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

I Samuel 25, David and Abigail

David is in exile, anointed king by Samuel but chased by Saul.

1 Samuel 25:1-3, A wealthy Calebite

Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David moved down into the Desert of Maon.

A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

In the desert of Maon is a wealthy Calebite (a descendant of Joshua's friend Caleb, see Numbers 13) who has a wife who is both intelligent and beautiful. The statement about the wife is typical foreshadowing. We will hear little about her for a bit and then suddenly she will become the main character in this story.

Maon is in the Hebrew Hills (around Mount Hebron), south of Jerusalem, in what is now the West Bank.

The Hebrew word nabal (נָבָל) means "fool". Is this the man's real name? Or a play on words?

1 Samuel 25:4-8, David's request of Nabal

While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. Say to him: `Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!

"`Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.'"

David, on the run, makes requests of a wealthy man in Carmel. Wealth here, as in much of the ancient near east, means large flocks of sheep and goats.

1 Samuel 25:9-13, Rude response

When David's men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David's name. Then they waited.

Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?"

David's men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word.

David said to his men, "Put on your swords!" So they put on their swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

Nabal responds with rudeness and treats David's request as that of a renegade servant, indeed a runaway slave. He may be aware of David's flight from King Saul. 

David responds with anger, and armed men.

1 Samuel 25:14-17, Servant runs to Abigail

One of the servants told Nabal's wife Abigail: "David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him."

A servant of Nabal warns Nabal's wife and recounts the truth of David's generosity.

1 Samuel 25:18-22, Intervention

Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. David had just said, "It's been useless--all my watching over this fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!"

The wife of the wealthy man intervenes, collecting a feast and a caravan to take it to David.

The Hebrew phrase in verse 22 gently translated "one male" by the NIV is really a crude phrase. The King James Version more accurately translates the two Hebrew words mashtin bekir as "one who pisseth against the wall". (The word mashtin comes from shathan (שָׁתַן), meaning "to urinate." The word qir (קִיר) is a masculine noun for "wall" and so bekir, means "against the wall".)  This phrase will be used six times in the Old Testament. It appears here in verses 22 and 34; it will also appear in 1 Kings 14:10, 1 Kings 16:11, 1 Kings 21:21,and 2 Kings 9:8. In each case, it describes males who are about to be killed. (The website gotquestions.org has this article on the phrase.) Since dogs also urinate against the side of a building, this phrase suggests that the men about to be killed are dogs, not real humans.

1 Samuel 25:23-31, Abigail's plea

When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name--his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent.

"Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you.

"Please forgive your servant's offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD's battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.

"When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant."

Abigail begs forgiveness for her husband's sin and begs David not to waste his time or conscience in bloodshed. She labels the potential murder of the Nabal's people as a "staggering burden" on David's conscience and warns him -- whom she identified as a righteous man -- away from that horrible sin. At the end of her plea, she suggests that David remember her. Abigail, both smart and beautiful, may be making a prescient suggestion.

1 Samuel 25:32-35, Forgiveness

David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.

"Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak."

Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, "Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request."

 

David recognizes Abigail's wisdom and integrity and rewards her by granting her request. Her husband and family are safe at this time.

1 Samuel 25:36-42, Drunken Nabal

When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until daybreak. Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone.

About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal's wrongdoing down on his own head." Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, "David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife."

She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, "Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master's servants." Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went with David's messengers and became his wife.

Nabal's greed and rudeness are followed by his death a few days later, possibly from a heart attack or stroke. The thoughtful heroine Abigail is rewarded with marriage to David (and later, a son -- see 2 Samuel 3:2-3.)

1 Samuel 25:43-44, Other wives

David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives. But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Paltiel son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

The story of Abigail leads the narrator to mention other wives of David. Sadly, his first wife, Michal, daughter of Saul, had been given to someone else by her father.

Some Random Thoughts

It has been common, throughout history, for humans, as they prepared to kill other humans, to find ways to rationalize their killing by denigrating their opponents, viewing them as less than human. In this chapter, David, as he prepares his men to kill Nabal's men, uses a derogatory phrase that equates his opponents to dogs. We need to be alert to these dehumanizing phrases. In Nazi Germany, Jews were denigrated as subhuman. 

In my day, in my country, some label my immigrant and refugee friends as "criminals and rapist and murders." They build up a campaign of fear and dehumanization so that people can more easily ignore the abuse of fellow human beings. Sadly, some of my Christian friends, who correctly identify the child in the womb as human, are then blind to the dehumanization of immigrants.

First published August 19, 2023; updated August 19, 2026

I Samuel 24, A Test in a Cave

David continues to run from Saul.

1 Samuel 24:1-4, Saul vulnerable

After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. 

David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, `I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" 

Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

 

David's men are hiding in the caves among the crags. Saul has, unknowingly, made himself very vulnerable to David and his men. David's men say, "Yes, this is your chance!  It is given by God!"

1 Samuel 24:5-7, Conscience-stricken

Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

 

David's conscience bothers him after the mere act of cutting off a corner of Saul's robe! He makes sure to allow Saul to escape.

David, aware that he has been anointed king, still recognizes that Saul is the current anointed. 

1 Samuel 24:8-15, Verbal confrontation

Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, `David is bent on harming you'? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, `I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.'

See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.

As the old saying goes, `From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you. "Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand."

David points out Saul's vulnerability and his own restraint in the cave. He uses this to call out Saul's foolish hatred, chasing a flea from a dead dog. A point is being made to Saul: your obsession is destroying you.

David's words remind Saul that YHWH is watching all of this.

1 Samuel 24:16-22, Saul mollified

When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me.

"When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family."

So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Saul concedes David's point and asks for protection for his own family. Then Saul abandons the chase. Implied in Saul's words are recognition that David has indeed been anointed to be a future king.

First published August 18, 2023; updated August 18, 2026

I Samuel 23, Saul Pursues David

David is on the run from King Saul.

1 Samuel 23:1-3, Keilah attacked

When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" 

The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!"

YHWH tells David to go and save the town of Keilah. But his men are aware that even in Judah they are afraid of the Philistines. How much more in the town of Keilah, which apparently is outside of Judah.

1 Samuel 23:4-6, Keilah saved

Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand." 

So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

David is probably inquiring of God via the priest's ephod with with the Umin and Thummin. Commentators believe that this process gives a binary Yes/No response so David possibly asks two questions, "Should I fight the Philistines?" and "Should I go to Keilah?"

David, guided by YHWH, is successful at Keilah. We note, again, that Saul is wasting his army by attacking David; here it is David, not Saul, who attacks the Philistine oppressors.

1 Samuel 23:7-12, Saul pursues David to Keilah

Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, "God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars." And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod." David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." 

And the LORD said, "He will."

Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?" 

And the LORD said, "They will."

David is worried about being trapped and YHWH assures him that indeed he will be. Again we have a sequence of questions with a binary Yes/No answer.

1 Samuel 23:13-14, Abandoning Keilah

So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands. 

David moves on from Keilah. Saul continues to hunt for him, even though David is a powerful force against the Philistines.

1 Samuel 23:15-18, Covenant with Jonathan

While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

 

Jonathan, supportive of David, is able to find him. Jonathan also recognizes God calling of David to be a future king and volunteers to be second (subordinate) to David in his reign.

Despite the anger of Saul, David and Jonathan make a covenant together. 

1 Samuel 23:19-23, Crafty David

The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? Now, O king, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for handing him over to the king."

Saul replied, "The LORD bless you for your concern for me. Go and make further preparation. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah."

Saul asks for help finding David's hiding places. Since David has slipped away before, Saul asks for a precise location for David.

1 Samuel 23:24-29

So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land." Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth.

 

And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

David continues to elude Saul. In this last incident, probably in a pincer movement to trap David, at the last moment Saul is called away by a Philistine raid.

Saul has an army of several thousand men and as before, instead of confronting the Philistines, is wasting them on a search for David.

(NIV footnotes: In verse 28,  Sela Hammahlekoth means "rock of parting.")

First published August 17, 2023; updated August 17, 2026