of David.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.
[18:29] 91 tc The final sentence of v. 29 is absent in most LXX
[18:30] 92 tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX
[19:1] 93 tn Heb “delighted greatly in David.”
[19:2] 96 tn Heb “and hide yourself.”
[19:3] 97 tn Heb “when I see.”
[19:4] 98 tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”
[19:5] 100 tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”
[19:6] 101 tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”
[19:7] 102 tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”
[19:8] 103 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
[19:9] 105 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
[19:10] 106 tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”
[19:10] 107 tn Heb “fled and escaped.”
[19:11] 108 tn Heb “your life.”
[19:13] 109 tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
[19:13] 110 tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat’s hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”
[19:13] 111 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
[19:17] 112 tn Heb “Send me away! Why should I kill you?” The question has the force of a threat in this context. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 325, 26.
[19:22] 113 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:24] 114 tn Heb “and he fell down.”
[20:1] 115 tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”
[20:1] 116 tn Heb “What is my guilt?”
[20:2] 117 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:2] 118 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
[20:2] 119 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”
[20:3] 120 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”
[20:3] 121 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:3] 122 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.
[20:4] 123 tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”
[20:5] 124 tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
[20:6] 126 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[20:7] 128 tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”
[20:8] 129 tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
[20:8] 130 tn Heb “for into a covenant of the
[20:8] 131 tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
[20:12] 132 tc The Hebrew text has simply “the
[20:12] 133 tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”
[20:13] 134 tn Heb “uncover your ear.”
[20:13] 135 tn Heb “in peace.”
[20:16] 136 tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
[20:16] 137 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the
[20:17] 138 tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”
[20:19] 139 tc Heb “you will do [something] a third time.” The translation assumes an emendation of the verb from שִׁלַּשְׁתָּ (shillashta, “to do a third time”) to שִׁלִּישִׁית (shillishit, “[on the] third [day]”).
[20:19] 140 tn Heb “you must go down greatly.” See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom.
[20:19] 141 tn Heb “on the day of the deed.” This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2.
[20:21] 142 tn Heb “from you and here.”
[20:22] 143 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
[20:23] 144 tc Heb “the
[20:25] 145 tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqam, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיִּקַדֵּם (vayyiqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קדם, qdm). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
[20:25] 146 tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.”
[20:26] 147 tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.
[20:26] 148 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself.
[20:29] 150 tn Heb “commanded.”
[20:29] 151 tn Heb “be released [from duty].”
[20:30] 152 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[20:30] 153 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
[20:31] 154 tn Heb “all the days that.”
[20:31] 155 tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:31] 156 tn Heb “a son of death.”
[20:33] 157 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:34] 159 tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
[20:36] 160 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:37] 161 tn Heb “called after” (also in v. 38).
[20:39] 162 tn Heb “knew the matter.”
[20:41] 163 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.
[20:42] 165 sn Beginning with 20:42b, the verse numbers through 21:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:42b ET = 21:1 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:2 ET = 21:3 HT, etc., through 21:15 ET = 21:16 HT. With 22:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[20:42] 166 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
