I Samuel 31, Death of Saul

David and his men have defeated the Amelikites and recaptured the people and goods taken from them. This has all occurred while the Philistines marched on Saul. We now return to a report of that battle.

1 Samuel 31:1-5, Saul and his sons killed

Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.

Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me." But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.

The predicted defeat of Saul occurs. Saul does not want to be captured and tortured by the Philistines and so, after his armor-bearer refuses to kill him, Saul commits suicide by falling on his sword. His armor-bearer joins him in death.

1 Samuel 31:6-10, Body hung up

So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.

When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.

They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

The Philistines overwhelm the Israelites and devastate the Israelite army. They kill Saul and his sons. They display Saul's body and armor at their temple. They hang the bodies of Saul's sons on a wall.

1 Samuel 31:11-13, Dignity in burial

When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men journeyed through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

Saul's first act as king was to save the people of Jabesh Gilead. (See 1 Samuel 11.) They do not forget that. Their soldiers go to the town where the bodies of Saul and his sons are displayed.  They take down the body and give them a dignified burial (which involves first burning the bodies.)

The first king of Israel has died. His kingdom has had some improvements over the days of the judges, but there are still many failures. The first king will be followed, however, by Israel's greatest king, one promised to have an eternal line.

The death of Saul and the impending reign of David closes out this first half of the scroll of Samuel.

First published August 26, 2023; updated August 26, 2026

I Samuel 30, Ziklag

David has been told by the Philistine commander to return home, to Ziklag, where his family is residing in exile.

1 Samuel 30:1-5, Raid by Amalekites

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.

A catastrophe has occurred -- the Amelikites have taken advantage of David and his men joining the Philistine army and have sacked Ziklag and taken captive everyone in it.

1 Samuel 30:6-8, Ahinoam and Abigail captured!

David's two wives had been captured--Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" 

"Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."

 

David's wives have also been captured. Other men have lost wives and children and are angry at David. David calls for the "ephod" of the priests and uses it to inquire of YHWH. The answer he gets is to pursue the Amalekite raiders.

1 Samuel 30:9-10, Fatigue

David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit.

David's men have been on the march for some time. Two hundred men are completely exhausted and stop on one side of the ravine while the rest cross over and continue the pursuit.

1 Samuel 30:11-15, An Egyptian slave escapes

They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat-- part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" 

He said, "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag."

David asked him, "Can you lead me down to this raiding party?" 

He answered, "Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them."

In the hurried pursuit, the soldiers find an Egyptian who has information. He is willing to share the information if David's men will protect him.

The Amalekites have captured the Israelites in order to use them as slaves. The sick, abandoned Egyptian, who has no water or food, exemplifies the brutality of the Amalekites with their slaves.

1 Samuel 30:16-20, Amalekites defeated

He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled.

David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.

He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, "This is David's plunder."

 

With the help of the Egyptian guide, David's men overwhelm the larger Amalekite force. Only four hundred Amalekites escape.

1 Samuel 30:21-25, Exhausted squad defended

Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them.

But all the evil men and troublemakers among David's followers said, "Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go."

David replied, "No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike."

David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

 

David defends the exhausted two hundred who stayed behind and this grace becomes a standard military statute.

1 Samuel 30:26-31, Present to Judah

When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, "Here is a present for you from the plunder of the LORD's enemies." He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.

David sends gifts to the people of Judah, even though he has been hiding in the region controlled by the Philistines. David is still loyal to Israel, despite residing in the region of the Philistines.

First published August 25, 2023; updated August 25, 2026

I Samuel 29, David Turned Away by Achish

Saul has consulted a medium who tells him that he and his sons are about to die.

1 Samuel 29:1-5, David's role questioned

The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.

The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" 

Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him."

But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favor than by taking the heads of our own men? Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: "`Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

 

The other Philistine commanders are suspicious about David's loyalty. (For good reason.) 

1 Samuel 29:6-11, Achish makes a requesst

So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you. Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers."

"But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"

Achish answered, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, `He must not go up with us into battle.' Now get up early, along with your master's servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light."

So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

David is sent away by Achish (who comes across as a fairly honest leader.) This will allow David to avoid any confrontation with Saul and instead David can go raid a few more villages.

What would have happened if Achish had not sent David away? It is not clear whose side David is on. But his actions in previous chapters, his devotion to Saul even when running from him (and even his psalms from this time) indicate that he will not side with the Philistines nor worship Philistine gods. So Achish's generals are probably right -- David at the rear of their army is a threat.

First published August 24, 2023; updated August 24, 2026

King David, An Introduction to 2 Samuel

At the end of the book of Genesis, Jacob and seventy members of his family migrate to Egypt. Centuries later, a nation led by Moses leaves Egypt, guided by YHWH, the One God of Creation who has chosen this nation to represent Him. YHWH feeds the nation in the desert, implements a covenant and guides them into Canaan. In Canaan, Joshua leads the nation to a mostly successful conquest but at the death of Joshua, the nation is still in conflict with various tribes of Canaanites. The book of Judges describes the chaos that follows. That book ends with a disorganized and decadent collection of tribes fighting with both outsiders and themselves.

The scroll of Samuel, in the Hebrew TaNaKh describes the passage from chaotic tribal disputes to the reign of King Saul and then to the dramatic reign of the charismatic king David. Eventually the scroll of Samuel was separated into two parts, First and Second Samuel.  First Samuel covers the transition from leadership by the judge-prophet Samuel to the first kingdom, the reign of King Saul. As Saul's reign decays, the shepherd-poet David rises in power and influence. The book of I Samuel ends with the death of Saul while David waits in the wings.

The second half of the scroll of Samuel tells the story of David's reign. The first half of 2 Samuel describes David's reign as a powerful poet-warrior, a man of humility, devoted to YHWH. But as David gains power, his humility and devotion wane and his reign enters a time of moral decay and strife. This king, one who seeks God above all else, commits adultery and then covers up his affair by killing one of his soldiers. After that event, his palace and reign fall into family strife and civil war.

Historians believe David's death occurred about 970 BC. (See this Wikipedia page on the Kings of Israel and Judah.) The scroll of Samuel (1 & 2 Samuel) then covers about a century (1070-970 BC) in the history of the young nation of Israel.

Outline

2 Samuel, the second half of the scroll of Samuel, covers David's reign in the first twenty chapters and then ends with a four chapter epilogue. In the epilogue is a song of David, a beautiful bookend to Hannah's song of I Samuel 2.

The height of the 2 Samuuel occurs in chapter 7, where God promises to create an eternal dynasty in the line of David. At this time Israel is centered (finally) in Jerusalem (which has just been conquered by David) and there are plans to build a temple (eventually accomplished by his son, Solomon) and the twelve tribes are united.  

Shortly after this, however, David's humility is replaced by kingly arrogance; the humble shepherd enjoys the power and riches of being king and with that arrogance begins a fall. In chapter 11, David stays home from war, brings into the palace the wife of one of his leading soldiers and has an affair with her. When she announces she is pregnant, David kills her husband and then marries her. This corruption cannot be kept secret and the effects of these sins ripples through David's family, leading eventually to civil war. At the end of chapter 20, David has recovered from most of these conflicts and remains king.

Chapters 21-24 form an epilogue of additional stories about David: two stories of conflict, two worship songs of David and two accounts of the "mighty men" he drew to himself. (These are set up in a chiastic structure, A B C C' B' A'.) At the end of this book, we are then ready for the scroll of Kings, which begins with David's death and then covers some four centuries of kings that followed David.

Problems and Questions

Rabbinical tradition gives three authors for the scroll of Samuel, attributing to Samuel everything up to the account of his death and then the remainder to the prophets Gad and Nathan. (See I Chronicles 29:29-30 for support for this hypothesis.)  It is likely that the final scroll was completed by a later editor.

As in previous books, there are some questions on the Old Testament use of large numbers.  (I summarize what I know of that in the Sunday essay, The Problem of Large Numbers in the Old Testament.)

The details described in the scroll of Samuel occurred over three thousand years ago. They were probably originally written down in paleo-Hebrew and then, after the Babylonian captivity, copied in what we now call biblical Hebrew. The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint copies of the scroll differ significantly in various places. A scroll of Samuel in the Qumran Caves gives some insight into these discrepancies.

Resources and References

My practice is to read through the text from the New International Version (NIV), copied into the blog and italicized in blue.  At the head of each blue paragraph of text I place a short title; after the text I place my thoughts or comments in black.  I begin this process with my own reactions and thoughts and then supplement these comments with gleanings from a commentary or two.

The real goal of this blog is to force me to read every verse thoughtfully. I hope that you, too, read the passages thoughtfully!   Feel free to disagree -- or to react in other ways! I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if you wish!

(In my Substack version of this blog, the colors do not come through but the text of the scripture is set aside in bold print.)

For the book of II Samuel I have found two commentaries helpful. 

• Robert Alter has an excellent and enjoyable translation and commentary called The David Story.  
• I have also used a commentary by Ronald F. Youngblood found in the third volume of the Expositor's Bible Commentary.

Both of these sources cover both 1 and 2 Samuel. In addition, in the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentar on 2 Samuel.  (The Easy English Bible commentaries are easy to read, with deliberately simple language intended for those for whom English is a second language. The Old Testament text is included in the commentary.) 

In addition to these resources, there is a Wikipedia article on the scroll of Samuel and an online article from the Jewish Encyclopedia. A Bible Project video is here.

The book of Second Samuel is the second of four books on the kings of Israel. It focuses almost exclusively on the dramatic reign of David, of his kingdom, political intrigue and worship. His reign in many ways represents the best of Jewish culture.

First published August 13, 2023, updated August 23, 2026

I Samuel 28, The Witch of Endor

David is hiding from Saul, living among the Philistines.

1 Samuel 28:1-2, Invitation from Achish

In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army."

David said, "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do." 

Achish replied, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life."

David has fooled Achish into believing that he, David, is fully supporting of the Philistines. He is unaware of David's loyalty to Israel and David's response, although appearing to be an agreement, may be subject to interpretation.

1 Samuel 28:3-6, Philistines assemble at Shunem

Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

 

Saul seems to recognize that his time is running short and is increasingly frightened. His paranoia and vacillation are getting worse and worse. 

The passage mentions three different supernatural means of hearing from God: by way of dreams, or utterances from prophets or via the Urim/Thummim of the priest's ephod. In this case, all Saul gets is silence. And so he seeks a fourth means, one explicitly prohibited in the Mosaic Covenant.

1 Samuel 28:7-10, The witch of Endor

Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her." 

"There is one in Endor," they said.

So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. "Consult a spirit for me," he said, "and bring up for me the one I name."

But the woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?"

Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this."

It is Saul who has gotten rid of the witches and mediums. Now he seeks these mediums and here has to reassure the woman that she will not come to harm. (She may fear that he is an agent of King Saul.)

Robert Alter comments that the Jewish Midrash, long ago, pointed out the hypocrisy of Saul seeking out a medium (prohibited by the covenant law, Deuteronomy 18:-13) while swearing by the name of YHWH in doing so. Surely this profanes the name of YHWH, violating (among other things) the Third Commandment. 

1 Samuel 28:11-14, "Bring up Samuel"

Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" "

Bring up Samuel," he said.

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" 

The woman said, "I see a spirit coming up out of the ground."

"What does he look like?" he asked. 

"An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said. 

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

Upon seeing the spirit, the woman somehow knows that the man making the request is Saul and is, of course, frightened. Saul brushes aside her worries and asks for the man to be identified. When he learns the spirit is wearing a robe, Saul knows it is Samuel. Samuel probably wore a robe of some type since his mother Hannah gave him one as a child. It was Samuel's robe that Saul tore in 1 Samuel 15:27. Now the robe is apparently a form of identification.

1 Samuel 28:15-20, Samuel's appearance

Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" 

"I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors--to David.  Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today.

The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."

Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

 

One looking like Samuel appears (brought up from the grave) and says, "Tomorrow you will die. You and yours sons will join me." This is Saul's greatest fear. It is possible that this is even brought on by Saul's disobedience in seeking a witch.

1 Samuel 28:21-25, Last meal

When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way."

He refused and said, "I will not eat." 

But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch. The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. 

That same night they got up and left.

Saul is traumatized and the woman insists that he and his men eat. They do eat and then leave. Saul is going to his death and knows it.

Some Hebrew Vocabulary

The Hebrew word alah 

עָלָה

is a verb meaning "to ascend" or "to arise." It is used in verse 15, above, to describe the appearance of the image of Samuel. In the culture of the ANE and of the Old Testament, the image would have ascended from the grave, from Sheol.

First published August 23, 2023; updated August 22, 2026

I Samuel 27, David Flees to the Philistines

David has once again convinced Saul that he, David, is innocent. But Saul routinely undergoes a bout of sociopathic jealousy and is then after David again.

I Samuel 27:1-4, Escape to Gath

But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand." So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath.

David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

 

David, correctly aware that Saul's repentance is only temporary, seeks a more permanent solution in Gath.  He takes an army of 600 men with him.

This is a low point in David's life and a somewhat treasonous action. In the previous chapter, David accuses Saul of denying his inheritance in Israel and sending off to worship other gods. It is not clear, in this chapter, where David's true loyalties lie, as David walks a thin line between Saul and Achish.

Robert Alter argues that regardless of one's view of the Old Testament, this passage makes a strong argument for the historicity of David. Were David a mythological figure, we would not hear of his sojourn in the enemy region of the Philistines.

I Samuel 27:5-7, Ziklag

Then David said to Achish, "If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"

So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since.

David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

 

Achish thinks David is a refugee from Saul and is opposed to Israel. He lets David live in Ziklag. The exact location of Ziklag is unknown; Alter suggests that it is near Beersheba, within the control of the Philistines but on the border of the region claimed by Israel.

I Samuel 27:6-12, Raids of David

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

When Achish asked, "Where did you go raiding today?" David would say, "Against the Negev of Judah" or "Against the Negev of Jerahmeel" or "Against the Negev of the Kenites." He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, "They might inform on us and say, `This is what David did.'" And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory.

Achish trusted David and said to himself, "He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever."

David and his men continue to raid Philistine encampments but keep the raids secret, apparently by killing everyone they find. David works hard to keep up the pretense of being a Philistine.

First published August 22, 2023; updated August 21, 2026

I Samuel 26, Another Test for David

Saul continues to pursue David, despite earlier promises to leave him alone,

I Samuel 26:1-5, Pursuit to the hill of Hakilah

The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?" So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David. Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. 

When he saw that Saul had followed him there, he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived. Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him.

David knows that Saul has pursed him to his hideout and manages to spy on Saul's encampment.

I Samuel 26:6-11, Slipping into camp

David then asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, "Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?" 

"I'll go with you," said Abishai. 

So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won't strike him twice."

But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let's go."

David asks two men (one a Hittite, the other a relative, brother of Joab) if they will go with him into Saul's camp. Abishai, the relative, agrees and the two slip into Saul's camp, where they find Saul asleep, unprotected. Abishai says, "One thrust from my spear is all that is needed. I won't need a second thrust!" The imagery is strong, to pin Saul to the ground like an insect pinned to a board. Saul has twice thrown this spear at David and missed; Abishai promises not to miss!

According to 1 Chronicles 2:13-16, Zeruiah is David's sister and so Abishai and Joab are nephews of David.

But David says, "No, I am not in charge here.  Let YHWH do it."

I Samuel 26:12-16, "You didn't guard your king!"

So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep. Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them.

He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"

Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"

David said, "You're a man, aren't you? And who is like you in Israel? Why didn't you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord the king. What you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, you and your men deserve to die, because you did not guard your master, the LORD's anointed. Look around you. Where are the king's spear and water jug that were near his head?"

Previously, when Saul was vulnerable, David took part of his robe. Now David takes the spear and water jug. David then accuses Abner of leaving his king unprotected. 

I Samuel 26: 17-20, Why pursue David?

Saul recognized David's voice and said, "Is that your voice, David my son?" 

David replied, "Yes it is, my lord the king." And he added, "Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of?

"Now let my lord the king listen to his servant's words. If the LORD has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, men have done it, may they be cursed before the LORD! They have now driven me from my share in the LORD's inheritance and have said, `Go, serve other gods.'

Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea--as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

David makes Saul aware of Saul's vulnerability and, once again, of David's integrity. David calls on YHWH to be the judge between them. As before, he identifies himself as a mere flea. As before, he challenges Saul for wasting his time hunting fleas. Or partridges.

David has been repeatedly rejected by Saul. For David, the rejection by the king of Israel denies him the inheritance given by YHWH and is, in effect, a command to go serve other gods. It is the most devastating humiliation for a soldier who has tried to defend Israel at every stage.

Alter points out the play on words here. The Hebrew word for "partridge" (qore, קֹרֵא) is a homonym for the Hebrew "to call out" (qara,  קָרָא.) David answers "who calls out?" with "a partridge", using the same consonants.

I Samuel 26:21-25, "I have sinned""

Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly.

"Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble."

Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph." 

So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

Once again, like Pharaoh long before him, Saul repents. Again. For a short time.

Despite Saul's promises, David is aware this cannot continue.

First published August 21, 2023; updated August 20, 2026