Discovery Box1 Samuel 21:1--31:13
Context21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met 1 David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?” 21:2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, “The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, ‘Don’t let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.’ 2 I have told my soldiers 3 to wait at a certain place. 4 21:3 Now what do you have at your disposal? 5 Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.”
21:4 The priest replied to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers 6 have abstained from sexual relations with women.” 7 21:5 David said to the priest, “Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers’ 8 equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!”
21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. 21:7 (One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.) 21:8 David said to Ahimelech, “Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don’t have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king’s instructions.”
21:9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there’s nothing here.” David said, “There’s nothing like it! Give it to me!” 21:10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,
‘Saul struck down his thousands,
But David his tens of thousands’?”
21:12 David thought about what they said 9 and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 21:13 He altered his behavior in their presence. 10 Since he was in their power, 11 he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard.
21:14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? 21:15 Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?”
22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family 12 learned about it, they went down there to him. 22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented 13 gathered around 14 him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.
22:3 Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay 15 with you until I know what God is going to do for me.” 22:4 So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time 16 that David was in the stronghold. 22:5 Then Gad the prophet said to David, “Don’t stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
22:6 But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. 17 Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. 22:7 Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, “Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse’s son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you 18 commanders and officers? 19 22:8 For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me 20 when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!”
22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 22:10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
22:11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father’s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. 22:12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 22:13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave 21 him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes 22 me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!”
22:14 Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! 22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse 23 his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” 24
22:16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house! 22:17 Then the king said to the messengers 25 who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided 26 with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm 27 the priests of the Lord.
22:18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five 28 men who wore the linen ephod. 22:19 As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep – all with the sword.
22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 22:21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty 29 of all the deaths in your father’s house! 22:23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid! Whoever 30 seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.”
23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.” 23:2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”
23:3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 23:4 So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”
23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. 31 David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
23:6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. 32 23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered 33 him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” 34 23:8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 35
23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, 36 he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!” 23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning 37 to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 23:11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!”
Then the Lord said, “He will come down.” 23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”
23:13 So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. 38 When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. 23:14 David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, 39 but God did not deliver David 40 into his hand. 23:15 David realized 41 that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.
23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him 42 through God. 23:17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.” 23:18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.
23:19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 23:20 Now at your own discretion, 43 O king, come down. Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”
23:21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 23:22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely 44 where he is 45 and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning. 23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. 46 Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him 47 among all the thousands of Judah.”
23:24 So they left and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 23:25 Saul and his men went to look for him. 48 But David was informed and went down to the rock and stayed in the desert of Maon. When Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the desert of Maon. 23:26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them. 23:27 But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
23:28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines. Therefore that place is called Sela Hammahlekoth. 49 23:29 (24:1) 50 Then David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.
24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.” 24:2 So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find 51 David and his men in the region of 52 the rocks of the mountain goats. 53 24:3 He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. 54
Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. 24:4 David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.’” 55 So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:5 Afterward David’s conscience bothered him 56 because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord’s chosen one, 57 by extending my hand against him. After all, 58 he is the Lord’s chosen one.” 59 24:7 David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down 60 the road.
24:8 Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, “My lord, O king!” When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground. 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you pay attention when men say, ‘David is seeking to do you harm’? 24:10 Today your own eyes see how the Lord delivered you – this very day – into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity 61 on you and said, ‘I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.’ 62 24:11 Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn’t kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning 63 evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. 24:12 May the Lord judge between the two of us, and may the Lord vindicate me over you, but my hand will not be against you. 24:13 It’s like the old proverb says: ‘From evil people evil proceeds.’ But my hand will not be against you. 24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? 24:15 May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!”
24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. 64 24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent 65 than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! 24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. 24:19 Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me. 24:20 Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 24:21 So now swear to me in the Lord’s name 66 that you will not kill 67 my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”
24:22 David promised Saul this on oath. 68 Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.
25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. 69
25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; 70 he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 25:3 The man’s name was Nabal, 71 and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise 72 and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.
25:4 When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 25:5 he 73 sent ten servants, 74 saying to them, 75 “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name. 76 25:6 Then you will say to my brother, 77 “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 25:7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. 25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come 78 at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants 79 and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” 80
25:9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 25:10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! 25:11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t even know where they came from!”
25:12 So David’s servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David 81 all these things. 25:13 Then David instructed his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About four hundred men followed David up, while two hundred stayed behind with the equipment.
25:14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet 82 our lord, but he screamed at them. 25:15 These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together 83 in the field. 25:16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. 25:17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. 84 He is such a wicked person 85 that no one tells him anything!”
25:18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers 86 of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs 87 of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys 25:19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
25:20 Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. 25:21 Now David had been thinking, 88 “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. 25:22 God will severely punish David, 89 if I leave alive until morning even one male 90 from all those who belong to him!”
25:23 When Abigail saw David, she got down quickly from the donkey, threw herself down before David, and bowed to the ground. 25:24 Falling at his feet, she said, “My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant! 25:25 My lord should not pay attention to this wicked man Nabal. He simply lives up to his name! His name means ‘fool,’ and he is indeed foolish! 91 But I, your servant, did not see the servants my lord sent. 92
25:26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal. 25:27 Now let this present 93 that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the servants who follow 94 my lord. 25:28 Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days! 25:29 When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag 95 of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling’s pocket! 25:30 The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, 96 and he will make 97 you a leader over Israel. 25:31 Your conscience will not be overwhelmed with guilt 98 for having poured out innocent blood and for having taken matters into your own hands. When the Lord has granted my lord success, 99 please remember your servant.”
25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised 100 be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! 25:33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded 101 for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands! 25:34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives – he who has prevented me from harming you – if you had not come so quickly to meet me, by morning’s light not even one male belonging to Nabal would have remained alive!” 25:35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, “Go back 102 to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you 103 and responded favorably.” 104
25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time 105 and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing 106 until morning’s light. 25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, 107 his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. 108 25:38 After about ten days the Lord struck Nabal down and he died.
25:39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! 109 The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” 110 Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.
25:40 So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife.” 25:41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash 111 the feet of the servants of my lord.” 25:42 Then Abigail quickly went and mounted her donkey, with five of her female servants accompanying her. 112 She followed David’s messengers and became his wife.
25:43 David had also married 113 Ahinoam from Jezreel; the two of them became his wives. 25:44 (Now Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.)
26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near 114 Jeshimon?” 26:2 So Saul arose and
went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph. 26:3 Saul camped by the road on the hill of Hakilah near Jeshimon, but David was staying in the desert. When he realized that Saul had come to the desert to find 115 him, 26:4 David sent scouts and verified that Saul had indeed arrived. 116
26:5 So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him. 26:6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”
26:7 So David and Abishai approached the army at night and found Saul lying asleep in the entrenchment with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the army were lying all around him. 26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear 117 right through him into the ground with one swift jab! 118 A second jab won’t be necessary!”
26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one 119 and remain guiltless?” 26:10 David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. 26:11 But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul’s head and the jug of water, and let’s get out of here!” 26:12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got out of there. No one saw them or was aware of their presence or woke up. All of them were asleep, for the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall on them.
26:13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them. 26:14 David called to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Won’t you answer, Abner?” Abner replied, “Who are you, that you have called to the king?” 26:15 David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven’t you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king. 26:16 This failure on your part isn’t good! 120 As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead! 121 Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
26:17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.” 26:18 He went on to say, “Why is my lord chasing his servant? What have I done? What wrong have I done? 122 26:19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in 123 an offering. But if men have instigated this, 124 may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’ 26:20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge 125 in the hill country.”
26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value 126 this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” 127 26:22 David replied, “Here is the king’s spear! Let one of your servants cross over and get it. 26:23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. 128 Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one. 26:24 In the same way that I valued your life this day, 129 may the Lord value my life 130 and deliver me from all danger.” 26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, 131 my son David! You will without question be successful!” 132 So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.
27:1 David thought to himself, 133 “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”
27:2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men. 27:3 David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. 134 David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 27:4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.
27:5 David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?” 27:6 So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.) 27:7 The length of time 135 that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year 136 and four months.
27:8 Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach 137 to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) 27:9 When David would attack a district, 138 he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. 27:10 When Achish would ask, “Where 139 did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jeharmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” 27:11 Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time 140 that he lived in the country of the Philistines. 27:12 So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, 141 “He is really hated 142 among his own people in 143 Israel! From now on 144 he will be my servant.”
28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their troops 145 for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.” 146 28:2 David replied to Achish, “That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!” Achish said to David, “Then I will make you my bodyguard 147 from now on.” 148
28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. 149 In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums 150 and magicians 151 from the land. 28:4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 28:5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. 152 28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim 153 nor by the prophets. 28:7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, 154 so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”
28:8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.” 155
28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed 156 the mediums and magicians 157 from the land! Why are you trapping me 158 so you can put me to death?” 28:10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 28:11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. 159 The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 28:13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen one like a god 160 coming up from the ground!” 28:14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”
Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. 28:15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me – not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”
28:16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 28:17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! 161 The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 28:18 Since you did not obey the Lord 162 and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 28:19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! 163 Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. 164 The Lord will also hand the army 165 of Israel over to the Philistines!”
28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, 166 not having eaten anything 167 all that day and night. 28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. 168 I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. 169 28:22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”
28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged 170 him to eat, so he gave in. 171 He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman 172 had a well-fed calf 173 at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. 28:25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
29:1 The Philistines assembled all their troops 174 at Aphek, while Israel camped at the spring that is in Jezreel. 29:2 When the leaders of the Philistines were passing in review at the head of their units of hundreds and thousands, 175 David and his men were passing in review in the rear with Achish.
29:3 The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? 176 I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!” 177
29:4 But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said 178 to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become 179 our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? 180 29:5 Isn’t this David, of whom they sang as they danced, 181
‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands’?”
29:6 So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you 182 serving 183 with me in the army. 184 I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion 185 of the leaders, you are not reliable. 186 29:7 So turn and leave 187 in peace. You must not do anything that the leaders of the Philistines consider improper!” 188
29:8 But David said to Achish, “What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?” 29:9 Achish replied to David, “I am convinced that you are as reliable 189 as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us in the battle.’ 29:10 So get up early in the morning along with the servants of your lord who have come with you. 190 When you get up early in the morning, as soon as it is light enough to see, leave.” 191
29:11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to return 192 to the land of the Philistines, but the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. 193 30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way.
30:3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. 194 Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 30:4 Then David and the men 195 who were with him wept loudly 196 until they could weep no more. 197 30:5 David’s two wives had been taken captive – Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 30:6 David was very upset, for the men 198 were thinking of stoning him; 199 each man grieved bitterly 200 over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.
30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!”
30:9 So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. 201 30:10 David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.
30:11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. 30:12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, 202 for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 30:13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. 30:14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.” 203 30:15 David said to him, “Can you take us down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party.”
30:16 So he took David 204 down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot 205 they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 30:17 But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. 206 30:18 David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he 207 also rescued his two wives. 30:19 There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken. 208 David brought everything back. 30:20 David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, “This is David’s plunder!”
30:21 Then David approached the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him, 209 those whom they had left at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and the people who were with him. When David approached the people, he asked how they were doing. 30:22 But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, 210 we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”
30:23 But David said, “No! You shouldn’t do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! 211 He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. 30:24 Who will listen to you in this matter? The portion of the one who went down into the battle will be the same as the portion of the one who remained with the equipment! Let their portions be the same!”
30:25 From that time onward it was a binding ordinance 212 for Israel, right up to the present time.
30:26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, “Here’s a gift 213 for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!” 30:27 The gift was for those in the following locations: 214 for those in Bethel, 215 Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; 30:28 for those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, 30:29 and Racal; for those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; 30:30 for those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach, 30:31 and Hebron; and for those in whatever other places David and his men had traveled.
31:1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 31:2 The Philistines stayed right on the heels 216 of Saul and his sons. They 217 struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 31:3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; 218 the archers 219 spotted him and wounded him severely.
31:4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it! Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come, stab me, and torture me.” But his armor bearer refused to do it, because he was very afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 31:5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. 31:6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that day.
31:7 When the men of Israel who were in the valley and across the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.
31:8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his three sons lying dead 220 on Mount Gilboa. 31:9 They cut off Saul’s 221 head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines. 31:10 They placed Saul’s armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths 222 and hung his corpse on the city wall of Beth Shan.
31:11 When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 31:12 all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night. They took Saul’s corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went 223 to Jabesh, where they burned them. 31:13 They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days.
[21:1] 1 tn Heb “trembled to meet.”
[21:2] 2 tn Heb “let not a man know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I commanded you.”
[21:2] 4 tn The Hebrew expression here refers to a particular, but unnamed, place. It occurs in the OT only here, in 2 Kgs 6:8, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz uses it to refer to Naomi’s unnamed kinsman-redeemer. A contracted form of the expression appears in Dan 8:13.
[21:3] 5 tn Heb “under your hand.”
[21:4] 7 tn Heb “have kept themselves from women” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “haven’t had sexual relations recently”; NLT “have not slept with any women recently.”
[21:12] 9 tn Heb “placed these matters in his heart.”
[21:13] 10 tn Heb “in their eyes.”
[21:13] 11 tn Heb “in their hand.”
[22:2] 13 tn Heb “bitter of soul.”
[22:4] 16 tn Heb “all the days.”
[22:6] 17 tn Heb “and Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were known.”
[22:7] 18 tc The MT has “to all of you.” If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have “and.” A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.
[22:7] 19 tn Heb “officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred.”
[22:8] 20 tn Heb “uncovers my ear.”
[22:13] 21 tn Heb “by giving.”
[22:13] 22 tn Heb “rises up against.”
[22:15] 23 tn Heb “set a matter against.”
[22:15] 24 tn Heb “small or great.”
[22:17] 26 tn Heb “their hand is.”
[22:17] 27 tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”
[22:18] 28 tc The number is confused in the Greek
[22:22] 29 tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”
[22:23] 30 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.
[23:5] 31 tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”
[23:6] 32 tn Heb “an ephod went down in his hand.”
[23:7] 33 tn The MT reading (“God has alienated him into my hand”) in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word נִכַּר (nikkar, “alienated”) to סִכַּר (sikkar, “he has shut up [i.e., delivered]”). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has “God has sold him into my hands,” apparently reading מַכַר (makar, “sold”) for MT’s נִכַּר. The present translation is a rather free interpretation.
[23:7] 34 tn Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributive: “two barred gates.”
[23:8] 35 tn Heb “So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men.”
[23:9] 36 tn Heb “Saul was planning the evil against him.”
[23:13] 38 tn Heb “they went where they went.”
[23:14] 39 tn Heb “all the days.”
[23:14] 40 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:16] 42 tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”
[23:20] 43 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul.”
[23:22] 44 tn Heb “know and see.” The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
[23:22] 45 tn Heb “his place where his foot is.”
[23:23] 46 tn Heb “established.”
[23:23] 47 tn Heb “I will search him out.”
[23:25] 48 tn Heb “to search.”
[23:28] 49 sn The name הַמַּחְלְקוֹת סֶלַע (Sela Hammakhleqoth) probably means “Rock of Divisions” in Hebrew, in the sense that Saul and David parted company there (cf. NAB “Gorge of Divisions”; TEV “Separation Hill”). This etymology assumes that the word derives from the Hebrew root II חלק (khlq, “to divide”; HALOT 322 s.v. II חלק). However, there is another root I חלק, which means “to be smooth or slippery” (HALOT 322 s.v. I חלק). If the word is taken from this root, the expression would mean “Slippery Rock.”
[23:29] 50 sn Beginning with 23:29, the verse numbers through 24:22 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 23:29 ET = 24:1 HT, 24:1 ET = 24:2 HT, 24:2 ET = 24:3 HT, etc., through 24:22 ET = 24:23 HT. With 25:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[24:2] 51 tn Heb “to search [for].”
[24:2] 52 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[24:2] 53 tn Or “the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats,” if this expression is understood as a place name (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV).
[24:3] 54 tn Heb “to cover his feet,” an idiom (euphemism) for relieving oneself (cf. NAB “to ease nature”).
[24:4] 55 tn Heb “is good in your eyes.”
[24:5] 56 tn Heb “the heart of David struck him.”
[24:10] 61 tn Heb “it had pity,” apparently with the understood subject being “my eye,” in accordance with a common expression.
[24:11] 63 tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
[24:16] 64 tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”
[24:17] 65 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
[24:21] 66 tn Heb “by the
[24:22] 68 tn Heb “and David swore an oath to Saul.”
[25:1] 69 tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.
[25:3] 71 sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.
[25:3] 72 tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”
[25:5] 73 tn Heb “David”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun has been used in the translation.
[25:5] 75 tn Heb “and David said to the young men.”
[25:5] 76 tn Heb “and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace.”
[25:6] 77 tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).
[25:8] 78 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[25:8] 79 tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.
[25:8] 80 tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”
[25:12] 81 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:15] 83 tn Heb “all the days we walked about with them when we were.”
[25:17] 84 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
[25:17] 85 tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.”
[25:18] 87 sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.
[25:22] 89 tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek
[25:22] 90 tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.”
[25:25] 91 tn Heb “and foolishness is with him.”
[25:25] 92 tn Heb “my lord’s servants, whom you sent.”
[25:27] 94 tn Heb “are walking at the feet of.”
[25:29] 95 tn Cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “bundle”; NLT “treasure pouch.”
[25:30] 96 tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.”
[25:31] 98 tn Heb “and this will not be for you for staggering and for stumbling of the heart of my lord.”
[25:31] 99 tn Heb “and the
[25:32] 100 tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).
[25:35] 103 tn Heb “your voice.”
[25:35] 104 tn Heb “I have lifted up your face.”
[25:36] 105 tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”
[25:36] 106 tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”
[25:37] 107 tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”
[25:37] 108 tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.
[25:39] 109 tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.”
[25:39] 110 tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the
[25:41] 111 tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.”
[25:42] 112 tn Heb “going at her feet.”
[26:1] 114 tn Heb “upon the face of.”
[26:4] 116 tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.”
[26:8] 117 tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.
[26:8] 118 tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”
[26:9] 119 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
[26:16] 120 tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”
[26:16] 121 tn Heb “you are sons of death.”
[26:18] 122 tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?”
[26:19] 123 tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
[26:19] 124 tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”
[26:20] 125 tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.
[26:21] 126 tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”
[26:21] 127 tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”
[26:23] 128 tn Heb “and the
[26:24] 129 tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
[26:24] 130 tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the
[26:25] 132 tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.
[27:1] 133 tn Heb “said to his heart.”
[27:3] 134 tn Heb “a man and his house.”
[27:7] 135 tn Heb “the number of the days.”
[27:7] 136 tn Heb “days.” The plural of the word “day” is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
[27:8] 137 tn Heb “from where you come.”
[27:10] 139 tc The translation follows the LXX (ἐπι τίνα, epi tina) and Vulgate (in quem) which assume אֶל מִי (’el mi, “to whom”) rather than the MT אַל (’al, “not”). The MT makes no sense here. Another possibility is that the text originally had אַן (’an, “where”), which has been distorted in the MT to אַל. Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and the Targum, which have “where.”
[27:11] 140 tn Heb “all the days.”
[27:12] 142 tn Heb “he really stinks.” The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul’s hatred of him.
[27:12] 143 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[27:12] 144 tn Heb “permanently.”
[28:1] 145 tn Heb “their camps.”
[28:1] 146 tc The translation follows the LXX (εἰς πόλεμον, eis polemon) and a Qumran
[28:2] 147 tn Heb “the guardian for my head.”
[28:2] 148 tn Heb “all the days.”
[28:3] 149 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
[28:3] 150 tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).
[28:3] 151 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
[28:5] 152 tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”
[28:6] 153 sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
[28:7] 154 tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.
[28:8] 155 tn Heb “Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you.”
[28:9] 156 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
[28:9] 157 tn See the note at v. 3.
[28:12] 159 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
[28:13] 160 tn Heb “gods.” The modifying participle (translated “coming up”) is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.
[28:17] 161 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
[28:18] 162 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the
[28:19] 163 tn Heb “And the
[28:19] 164 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”
[28:20] 166 tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”
[28:21] 168 tn Heb “listened to your voice.”
[28:21] 169 tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”
[28:23] 170 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[28:23] 171 tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”
[28:24] 172 sn Masoretic
[28:24] 173 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
[29:2] 175 tn Heb “passing by with respect to hundreds and thousands.” This apparently describes a mustering of troops for the purpose of inspection and readiness.
[29:3] 176 tn Heb “these days or these years.”
[29:3] 177 tn Heb “from the day of his falling [away] until this day.”
[29:4] 178 tn Heb “and the leaders of the Philistines said.”
[29:4] 179 tn Heb “so that he might not become.”
[29:4] 180 tn Or perhaps, “our men.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.e.
[29:5] 181 tn Heb “in dances.”
[29:6] 182 tn Heb “it is good in my eyes.” Cf. v. 7.
[29:6] 183 tn Heb “your going forth and your coming in.” The expression is a merism.
[29:7] 188 tn Heb “and you must not do evil in the eyes of the leaders of the Philistines.”
[29:9] 189 tn Heb “I know that you are good in my eyes.”
[29:10] 190 tc The LXX and a couple of Old Latin
[29:10] 191 tn Heb “when you get up early in the morning and you have light, go.”
[29:11] 192 tc Heb “to go in the morning to return.” With the exception of Origen and the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek tradition lacks the phrase “in the morning.” The Syriac Peshitta also omits it.
[30:1] 193 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[30:3] 194 tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”
[30:4] 196 tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”
[30:4] 197 tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”
[30:6] 199 tn Heb “said to stone him.”
[30:6] 200 tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”
[30:9] 201 tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.
[30:12] 202 tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”
[30:14] 203 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
[30:16] 204 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[30:16] 205 tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”
[30:17] 206 tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”
[30:18] 207 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:19] 208 tn Heb “there was nothing missing to them, from the small even unto the great, and unto sons and daughters, and from loot even unto all which they had taken for themselves.”
[30:21] 209 tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“him”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:22] 210 tc Heb “with me.” The singular is used rather than the plural because the group is being treated as a singular entity, in keeping with Hebrew idiom. It is not necessary to read “with us,” rather than the MT “with me,” although the plural can be found here in a few medieval Hebrew
[30:23] 211 tc This clause is difficult in the MT. The present translation accepts the text as found in the MT and understands this clause to be elliptical, with an understood verb such as “look” or “consider.” On the other hand, the LXX seems to reflect a slightly different Hebrew text, reading “after” where the MT has “my brothers.” The Greek translation yields the following translation: “You should not do this after the
[30:25] 212 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.
[30:26] 213 tn Heb “blessing.”
[30:27] 214 tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[30:27] 215 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[31:2] 216 tn Heb “stuck close after.”
[31:2] 217 tn Heb “the Philistines.”
[31:3] 218 tn Heb “and the battle was heavy against Saul.”
[31:3] 219 tn Heb “the shooters, men with the bow.”
[31:9] 221 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).
[31:10] 222 sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
[31:12] 223 tc The translation follows the MT, which vocalizes the verb as a Qal. The LXX, however, treats the verb as a Hiphil, “they brought.”
