1 Samuel 11:1–15

Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh

11:1 1 Nahash2 the Ammonite marched3 against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.”

11:4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived)4 and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly.5 11:5 Now Saul was walking behind the6 oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about7 the men of Jabesh.

11:6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 11:7 He took a pair8 of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army.9 11:8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,00010 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.11

11:9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’ ” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 11:10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you12 and you can do with us whatever you wish.”13

11:11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them14 down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together.

Saul Is Established as King

11:12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 11:13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!” 11:14 Samuel said to the people, “Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where15 they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.

1 Samuel 24:1–28:25

David Spares Saul’s Life

24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.” 24:2 So Saul took three thousand select men from all Israel and went to find1 David and his men in the region of2 the rocks of the mountain goats.3 24:3 He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself.4

Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. 24:4 David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the Lord said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hand, and you can do to him whatever seems appropriate to you.’ ”5 So David got up and quietly cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:5 Afterward David’s conscience bothered him6 because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe. 24:6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me far away from doing such a thing to my lord, who is the Lord’s chosen one,7 by extending my hand against him. After all,8 he is the Lord’s chosen one.”9 24:7 David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and started down10 the road.

24:8 Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, “My lord, O king!” When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground. 24:9 David said to Saul, “Why do you pay attention when men say, ‘David is seeking to do you harm’? 24:10 Today your own eyes see how the Lord delivered you—this very day—into my hands in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I had pity11 on you and said, ‘I will not extend my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s chosen one.’12 24:11 Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn’t kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning13 evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life. 24:12 May the Lord judge between the two of us, and may the Lord vindicate me over you, but my hand will not be against you. 24:13 It’s like the old proverb says: ‘From evil people evil proceeds.’ But my hand will not be against you. 24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea? 24:15 May the Lord be our judge and arbiter. May he see and arbitrate my case and deliver me from your hands!”

24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly.14 24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent15 than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! 24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. 24:19 Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me. 24:20 Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 24:21 So now swear to me in the Lord’s name16 that you will not kill17 my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”

24:22 David promised Saul this on oath.18 Then Saul went to his house, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.

The Death of Samuel

25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran.1

David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal

25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy;2 he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 25:3 The man’s name was Nabal,3 and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise4 and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

25:4 When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 25:5 he5 sent ten servants,6 saying to them,7 “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name.8 25:6 Then you will say to my brother,9 “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 25:7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. 25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come10 at the time of a holiday. Please provide us—your servants11 and your son David—with whatever you can spare.”12

25:9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 25:10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! 25:11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t even know where they came from!”

25:12 So David’s servants …

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1	tn Heb “to search [for].”
2	tn Heb “upon the face of.”
3	tn Or “the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats,” if this expression is understood as a place name (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV).
4	tn Heb “to cover his feet,” an idiom (euphemism) for relieving oneself (cf. NAB “to ease nature”).
5	tn Heb “is good in your eyes.”
6	tn Heb “the heart of David struck him.”
7	tn Heb “anointed.”
8	tn Or “for.”
9	tn Heb “anointed.”
10	tn Heb “went on.”
11	tn Heb “it had pity,” apparently with the understood subject being “my eye,” in accordance with a common expression.
12	tn Heb “anointed.”
13	tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
14	tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”
15	tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
16	tn Heb “by the Lord.”
17	tn Heb “cut off.”
18	tn Heb “and David swore an oath to Saul.”
1	tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.
2	tn Heb “great.”
3	sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.
4	tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”
5	tn Heb “David”; for stylistic reasons the pronoun has been used in the translation.
6	tn Or “young men.”
7	tn Heb “and David said to the young men.”
8	tn Heb “and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace.”
9	tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).
10	tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בָּאנוּ (ba’nu, “we have come”) rather than the MT’s בָּנוּ (banu, “we have built”).
11	tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.
12	tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”

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1	tc 4QSam a and Josephus (Ant. 6.68–71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.” This reading should not be lightly dismissed; it may in fact provide a text superior to that of the MT and the ancient versions. But the external evidence for it is so limited as to induce caution; the present translation instead follows the MT. However, for a reasonable case for including this reading in the text see the discussions in P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103.
2	sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.
3	tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”
4	tn Heb “to Gibeah of Saul.”
5	tn Heb “lifted their voice and wept.”
6	tn Or perhaps, “his oxen.” On this use of the definite article see Joüon 2:506–7 §137.f.
7	tn Heb “the matters of.”
8	tn Heb “yoke.”
9	tn Heb “like one man.”
10	tc The LXX and two Old Latin mss read 600,000 here, rather than the MT’s 300,000.
11	tc The LXX, two Old Latin mss, and a Qumran ms read 70,000 here, rather than the MT’s 30,000.
12	tn The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.
13	tn Heb “according to all that is good in your eyes.”
14	tn Heb “Ammon.” By metonymy the name “Ammon” is used collectively for the soldiers in the Ammonite army.
15	tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”