I Samuel 20, Arrows in a Field

Erratic Saul has tried several times to kill David.

1 Samuel 20:1-4, "A step from death"

Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?"

"Never!" Jonathan replied. "You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It's not so!"

But David took an oath and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, `Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.' Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death."

Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you."

David is frustrated by Saul's erratic behavior and attempts to kill him. Jonathan is skeptical that his father will kill David but agrees to help.

1 Samuel 20:5-11, A test at the New Moon festival

So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him, `David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.'

If he says, `Very well,' then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 

As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?"

"Never!" Jonathan said. "If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?"

David asked, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"

"Come," Jonathan said, "let's go out into the field." So they went there together.

Jonathan assures David of his commitment to protecting David.  Jonathan hatches a plan, a code, in order to communicate Saul's current mood to David.

1 Samuel 20:12-17, A covenant

Then Jonathan said to David: "By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. 

May the LORD be with you as he has been with my father. But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family--not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth."

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the LORD call David's enemies to account." And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

The two friends express their commitment to each other. Jonathan, aware of David's increasing rise in fortune, asks David to protect his family.

1 Samuel 20:18-23, "Come here/go away"

Then Jonathan said to David: "Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target.

Then I will send a boy and say, `Go, find the arrows.' If I say to him, `Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,' then come, because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger.

But if I say to the boy, `Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then you must go, because the LORD has sent you away. And about the matter you and I discussed--remember, the LORD is witness between you and me forever."

Jonathan's plan is a simple one and easy to remember. "If I say to the boy, 'come back my way', then you are to come back. But if I say, 'Go away further' then you are to go away."

1 Samuel 20:24-29, David is missed

So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.

Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, "Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean--surely he is unclean." But the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"

Jonathan answered, "David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. He said, `Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table."

When the king has his evening meal, the attendants join him. Some type of uncleanliness is suggested for the first absence but Saul finally asks after the second absence.

1 Samuel 20:30-34, Anger

Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

"Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father.

But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father's shameful treatment of David.

 

Saul is angry. He makes accusations against Jonathan's mother in his anger and throws a spear at Jonathan. Jonathan's questions are appropriate but do nothing to calm his father down.

In Saul's attack on Jonathan, he makes derogatory statements about Jonathan's mother. The phrase translated "shame of the mother who bore you" in the NIV is literally "shame of your mother's nakedness." (See this interlinear text.) Insulting a man by making an abusive statement about his mother is a human practice that is at least three thousand years old!

1 Samuel 20:35-40, "Beyond you!"

In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him,

and he said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?" Then he shouted, "Hurry! Go quickly! Don't stop!" The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. (The boy knew nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 

Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, "Go, carry them back to town."

Jonathan has signaled that David is to leave. But Jonathan has an opportunity to send the boy away and does so. This leaves Jonathan free to meet briefly with David.

1 Samuel 20:41-42, Friends embrace

After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side [of the stone] and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most.

Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, `The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

Two friends embrace and part. Both have pushed Israel, under Saul, to greatness, but Saul's reign (and possibly his mind) are decaying.

David and Jonathan will meet one more time.

First published August 14, 2023; updated August 13, 2026

I Samuel 19, The King's Jealousy

David has grown in popularity, as he successfully battles the Philistines.

1 Samuel 19:1-3, Saul recruits Jonathan and attendants

Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David and warned him, "My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning; go into hiding and stay there. I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are. I'll speak to him about you and will tell you what I find out."

Saul attempts to recruit Jonathan and other attendants, but Jonathan is committed to David.

1 Samuel 19:4-6, Jonathan reasons with his father

Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king do wrong to his servant David; he has not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine. The LORD won a great victory for all Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why then would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason?"

Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: "As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death."

Jonathan convinces his father that he has no reason to be upset with David. This wins the day -- this time.

1 Samuel 19:7-10, Evil returns

So Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation. He brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.

Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him. But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

Another victory brings another bout of jealousy. David is forced to flee.

1 Samuel 19:11-17, Michal defends David

Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.

Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats' hair at the head. When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, "He is ill."

Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him." But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats' hair.

Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" 

Michal told him, "He said to me, `Let me get away. Why should I kill you?'"

David's wife, Michal, warns David and gets him to flee. She then prepares a ruse to keep Saul's agents busy. She first claims that David is ill and the men go back to Saul. Saul, however, insists that if David is ill, they should just bring him in his bed! Saul will kill him them. But when the men look in David's bed, David is not there, only an idol and goat's hair, essentially a dummy.

Saul expects Michal to support him, but that is unreasonable. When Saul expresses his anger, Michal claims she was forced by David to let him go.

One notes that David's home with Michal has an idol in it. The idolatry of the ancient Near East is pervasive. Centuries before, Jacob's wife, Rachel, stole her father's household gods (Genesis 31: 19). Like that household, David and his wife have an idol in their home. (The Hebrew word translated "idol" here is "teraphim" (idol, image, תְּרָפִים). It is the same word used in Genesis 31 for the items stolen by Rachel.)

1 Samuel 19:18, Flight to Ramah

When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.

David seeks refuge at Samuel's home in Ramah.

1 Samuel 19:19-24, Saul prophesies

Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied.

Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" 

"Over in Naioth at Ramah," they said.

So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. 

This is why people say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Saul hears of David's retreat to Ramah and three times sends people to capture David. Each time that attempt meets a supernatural phenomenon where Saul's men themselves become prophets! Finally Saul goes himself and, as had happened at the beginning of his reign, he himself is overcome, prophesying, stripping off his clothes and lying naked on the ground.

All of these strange events allow our narrator to remind us of an old saying, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" In both places, in I Samuel 10:11-12 and here, the saying is probably mocking Saul.

First published August 12, 2023; updated August 12, 2026

I Samuel 18, A Bloody Bride Price

David has killed the Philistine giant, Goliath, and has been added to Saul's collection of armor-bearers.

1 Samuel 18:1-4, David and Jonathan

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father's house.

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

 

David and Jonathan become good friends. The king's son give David some of his clothes and weapons as a sign of their friendship. 

In the typical long-term view of the Old Testament histories, little is said about this friendship beyond these short statements. But both men are well-liked and aggressive, in contrast to the often tentative Saul. They are quick to win victories over the Philistines while Saul watches.

1 Samuel 18:5-9, David grows in fame

Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's officers as well. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

David grows in popularity and this becomes a threat to a jealous king.

As we have seen before (Miriam in Exodus 15:20-21, Deborah in Judges 5, the unsuspecting young women of Shiloh in Judges 21;20-2) one role of women in the ancient Near East was to lead triumphant singing and dancing.

1 Samuel 18:10-11, Angry Saul

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." 

But David eluded him twice.

An evil (or "injurious") spirit afflicts Saul.  While Saul is "prophesying" (??), David plays the lyre and Saul tries to kill him.

1 Samuel 18:12-16, Fame continues to grow

Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns.

In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.

Despite Saul's jealousy, David's fame and popularity grow. YHWH has chosen David to succeed and Saul is frightened by this.

1 Samuel 18:17-19, Merab

Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!"

But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?" So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

David declines the offer of the king's daughter.

1 Samuel 18:20-23, Michal

Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." 

So Saul said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law." Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, `Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now become his son-in-law.'"

They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and little known."

 

David continues to be resistant to these offers by Saul. Michal has a crush on the popular David but David is still resistant. Earlier, with Samuel, Saul had claimed to be of little worth. Now it is David that says the same thing. Along with David's humility, there is an economic issue. A bride price for the king's daughter is surely quite high -- and David, the eighth son in his family, has no resources for this.

Robert Alter says that this passage is the only one in the Old Testament where we are told of a woman's romantic attraction to a particular man.

1 Samuel 18:24-27, A challenge offered

When Saul's servants told him what David had said, Saul replied, "Say to David, `The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.'" Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

The king's attendants to David have been told to pass on little encouragements for David to accept this challenge. The bride price does not require wealth but military might.

If David wants to be challenged by Saul, Saul will make the bride price challenging. Yet David meets and doubles the price. He wins a victory over the Philistines (with a typically bloody ending) and at the same time Michal gets her wish and becomes David's wife.

1 Samuel 18:28-30, Success and fame continue

When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. 

The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.

Nothing seems to stop David.

Some Hebrew Vocabulary

The Hebrew word mishpachah

מִשְׁפָחָה

is a feminine noun mean "family, clan, tribe". It is translated "clan" by the NIV in verse 18, above.

First published August 11, 2023; updated August 11, 2026

I Samuel 17, A Philistine Giant

David occasionally plays the lyre for Saul. Now we have another important event in young David's life.

I Samuel 17:1-7, Goliath

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. 

His shield bearer went ahead of him.

As before, the Israelites and Philistines face each other across a ravine or wadi, called the Valley of Elah. 

The Philistines have a giant in their army! Even his weapons and armor are heavy! The Masoretic Text for verse 7 says that Goliath's height was "six cubits and a span." The Dead Sea scrolls and the Septuagint have his height as "four cubits and a span." In the first case, Goliath is over 9 feet tall; in the second case, he is about 6'6".

Gath was an ancient Philistine city. Its ruins have been identified by archaeologists, see here. Later David will take refuge there when he is running from Saul.

I Samuel 17:8-11, Taunts

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."

Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."

On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Goliath taunts the Israelites and offers a challenge. Once again, Saul appears to be tentative and timid, unlike his son Jonathan.

I Samuel 17:12-16, 

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.

David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

This passage introduces David as if chapter 16 did not exist. David's three older brothers have gone to war. As in the previous chapter, we are told the names of the oldest three.

The passage does have David going back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem. Is that because he occasionally plays his harp for Saul?

I Samuel 17:17-19, "Go check on your brothers"

Now Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."

In this case, David is sent by his father to take food to the brothers and to check on them. Additional food is to be given to the brothers' commander.

I Samuel 17:20-25, 

Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.

David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 

When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel."

David arrives at the battlefield during one of Goliath's challenges. He is told of great wealth being given to the one who defeats the giant.

I Samuel 17:26-30, Uncircumcised Philistine

David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him."

When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.

 

David asks some questions. He is especially bothered by the giant's insult of the God of Israel. David's older brother accuses David of rubbernecking, of coming to the frontlines just to watch the battle. David talks to a third person to once again here the details about Goliath and the reward for defeating him.

I Samuel 17:31-37, Lion and bear

What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." 

Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

 

David meets with Saul and stands up to the challenge. David, while in the fields as a shepherd, has already defeated powerful enemies. Robert Alter notes that David's vague statement, "Let no one lose heart..." is an indirect challenge to a king who has timidly and passively watched this giant taunt Israel and the God of Israel. David, like Jonathan in the previous chapter, wants action.

I Samuel 17:38-40, Armor or sling?

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. 

"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

The heavy armor is cumbersome and David is accustomed to a slingshot. (The bulky armor may give David insight into Goliath's weaknesses!)

David searches out five smooth stones from a nearby stream, stones that he can use as ammunition.

I Samuel 17:41-44, More taunts

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.

He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods."Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

Goliath looks on the small man and taunts him some more, describing what will happen to David's corpse after they meet. Once again, as in the previous chapter, David is characterized as "ruddy and handsome."

I Samuel 17:45-47, In the name of YHWH, Almighty

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

 

"All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

David responds that it is only YHWH who gives victory. This response is part of David's past experience and one reason he has been picked as future king. David shows no fear or timidity and expresses strong confidence in an active God.

I Samuel 17:48-51, Winning with sling and stone

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

 

David runs at the Philistine as if to engage him, but while doing so, arms his slingshot. Before he is within the reach of Goliath, a well thrown stone knocks the Philistine unconscious. David then kills the man with the man's own sword. The surprising upset frightens the Philistines and they flee.

I Samuel 17:52-54, Rout

Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.

David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.

 

The Israelite army takes advantage of the fleeing Philistines and routs them. David takes the Philistine's head to Jerusalem and puts the giant's weapons in his own tent.

In many ways, David parallels Jonathan. They are both aggressive, both loudly state their defiance of the Philistines and their reliance on YHWH. Both strike suddenly and quickly, sending the Philistines into chaotic retreat.

I Samuel 17:55-58, Who is that man?

As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young man?" 

Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."

The king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."

As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine's head. "Whose son are you, young man?" Saul asked him. 

David said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

At the end of this chapter, Saul does not appear to know David, and insists on meeting with David and learning his lineage. Are the events of the previous chapter out of order? (Is it after this that David plays the harp for Saul? Flashbacks of this type do appear in the Old Testament but are usually noted.) Or did Saul pay no attention previously to the identity of the young harpist in playing in the corner and is he only now learning of him? Even here, Saul does not seem to have paid much attention to David before, when David tried on Saul's armor, and only gets serious about the identity of the young man when the man gives the army victory over the Philistines.

We have now been introduced to David three times. First, in chapter 16, David is anointed by Samuel as future king and then he is introduced to Saul as a harpist. Finally, in this chapter, he is introduced to Saul as a shepherd who will take on Goliath. There have long been rabbinic discussions on the two introductions of David to Saul (harpist, Goliath-slayer.) These questions about David may explain some discrepancies between the ancient Masoretic Text (MT) and the Septuagint (LXX). Those discrepancies, and one possible explanation, are described here.

First published August 10, 2023; updated August 10, 2026

The Old Testament Manuscripts

Last Sunday we looked at the Old Testament text, its scripts and how it was transmitted. (See The Transmission of the Old Testament.) In this Sunday essay we look at the Old Testament manuscripts themselves, describing the oldest copies available to scholars.

The Old Testament writings cover thousands of years of history and were likely written across a number of centuries, possibly a millennium.  During that time the language and writings of the main characters changed, from a proto-Hebrew language of Abraham to a well-developed Hebrew language of Isaiah and Jeremiah and an Aramaic language most likely spoken by Daniel and Esther. Sometime during the Second Temple period, after the remnant of the nation returned from Babylon to Israel but before the time of Christ, the Old Testament canon was formed. That canon consisted of 24 scrolls of scripture, the TaNaKh, written in Hebrew. 

What was the text of that ancient canon?

The Hebrew scrolls were made of papyrus or leather. To make a new scroll, one had to carefully copy the old one, line by line, symbol by symbol. The scrolls were time-consuming to make and were used for worship and so decayed over time. Because of the value of the scrolls, few scrolls were made for posterity; instead a new scroll would be weekly used in a synagogue for worship. Still, archaeologists have found some ancient Hebrew manuscripts, now preserved in museums.  

In addition to the ancient Hebrew scrolls, the Jews eventually made a variety of translations of the texts into other languages. Some of those ancient writings have also survived, giving us further insight into the earliest manuscripts.

We will first look at the most ancient Hebrew manuscripts.

The Masoretic Text

The Masoretes were a collection of Jewish scholars in the early Middle Ages living in Israel and Iraq. They had careful rules for copying the scrolls of the TaNaKh (Old Testament) and did an impressive job of preserving the texts so that there were few copy errors from manuscript to manuscript. Their copies of the TaNaKh, usually identified as the Masoretic Text (MT) is the primary source for modern translations of the Old Testament. (When the NIV footnotes mention the "Hebrew text", this is the MT.)

The oldest preserved complete copy of the TaNaKh in Hebrew is the Leningrad Codex, copied in Cairo, Egypt about 1008 AD. There are other older manuscripts with parts of the TaNaKh, but this is the earliest complete copy. (The Aleppo Codex is an incomplete copy from about 920 AD; the Codex Sassoon is an incomplete copy from about the same time. Both were created by the Masoretes.)

Other ancient Hebrew texts

Although the Masoretic scrolls provide us with the most complete and consistent copies of the TaNaKh, there are other old fragments of the TaNaKh written in Hebrew. These are useful in comparison with the MT. 

Papyrus and leather normally did not survive the ravages of time. For papyrus or leather scrolls to survive across several millennia, the climate had to be quite dry and the scrolls had to be in an environment (such as glass jars) that aided preservation. For this reason, the oldest scrolls are found in Egypt or the Middle East. However, there are fragments of Hebrew that were written on other, more permanent materials. The Ketef Hinnom scrolls are two silver amulets dating from the time of the Second Temple. They are written in a paleo-Hebrew script that predates the Hebrew of the Masoretic Text. These bracelets appear to have a version of the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26. (I can imagine a Jewish mother giving these "blessing" amulets to her daughter on her wedding day, valued by the young bride as a segullah.) These two amulets give us insight into the script that would have been used by priests like Isaiah or earlier writers like King Solomon.

The Nash Papyrus is an ancient Hebrew fragment found in Egypt in 1902 and tentatively dated to about 100 BC. It only contains the Ten Commandments and part of the Shema prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  It was likely used as part of a personal devotional.

Outside the Masoretic scrolls, the most significant ancient scrolls are the Dead Sea Scrolls found in caves at Qumran. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain many thousands of fragments, covering all of the TaNaKh but the book of Esther. The scrolls include a complete scroll of Isaiah. These documents have been very useful in comparison with the Masoretic Text. Although there are numerous discrepancies between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text, between texts separated by one thousand years and cultures, the differences are minor.

When King Solomon died, the nation of Israel split into two countries, the northern kingdom consisting of ten tribes led by Jeroboam and the southern kingdom, consisting of Judah and Bethlehem, led by Solomon's son, Rehoboam.  The temple and ark of the covenant were in Judah, at Jerusalem and so the northern tribes could either go south to worship in Jerusalem, in the rival kingdom, or they could set up a new worship center distinct from that of Judah. (The northern kingdom was called, at various times, Israel, Ephraim, or Samaria and the capital was at Samaria.) The northern kingdom was defeated in 722 BC and absorbed into Assyria. In 586 BC the southern kingdom was defeated by the Babylonians and most of the Israelites were deported to Babylon.  

When the descendants of the southern kingdom returned to the region in 516 BC, they rebuilt Jerusalem, built a second temple and reconstructed the nation of Israel.  (These details are reported in the Old Testament books of Nehemiah and Ezra.)  At that time, there was conflict with the local inhabitants, including people living in Samaria. Some Samaritans attempted to preserve the Jewish worship but continued to insist that worship should be in Samaria, not Jerusalem. At that time, they apparently used a copy of the Torah (first five book of the TaNaKh) that was very close to the Masoretic text except it was written in Samaritan Hebrew and, in a few places, had slightly different wording, changes made to support the worship of YHWH in Samaria. Copies of this document are called the Samaritan Pentateuch. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, they are useful in comparison with the MT.

The Septuagint

By 200 BC, Greek was the common language around the Mediterranean Sea and many Jewish communities spoke Greek. Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, created a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. This is the Septuagint translation (LXX). The Septuagint was the Old Testament document used by the early Christian church and by Jewish communities of that time. Although it is in Greek, it provides insight into the Hebrew text of that day. (When New Testament writers quote from the Old Testament, they are quoting from the Septuagint.)

Other manuscripts

Other ancient manuscripts include the Peshitta translations of the Old Testament (written in Syriac, a language close to Aramaic) and the Vulgate (written in Latin.) The oldest manuscript copies of these translations date to around 500 AD. The Targum documents were written in Aramaic. In addition to these manuscripts, there are numerous ancient commentaries on the TaNaKh that add insight into the texts of that time. A Wikipedia page on Jewish commentaries is here.

Summary

Hebrew scholars can construct a fairly consistent understanding of the ancient Hebrew texts by beginning with the Masoretic text(s) and comparing them with other ancient manuscripts: the Dead Sea Scrolls (also in Hebrew), the Samaritan Pentateuch (in Samaritan Hebrew), the Septuagint (in Greek) and other ancient translations such as the Aramaic Targums, the Peshitta, and the Latin Vulgate. A summary of these sources is given at this Wikipedia page. 

As a nerdy mathematician, in love with history, I am fascinated by the scholarly debates over the priorities of the various texts. But for those who simply wish to understand the Bible, these debates over minor word changes are not particularly relevant.

Resources

In addition to the Wikipedia links, above, I have used the following two books:

1. The Journey from Text to Translations by Paul D. Wegner (specifically chapter 12) 
2. The Canon of Scripture by F. F. Bruce (chapter 2)

Reactions? thoughts? Feel free to respond in our comments section. 

First published July 9, 2025; updated August 9, 2028

I Samuel 16, A Son of Jesse will be King

God has rejected Saul as king. But it will take awhile for a new king to arise.

I Samuel 16:1-3, YHWH has a new king in mind

The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."

But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me." 

The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."

YHWH instructs Samuel to prepare to anoint a new king.  But this is dangerous, given that Saul will not like this. So YHWH suggests a trip with two goals.

Samuel is traveling to Bethlehem, the town of Ruth and Boaz, and their descendants, Obed and Jesse.

I Samuel 16:4-5, Arrival at Bethlehem

Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"

Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." 

Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

The people of Bethlehem are a bit threatened by the arrival of Samuel. Samuel is a powerful figure and, whether they perceive this or not, he is in conflict with their king. But Samuel reassures them and invites the sons of Jesse to the sacrifice.

I Samuel 16:6-10, Which one

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either."

Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these."

Jesse has some impressive sons.  But the one YHWH wants is not there.

Each son passes in front of Samuel and Samuel is reminded by YHWH that He looks on the heart, not the stature.  This man who comes after Saul, will not have the dramatic stature of Saul.

A standard Old Testament storytelling device occurs here: We are given an account #1, then #2, then #3, with identical phrases, followed by "and so on."  We are told, one by one, of the rejection of the first three sons, and then we quickly skip through all seven.

I Samuel 16:11-13, One more son

So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" 

"There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."

So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

The youngest son, the eighth. is also attractive -- but not just physically but spiritually. YHWH likes his heart.  

The Spirit of God comes upon David. And then Samuel goes home. David likely returns to tending sheep.

I Samuel 16:14-17, Evil spirit

Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."

So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."

The Spirit of God departs Saul, just as it has now come upon David. Instead of the Spirit of God, Saul is traumatized by an evil (or injurious) spirit. Apparently music will soothe his soul and so there is a search for a harpist. (To my Sam Houston friends who majored in Music Therapy -- David is your model! 😋) 

I Samuel 16:18-23, Get David

One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."

Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers.

Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."

Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

So the anointed young king-in-waiting will play for the aging king.  This is the beginning of a grand conflict and a grand story

First published August 9, 2023; updated August 8, 2026