16:6 When they arrived, Samuel 8 noticed 9 Eliab and said to himself, 10 “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!” 11
17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. 14 Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”
23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.”
1 tn The exact sense of the Hebrew word אַפָּיִם (’appayim, “two faces”) is not certain here. It is most likely used with the preceding expression (“one portion of two faces”) to mean a portion double than normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning “double” is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: “heavily” (cf. Vulg., tristis) and “worthy” or “choice” (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to אֶפֶס (’efes) and translating it as “but” or “however.” This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.
2 tn Heb “for Hannah he loved.” Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun (“her”) has been used here for clarity. The translation also adds the adverb “especially” to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.
3 tn Heb “and the
4 tn Heb “and he did not cause to fall from all his words to the ground.”
7 tn Or “eunuchs” (so NAB); NIV “officials”; KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT “officers.”
10 tc The translation follows the LXX (“their sickle”) here, rather than the MT “plowshares,” which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.
13 tc The LXX includes the following words: “Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, ‘It is not this word.’ But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son.”
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “saw.”
18 tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).
19 tn Heb “his anointed one.”
19 tn Heb “and spoke according to this word.”
20 tn Heb “the people.”
22 tn Heb “Let not the heart of a man fall upon him.” The LXX reads “my lord,” instead of “a man.”
25 tn Or “the one who.” This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar’s life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.
28 tn Heb “saw.”