Outline of Chapter 18:

       vv.    1–4        David has Jonathan’s Love and Saul’s Respect

       vv.    5–9        Israel Comes to Love David; Saul Begins to Fear and Despise David

       vv.   10–16      Saul Begins to Make Attempts on David’s Life; Israel’s Love for David Grows

       vv.   17–19      Saul Promises his Eldest Daughter to David in Marriage and Withdraws the Offer

       vv.   20–30      Saul Offers David his Youngest Daughter in Marriage for a Dowry of 100 Philistine Foreskins

Charts and Maps:

       v.      1           What Did David and Saul Talk About?

       v.     25           Why David Believed that Saul Would Give Him His Daughter’s Hand in Marriage

       v.     29           Saul’s Attempts to Foil the Plan of God

       v.     30           1Samuel 16–18 Presented in Chronological Order

       v.     30           The Greek and Hebrew Text Translated and Differentiated

I ntroduction: 1Sam. 18 is a roller coaster of a chapter. After Saul finds out the name of David’s parents, Saul’s son Jonathan immediately develops a love and respect for David—probably because they are about the same age and on the same spiritual wavelength. Saul also has an abiding respect for David, and he places him in high authority over his army. However, during one of the civilian receptions for Saul and his army, the women sing something which really rubs Saul the wrong way, and his respect for David turns to suspicion and suspicion turns to hatred. Then Saul attempts to kill David on several occasions. In the final third of this chapter, it appears as though David is going to become the king’s son-in-law, although the proposed marriage between David and Saul’s eldest daughter does not come to pass; however, Saul does agree to let David marry his younger daughter, and this time Saul allows that marriage to occur.

To give you a little more detail: this chapter picks up right after David has killed Goliath (1Sam. 17:31–51). Saul calls David to him to determine who his parents are, as he had made a promise to free his family from taxes (a promise which I suspect was never fulfilled). In their post-battle, one-on-one interview, Saul and David are apparently observed by Jonathan, Saul’s son, who would have had high ranking in Saul’s army (and not simply because he was Saul’s son, but because his great bravery was legendary—see 1Sam. 14). During this interview, David and Jonathan developed a strong bond which became a marvelous friendship. Jonathan pledged his loyalty and love to David, and outfitting David with his own equipment. Furthermore, Saul no longer allowed David to return to his father’s home, his presence being much to valuable to the throne. And Saul placed David over his men of war, which possibly even placed him over Jonathan. 1Sam. 18:1–4.

The citizenry of Israel also became enthralled with David—particularly the women. Even in the public’s eye, he had no missteps. After every successful campaign, the women would gather themselves to the army and sing. However, on one occasion, they really pissed Saul off by singing, “Saul has slain his thousands and David has slain his tens of thousands.” (1Sam. 18:7b). From that time on, Saul looked upon David with suspicion (vv. 5–9).

Saul realized that God had replaced him; however, the actual replacement had not yet come to pass. David’s wisdom, his actions, and his popularity first made Saul suspicious and then he seemed to realize that David was his replacement. Although this is not stated outright, Saul’s behavior is indicative of one who feels threatened by David. Saul first tries to kill David himself. While David is in the palace playing his instrument, Saul loses the Holy Spirit and an evil spirit influences him, and Saul tries to kill David with his spear. After David twice eludes his direct attack, Saul recognizes that God is with him (vv. 10–12).

Then Saul apparently demotes David (although this demotion is not specifically so presented). The result of this demotion is that David would probably be more likely to be involved in fighting the enemy himself—again, not directly stated but an inference of this chapter. However, what is stated is that, regardless of the circumstances that David finds himself in, he still prospers. He becomes even more of a popular hero, and Saul’s suspicion of David, turns to fear, which later turns to dread (vv. 13–16).

Saul then offers David the hand of his eldest daughter Merob in marriage, which offer is accompanied by the need for David to fight against the Philistines (v. 17). It is possible that this is coterminous with David’s demotion (v. 13), and it is possible that this occurred afterwards (as our Gentile minds might initially conclude, given the order of the verses). David is very successful in battle, but Saul gives his daughter Merob to another man on the day that she is to be married to David (v. 19).

Saul’s actions, however, backfire on him, and his youngest daughter Michal tells him that she is in love with David. Saul quickly determines how to use this to his advantage. He promises David once again to make him part of the family by marrying one of his daughters, but requires a dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins. Now, you may wonder, how does Saul offer up one daughter, not fulfil this promise, and then offer up a second daughter, and yet David falls for it a second time? When we get to that, I will explain it to you. David does fulfil Saul’s dowry requirement and he does marry Michal (vv. 20–30).

Finally, four times in this chapter, David is said to act wisely (vv. 5, 14, 15, 30); three times in this chapter, Saul will be said to be afraid of David (vv. 12, 15, 29); and three times in this chapter, Jehovah is said to be with David (vv. 12, 14, 28. I don’t know as of right now if there is any significance in the repetition of these statements other than an emphasis being placed upon their meaning. One of the approaches which I tend to avoid, but might be forced to in this situation, is that we have two separate accounts of the events which have been woven together. My reason for avoiding this approach is that the JEPD crowd has taken this to a ridiculous extreme (see the Doctrine of Documentary Hypothesis in my Introduction to the book of Exodus). However, there is no reason to assume that one person wrote each and every word to this book or that. It is reasonable to assume that some authors used the sources available to them, and that God the Holy Spirit guided them to write only that which was accurate. It is also reasonable that, rather than take liberties with one’s sources, that some might quote them at length—so what we may have here is the weaving of two (or more) sources, which would account for the repetitiousness. It is clear that the events in the past three chapters are not laid out end to end in chronological form (this topic will be covered several times throughout this chapter); and several great exegetes, Keil and Delitzsch among them, point out that this lack of chronology is due, in part, to there being two traditions that are preserved here. It should not bother us that there were several accounts of David’s life, considering that he was so well-liked and respected; and it should not concern us if a later author made use of those accounts to piece together the events of David’s life. It is even possible that David himself recorded many of these events, and that a later editor edited in another account (or, other accounts).

As in the previous chapter, LXX β and the MT are considerably different, LXX β presenting a much shorter version of the text. Therefore, at the end of this chapter, we will look at the LXX texts as a whole.

David has Jonathan’s Love and Saul’s Respect

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he is as his completion to speak unto Saul and a soul of Jonathan was knit in a soul of David and so loves him Jonathan as his [own] soul.

Alexandrian Septuagint         And it came to pass when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. [The first five verses of this chapter are not found in the Septuagint version which I use, which I have called Septuagint β, but they are found in the Alexandrian Septuagint (LXX α)—this was discussed in great detail in the previous chapter]

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David and Saul finished talking, and soon David and Jonathan became best friends. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself.

NAB                                       By the time David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan had become as fond of David as if his life depended on him; he loved him as he loved himself. [The first five verses of this chapter are in brackets, as there are two primary Septuagint versions of 1Sam. 16–18, and this is lacking in Septuagint β]

NJB                                        When David had finished talking to Saul, Jonathan felt an instant affection for David; Jonathan loved him like his very self.

NLT                                After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends.

TEV                                       Saul and David finished their conversation. After that, Saul’s son Jonathan was deeply attracted to David and came to love him as much as he loved himself.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         David finished talking to Saul. After that, Jonathan became David’s closest friend. He loved David as much as └he loved┘ himself.

JPS (Tanakh)                        When [David] finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan’s soul became bound up with the soul of David; Jonathan loved David as himself.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul fo David and Jonathan loved him as himself.

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass, when he finished to speak unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan has been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

What is the gist of this verse? Jonathan felt an almost instant affection for David and they became close friends.

Recall that chapter divisions were divisions made long after the text had been written and finalized. 1Sam. 18:1 continues 1Sam. 17:58 (in the Hebrew and in the Alexandrian Septuagint). David and Saul speak, and Jonathan is apparently looking on, and he and David will develop a close relationship. Recall that the conversations recorded are often severely edited? This is obviously the case here. That is, Saul doesn’t say, “Who is your father?” David answers, “Jesse.” And, because of this, Jonathan decides that David is a wonderful person. Obviously, there was a great deal which was discussed in David and Saul’s conversation, which Jonathan was likely privy to. Based upon this conversation (and upon what David said to Saul prior to facing Goliath in 1Sam. 17:32–39) which we do not have access to, Jonathan’s soul became knit to David’s.

Translation: And so it was as he finished speaking to Saul... Saul has called David in to conference over his defeat of Goliath and to draft him into the king’s army. He is probably simultaneously reevaluating the promises that he made prior to Goliath’s defeat, as we will see later on. Meanwhile, Jonathan, his son and a high ranking officer in Israel’s army, is on hand, and he observes David, his commitment to and trust in God, and his demeanor.

Translation: ...that Jonathan’s soul was knit to the soul of David,.. David has reported to Saul, as Saul requested; and David, without bravado, speaks to Saul. Jonathan, Saul’s son is listening, possibly in attendance as part of Saul’s executive staff; and David’s bravery, spiritual perspective and honest modesty appeal to Jonathan. On at least one occasion, we have seen how incredibly brave Jonathan was, and that the basis of his confidence was trust in God. David is the one of the very few people that Jonathan knows who has the same divine perspective. Therefore, he feels an immediate kinship to David.

We have the exact same phrase (but a different stem) in Gen. 44:30, where the soul of Jacob is bound up or knit together with the soul of his son, Benjamin. The idea is that the happiness of one soul is tied to the other soul. The feelings of one soul are in close connection to the feelings of the other soul. However, the relationships were much different. With Jacob and Benjamin, the love was much more selfish, even though it was a father’s love for his youngest child. The happiness of his soul was very much tied to the soul of Benjamin, but it was the sort of love which takes. On the other hand, Jonathan’s soul was knit to David was different, as Jonathan had a great deal more character—therefore, his love was more giving.

Translation: and Jonathan loved him as [he loved] his own soul. Jonathan recognizes that David is a man of great spiritual character. Therefore, Jonathan loves David. Realize that there is no one else that Jonathan knew who had such a clear spiritual perspective of Israel as did David. In my early teens, I recognized a kid from school at two different places, far from our neighborhood, and places where I never expected to recognize anyone. Because we recognized one another, we eventually became very good friends (along with the help of another mutual friend). In retrospect, it is clear that I would never run into anyone else that I knew at either of those places; and the same is true for him.

Edersheim writes: The friendship between Jonathan and David, which dated from the victory over Goliath, and the modest, genuine bearing of the young conqueror, is the one point of light in a history which grows darker and darker as it proceeds. We can imagine how a spirit so generous as that of Jonathan would be drawn towards that unaffected, brave youth, so free from all self-consciousness or self-seeking, who would seem the very embodiment of Israelitish valour and piety.

One question which is raised by some is, were David and Jonathan homosexuals? We will deal with that question in 1Sam. 20:41.

One question which occurs to me is, why didn’t Jonathan face Goliath? He already exhibited staggering confidence in God in 1Sam. 14. I have one answer to that: it was God’s plan from eternity past for David to face Goliath. This was a battle which would be recalled for thousands of years. Most people who know little or nothing about Scripture still know about David and Goliath. Therefore, God saw to it that Jonathan would not fight Goliath. Now, on the human side, from our vantage point, why didn’t Jonathan volunteer to fight Goliath? Obviously, the best I can do is speculate. However, my educated guess is that Jonathan did volunteer, probably on several occasions, and on each occasion, Saul told him no. In the past, Jonathan has twice taken the initiative against the Philistines, without first consulting with his father. Even thought the results were good, Saul probably chewed him out for not following protocol. Undoubtedly, Saul made Jonathan give him his word that he would take no more offensive action without Saul’s approval first. Therefore, when Saul would not approve of Jonathan fighting Goliath, Jonathan was bound to observe Saul’s mandate.

A second possibility is that Jonathan was elsewhere during the challenge of Goliath, leading another army in another offensive. God saw to it that Jonathan was detained until David defeated Goliath. God also saw to it that Jonathan arrived in time for the post-fight interview.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so takes him Saul in the day the that and would not give him to return [to] a house of his father.

Septuagint                             And Saul took him in that day, and did not suffer him to return to his father’s house.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family.

NAB                                       Saul laid claim to David that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

NJB                                        Saul engaged him that very day and would not let him go home to his father.

NLT                                From that day on Saul kept David with him at the palace and wouldn’t let him return home.

REB                                       That same day, when Saul had finished talking with David, he kept him and would not let him return any more to his father’s house, for he saw that Jonathan had given his heart to David and had grown to love him as himself. [The REB combines vv. 1–2 and makes it sound as though Saul kept David in the palace because Jonathan loved him].

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         (From that day on Saul kept David └as his servant┘ and didn’t let him go back to his family.)

JPS (Tanakh)                        Saul took him [into his service] that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house.

Young's Updated LT              And Saul takes him on that day, and did not permit him to turn back to the house of his father.

What is the gist of this verse? Given that David was the man who defeated Goliath, and given that he was able to soothe King Saul with his music, Saul no longer permitted David to return to his father’s house.

Translation: So Saul took him [David] in that day... What this means is that David was taken by Saul into the palace as part of his permanent staff. It is probable that this actually refers back to 1Sam. 16:21b, which does not have to occur prior to David’s battle with Goliath (this is the passage where Saul makes David his armor bearer). This has already been discussed in excruciating detail.

Translation: ...and did not allow [lit., give] him to return to his father’s house. Prior to his battle with Goliath, David went back and forth between the palace and his father’s house. After all, David has shown himself the most distinguished warrior in Israel. In 1Sam. 14:52, we know that Saul took any man of miliary value and attached him to his army. This was, therefore, routine for Saul. We are told that David is made Saul’s armor bearer. This probably occurred at this time. Previously, David was the house musician, and, when Saul was at war, there was no reason for him to hang at the palace (hence his return to his father’s house in 1Sam. 17:15). However, here it is clear that David would not be going back and forth between the palace and his father’s house. As was discussed in 1Sam. 16, this verse is probably coterminous with 1Sam. 16:21b–22. That is, Saul made David his armor bearer and also sent a formal request to Saul to keep him on in public service at the palace. Prior to his victory over Goliath, David would to return home and split his work between home and the palace. Now, he is Saul’s armor bearer. You see, it makes the most sense if it is a result of David defeating Goliath in chapter 17; it makes less sense if Saul did this simply because he liked David a lot (1Sam. 16:21). We would expect Saul to make David an armor bearer as a result of doing something which is militarily impressive, like killing Goliath, rather than simply being a good musician.

The problem is that we of a Gentile mind, heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, tend to think in a chronological manner. Personally, I have been exegeting the Bible in a more or less chronological order (there are two Bibles, by the way, which place Scripture in chronological order). However, the Jewish mind did not think like this. Now, had I wrote the book of Samuel, then events in chapter 16 would naturally precede all events recorded in chapter 18. However, this is not necessarily how the Jewish mind thinks. David’s first two promotions are recorded in 1Sam. 16:21–22 because they come under the heading of promotion partially as a result of Saul’s love for him. However, this does not mean that David comes to the palace one day, plays some tunes, and Saul says, “You’re now the palace musician.” And then the next day, soothed tremendously by what David is playing, Saul say, “Heck yes, you’re also going to be my armorbearer.” David did receive those promotions in that order, and Saul did send a message home to his father—however, the events of the following chapter reasonably fall in between the two promotions.

Now, I need to point out that there is no contradiction that I am hoping to fix here; no problem passage that just doesn’t seem to fit. I am just adjusting what is recorded here so that the events are placed sequentially, rather than topically. It is not impossible that these events did occur in just this order as they are found in Scripture. The only problem with that is that the motivations involved (most of which are a matter of conjecture anyway) are more difficult to ascertain. What I need to do is to list the various events of these past several chapters as they occur in Scripture and then sequentially. In any case, there are no theological issues at stake here.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so cuts Jonathan and David a covenant in a love of his [to] him as his soul.

Alexandrian Septuagint         And Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Jonathan liked David so much that they promised to always be loyal friends.

NLT                                And Jonathan made a special vow to be David’s friend,...

REB                                       Jonathan and David made a solemn compact because each loved the other as dearly as himself.

TEV                                       Jonathan swore eternal friendship with David because of his deep affection for him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         So Jonathan made a pledge of mutual loyalty with David because he loved him as much as └he loved┘ himself.

JPS (Tanakh)                        —Jonathan and David made a pact, because [Jonathan] loved him as himself.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then Jonathan made a covenant with [lit., and] David because he loved him as himself.

Owen's Translation                Then Jonathan made with David a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

Young's Updated LT              And Jonathan makes—also David—a covenant, because he loves him as his own soul,...

What is the gist of this verse? David and Jonathan enter into a pact because of Jonathan’s love for David.

Translation: So Jonathan and David cut a covenant... Two things occurred almost simultaneously. Jonathan was a part of Saul’s staff not because he was Saul’s son, but because of the tremendous bravery which he exhibited in 1Sam. 14. So after David defeated Goliath, indicating with what he said that God was responsible, Jonathan knew that he had found himself a soul mate, someone with the same spiritual perspective. Saul, recognizing David’s abilities as a soldier, put him close by. Jonathan, recognizing David’s spiritual strength, decides to make a private alliance with him. We aren’t told here what was said, other than it was simply a pact that the two men made with one another. Who knows?—perhaps this agreement was a precursor of One for all and all for one.

Translation: ...when his love to him [was as his love for] his [own] soul. The bêyth preposition with an infinitive construct means that this covenant was made simultaneously (which would mean spontaneously). David recognized Jonathan’s great spiritual growth and Jonathan saw the same in David. This being understood between the two young men caused them to immediately make a personal pact with one another.

Jonathan’s relationship with David was the polar opposite of Saul’s. From the standpoint of human thinking, David is more of a threat to Jonathan and his potential inheritance of the throne; however, this is not an issue to Jonathan. His love for David is unconditional, and, as we will see in the next verse, it is possible that Jonathan even recognizes that David is the crown-prince. In any case, Jonathan does not stress over that possibility. Saul, on the other hand, will become obsessed with that possibility, which will account for most of the drama which will follow.

Allow me a divergence here: when men and women fall in love, their expectations belie the strength (or lack of) of their relationship. If the man is willing to die for his woman, that is love. If his love is simply based upon what she can potentially do for him, that is selfishness and manipulation. In Eph. 5, we men love the passage, Women obey your husband. We tend to be a little less enthusiastic about, Men, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. Men, if you ask a woman to marry you, and your thoughts are about your wedding night, a greater certainty of sex, perhaps an added income, perhaps children, then you are thinking about all the wrong things. If this is a woman whom you are willing to give your life for; if this is a woman that, should she become sick or unattractive, your soul is so knit to hers that these are not issues which would cause you to leave her, then you have a true and honorable love for her.

Jonathan’s love for David was along those lines. He felt as though this was a person that he could trust with his life; he would be the sort of person whom David could trust with his life (which he would on several occasions). He would be willing to give his life for David’s. His soul was knit together with the soul of David’s.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so removed [from himself] Jonathan the robe which [was] upon him and so he gave him to David and his outer garments and as far as his sword and as far as his bow and as far as his belt.

Alexandrian Septuagint         And Jonathan stripped himself of his upper garment, and gave it to David, and his mantle and all he had upon him, even to his sword and to his bow, and to his girdle [or, belt].

Significant differences:          The short phrase which was upon him has a different meaning in the Greek and Hebrew. In the Hebrew, it refers to Jonathan’s robe; in the Greek, we have the additional word all and it refers to everything else where Jonathan was wearing.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes, his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt.

NAB                                       Jonathan divested himself of the mantle he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military dress, and his sword, his bow and his belt.

NLT                                ...and he sealed the pact by giving him his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Jonathan took off the coat he had on and gave it to David, along with his battle tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Jonathan took off the cloak and tunic he was wearing and gave them to David, together with his sword, bow, and belt.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt .

Young's Updated LT              ...and Jonathan strips himself of the upper robe which is upon him, and gives it to David, and his long robe, even unto his sword, and unto his bow, and unto his belt.

What is the gist of this verse? Jonathan gave his personal military equipment to David.

Translation: So Jonathan removed the robe that he was wearing [lit., which (was) upon him]... Jonathan has found a kindred spirit in David. In this verse, he gives what appears to be most or all of his military accouterments to David. You may wonder, what the heck is going on? Why is he doing this? David has just been hired on into full-time military service and David was a former shepherd. David has nothing by way of true military equipment. Jonathan recognizes this and gives David his own personal equipment.

In our army, the guy shows up, his head is shaved, he is put through rigorous training and given his uniform and weapons. In the ancient armies, whatever things a man brought with him were his weapons and uniform. David has his shepherd stuff—a staff and a sling. Jonathan is going to be the best equipped soldier next to Saul. Jonathan, without giving this s second thought, gives David all of his own military equipment.

Translation: ...and he gave it to David, along with [lit., and] his outer garments, his sword, his bow and his belt. The items which Jonathan gave to David are the basic implements of war. This would suggest to me that the soldiers who were under Saul probably provided their own weapons and equipment.

The NIV Study Bible notes suggest that this act may have been a recognition of more than just a simple need on David’s part. Jonathan’s gift of these items to David may signify his realization and acceptance that David would be successor to the throne and not him (see 1Sam. 23:17). Gordon also suggests that this is a virtual abdication by Jonathan, the crown prince. Saul will make this connection probably in this chapter around v. 7; it is reasonable that his more spiritually aware son will recognize David’s royal personage before Saul would. Jonathan obviously had no crown to give, nor did he possess anything physical which designated him as crown-prince. However, he did have the uniform of his country’s military hierarchy, so to speak, and that he gave to David. At the very least, a transference of power is foreshadowed here—which is what I think is occurring here, rather than a conscience abdication of the throne by Jonathan.

Israel Comes to Love David; Saul Begins to Fear and Despise David

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so goes out David in all that sends him Saul he is prudent. And so sets him Saul over men of the war and so he is good in [two] eyes all the people and also in [two] eyes of servants of Saul.

Alexandrian Septuagint         And David went out wherever Saul sent him, and he acted wisely, and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was pleasing in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul. [We will return to the text of LXX β with the next verse].

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul’s other officers.

NJB                                        Wherever David was sent on a mission by Saul, he was successful, and Saul put him in command of the fighting men; all the people respect him and so did Saul’s staff.

NLT                                Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander in his army, an appointment that was applauded by the fighting men and officers alike.

REB                                       David succeeded so well in every venture on which Saul sent him that he was given command of the fighting forces, and his promotion pleased all ranks, even the officials round Saul.

TEV                                       David was successful in all the missions on which Saul sent him, and so Saul made him an officer in his army. This pleased all of Saul’s officers and men.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         David was successful wherever Sauls sent him. Saul put him in charge of the fighting men. This pleased all the people, including Saul’s officials.

JPS (Tanakh)                        David went out [with the troops], and he was successful in every mission on which Saul sent him, and Saul put him in command of all the soldiers; this pleased all the troops and Saul’s courtiers as well.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And David went out wherever Saul sent him, and he prospered and behaved himself wisely; and Saul set him over the men of war, and it was satisfactory both to the people and to Saul’s servants.

NASB                                     So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

NRSV                                    David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

Young's Updated LT              And David goes out wherever Saul sends him; he acts wisely, and Saul sets him over the men of war, and it is good in the eyes of all the people, and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.

What is the gist of this verse? David was a military success, and soon promoted by Saul to a position of leadership. David was recognized as a good man in the eyes of Saul and all the people of Israel.

Translation: So David goes out and is prudent in all that Saul sends him [to do]. Although the word yâtsâ literally means to go out, to come out, it essentially refers to David acting in service to Saul. As a teacher, I would be called into early morning faculty meetings and at the end, we would be dismissed or sent out. We were not sent out to simply go home; we were sent out to work, to teach the students. This is how we should understand the use of this word in this context (it is often found to be used in this way).

Te result was that David was prudent and wise in all the assignments which Saul gave him. We may reasonably suppose that there were battles to be fought, and that David performed admirably; in fact, we may assume that David stood out from the other soldiers in his abilities.

In my opinion, what had occurred is that Saul pressed David into full-time service (v. 2), making him an armor bearer when Israel was at war, and a palace musician when Israel was not at war. However, David quickly rose in the ranks, as he apparently fought during these subsequent battles, to a position equal to that of Jonathan’s (which will be the next part of this verse).

By the way, just as it seems that Israel is forever at war with various Arab factions today, Israel also was at war almost constantly with the surrounding countries of that day. Probably what we are dealing with are a number of skirmishes with the Philistines, who appear to be among Israel’s most aggressive enemies.

Translation: Therefore, Saul placed him over the men of war... We do not know how long David remained in the ranks of Saul’s army. My guess is less than a year. David was already notorious for defeating Goliath when no one else, including Jonathan, was willing to face him. Therefore, Saul gave David a position of authority, no doubt similar to Jonathan’s position of leadership.

Now, an interesting point is, why didn’t Jonathan face Goliath? We are not given any clue here; given Jonathan’s bravery evidenced in 1Sam. 14 and his unauthorized strike against the Philistines in 1Sam. 13:3, my guess is that Saul, even after congratulating his son, privately told him to make no moves of aggression of any sort without his personal authorization. My guess is that Saul would not allow his son to fight against Goliath. Again, this is purely speculation. Whatever occurred, God orchestrated it, because God’s man needed to fight Goliath.

David enjoyed a very quick rise to military power. He began as Saul’s palace musician, advancing to armor bearer, to being sent out along with the army, and finally, to being over the men of war (the latter two promotions probably occurred in rapid succession—that is, David was made an armor bearer after defeating Goliath, and then, placed in a position of great authority after the next battle, which is unrecorded). It appears in this verse that David has been given a position equal to that of Saul’s in military authority. Even though very little is said about this rise to power, there are several implications. First of all, Saul was able to recognize military bravery and savvy. He may have begun to succumb to demonic influence, but he had not lost it completely. Furthermore, even though there were certainly many men in the ranks of Israel’s army who would like to have advanced, what David consistently did was impressive enough to earn their respect, as the beginning and end of this verse indicate. I have worked with people who would backbite and jockey for positions in a place where such behavior was not necessarily conducive to an increase of authority or salary. So if such things go on where they don’t help one to advance, surely they occur where such things would help one to advance. However, men who had served longer than David approved of his rise to high military authority, and celebrated this as a victory for Israel.

Time-wise, I would place this promotion pretty much where it is found in Scripture—after the fight with Goliath, following the war with the Philistines (which apparently continued), and prior to this particular celebration of vv. 6–7 which caused Saul to become jealous of David.

Translation: ...and [this] was good in the eyes of all the people and in the eyes of Saul’s servants. We know that there are some petty jealousies which erupt when Charlie Brown is promoted, but those who have been there as long as Charlie Brown are not. This was not the case. Saul’s decision to give David a position of great authority was supported by both the people of Israel and those who served under David (as well as the rest of Saul’s army—this is to whom Saul’s servants refer to).

This and the next verse may appear at first to be confusing. It appears as though David has killed one Philistine, Goliath, and that the women are singing praises to him about killing tens of thousands of men. However, that is not the complete picture.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he is in their coming in a returning of David from a striking of the Philistine, and so come out the women from all cities of Israel to sing and the dances to meet Saul the king in timbrels in joy and in three-stringed instruments.

Septuagint                             And there came out women in dances to meet David out of all the cities of Israel, with timbrels, and with rejoicing, and with cymbals.

Significant differences:          The Masoretic text makes it seem as though, after David kills Goliath, women from all the cities of Israel come out to sing and dance (this could be understood to occur after any engagement with the Philistines). In the Greek, this appears to come about as David is promoted and travels with his army.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were singing happy songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps.

NLT                                But something happened when the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and they sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals [The type of instrument represented by the final word is uncertain].

TEV                                       As David was returning after killing Goliath and as the soldiers were coming back home, women from every town in Israel came out to meet King Saul. They were singing joyful songs, dancing, and playing tambourines and lyres.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         As they arrived, David was returning from a campaign against the Philistines. Women from all of Israel’s cities came to meet King Saul. They sang and danced, accompanied by tambourines, joyful music, and triangles [Hebrew meaning uncertain].

JPS (Tanakh)                        When the [troops] came home [and] David returned from killing the Philistine, the women of all the towns of Israel came out singing and dancing to greet King Saul [meaning of Hebrew uncertain; Septuagint reads “the dancing women came out to meet David from all the towns of Israel”] with timbrels, shouting, and sistrums [meaning of Hebrew uncertain].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And it happened as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments [i.e., triangles or three-stringed instruments].

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass, in their coming in, in David’s returning from striking the Philistine, that the women come out form all the cities of Israel to sing—also the dancers—to meet Saul the king, with tabrets, with joy and with three-stringed instruments;...

What is the gist of this verse? There appears to have been a tradition which began when David killed Goliath—that the women of Israel would come out and celebrate military victories with singing and dancing. What is occurring here refers probably to a tradition which began, and there is one specific incident which will irritate Saul.

Translation: And is was in their coming [and] as David returned from defeating the Philistine,... The use of hâyâh in this verse simply indicates the actions which all took place at the same time. We often find this rendered and it came to pass or and so it was that... The Israelite army had pursued the Philistine army to their own cities (1Sam. 17:53) and were coming back into Israel (which is the masculine plural suffix with the Qal infinitive construct of to come, to come in). David is returning from killing the Philistine. The bêyth preposition with the Qal infinitive construct verbs indicate that these actions took place simultaneous with the women flocking to the armies with musical instruments. It is possible that someone read or heard Ex. 15:20–21, where Miriam leads the women of Israel in dance to celebrate God’s deliverance in the exodus.

What is reasonably possible is, this tradition began after David killed Goliath. That is, when word got around that David killed Goliath, the giant Philistine who threatened all Israel, many women came out to celebrate his victory when he came through town. This continued as David moved up in the army and became commander of Saul’s armies (which appears to be the case).

Translation: ...that women from all the cities in Israel came out... The scene is simply this: Israel, particularly the women of Israel, were in a very vulnerable position. If the Israeli army was defeated, then not only would the Philistines pillage Israel, but they would have taken the women and raped them and possibly taken them as slaves. So, quite obviously, the women are going to be particularly thrilled and thankful for what the army of Israel has done. Bear in mind that all that happened was reported back to the rest of Israel, so that these women know what has happened. They recognize that their freedom has been purchased on the battlefield, and that men had made the ultimate sacrifice on their behalf. Therefore, the women come out to the army of Israel in great celebration.

Translation: ...to sing and dance and... Because Israel defeated the very formidable Philistine army, there was great celebration which took place, particularly on the part of the women, who are relatively helpless in this situation. The singing and dancing is simply the expression of their souls.

Translation: ...to meet King Saul with timbrels, with [songs of] joy and with musical instruments. Although there is some confusion as to some of the words here, the general scenario is easy to understand. So that there is no confusion, the women are not flocking to meet King Saul personally. He is a metonym for the Israeli army. Certainly, he will be given his due and the recognition of these women; however, they are there to celebrate the victory of the entire army. There are two musical instruments mentioned (both in the plural): timbrels and triangles (or, three-stringed instruments). In between the naming of these musical instruments, we find that they are meeting Saul with joy—certainly, this could refer to songs of joy, but it just as reasonably refers to the condition of their souls—the women are celebrating Israel’s victory.

Saul was the king and the commander-in-chief; therefore, he is considered the victor against the Philistines, even if he never lifted up his sword. It would be impertinent for the text to read that the people went out to meet certain men in Saul’s army, although, no doubt, that is what some did. However, the people generally came out to celebrate Saul’s victory over the Philistines (whether or not, as I said, he ever lifted up his own sword). However, it will be clear that the people recognized the bona fide war hero in the midst of Saul’s army.

The key to understanding this passage is that this celebrating began after David defeated Goliath and the Israeli army routed the Philistine army. However, this was not a one-time event. It began a tradition which continues as David and the army of Israel continue on their campaigns against their enemies. Let’s see if I can substantiate this: David defeated Goliath (1Sam. 17:31–51), the Israeli army pursued the Philistines (1Sam. 18:52), while David met with Saul (1Sam. 17:58–18:1a). Jonathan gives David the proper equipment (1Sam. 18:4); the women come out and celebrate (1Sam. 18:6); and David prospers or is prudent wherever he goes (1Sam. 18:5). You see, it would make little sense to interpret these events as occurring in a different order even to agree with the order of the verses. V. 5 is a summation of David’s military career prior to Saul turning against him. Vv. 6–7 are a summation of the celebrations that the women of Israel held for the army of Israel. If you are able to grasp that v. 5 covers a period of time and is not just a reference to that one point in time immediately after the defeat of Goliath; then it is easy to grasp that vv. 6–7 also sum up a series of events which began after David’s defeat of Goliath, but continue on. Having this understanding will make help us to make sense of v. 7.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                         And the women sung as they played, and they said: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

Masoretic Text                       And so answer the women the laughing ones, and so they say:

“Has slain Saul in his thousands

and David in his ten thousands.”

Peshitta                                 And the women sang as they played, and laughed, saying, “Saul has slain by thousands, and David by tens of thousands.”

Septuagint                             And the women began and said, “Saul has struck his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

Significant differences:          The verse begins differently, although the Hebrew and Syriac are fairly similar.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       They sang:

Saul has killed a thousand enemies;

David has killed ten thousand enemies!

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The women who were celebrating sang,

“Saul has defeated thousands

but David tens of thousands!”

JPS (Tanakh)                        The women sang as they danced, and they chanted:

Saul has slain his thousands;

David, his tens of thousands!

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And the women responded, as they laughed and frolicked, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

NASB                                     And the women sang as they played, and said,

“Saul has slain his thousands,

And David his ten thousands.”

NRSV                                    And the women sang to one another as they made merry,

“Saul has killed his thousands,

And David his ten thousands.”

Young's Updated LT              ...and the women answer—those playing, and say,

‘Saul has struck among his thousands,

And David among his myriads.’

What is the gist of this verse? After David had defeated Goliath, the armies were met by the women who sang about Saul killing thousands of men and David tens of thousands of men. As we will find out in the exegesis, this does not represent one event, but several.

Translation: The dancing women sang responsively, saying:... Although the first verb in this verse generally means to answer, to respond; in this context, it means to sing or to sing responsively. The idea is that there is a line sung by some of the women, and other women respond singing another similar line. In fact, BDB gives this verb a separate listing on p. 777 with that meaning. The Piel participle acts as an adjective to describe the women; they are dancing and celebrating, and this participle indicates that. Often, in both the Greek and the Hebrew, we again have a verb which indicates the content of what they are saying.

Translation: ...“Saul has slain his thousands... The women first pay homage to Saul, who has been a great and practically fearless warrior (except with regards to Goliath; and even his son Jonathan did not stand up to Goliath). However, he did kill thousands of Israel’s enemies.

Translation: ...and David his tens of thousands.” This is an interesting refrain, as this appears to have occurred after David returned from killing Goliath. What I would suppose is that there was a campaign to eradicate the Philistines from Israel from wherever else they might be, along with other enemies of Israel. That is, in time, v. 5 precedes this verse. What we have in the previous verse is not something which only occurred one time—that is, after David defeated Goliath, but after every campaign. The women would come out and celebrate the victories of Saul’s army. My reasoning here is this refrain which the women sing. This would not seem to be reasonable to sing after David kills one Philistine; however, it would be reasonable after David has been on many military campaigns. So, what we have in vv. 6–7 is a merging of several events. The women began to come out to celebrate Israel’s victories when David defeated Goliath and they continued to come out after other victories. At some point in time, they begin to sing this refrain, that “Saul has killed his thousands and David his tens of thousands.” In fact, this was probably done by separate groups of women. The first group would sing, “Saul has killed his thousands” and the second group would respond with, “And David his tens of thousands.” The women meant nothing by it. They were celebrating their two great war heroes. As you would no doubt suspect, this really pisses Saul off.

There are several other interpretations of this passage. It could be that we are on the day after David defeated Goliath, and that the destruction of the Philistines was significant. David himself did not kill tens of thousands of Philistines, but Israel, inspired by David’s defeat of Goliath, killed an inordinate amount of Philistines. Hence, the lyrics of this refrain. Another explanation is that the women were simply mistaken or that ascribing tens of thousands to David was just a song. It is also possible that David personally killed a great many men after defeating Goliath (the song lyrics would be exaggerations). In any case, I still lean toward this as being representative of several successful battles rather than just one after the killing of Goliath. Apparently, David, although not necessarily given a leadership position, assumed one in battle (if we go with my first theory of the events).

There is another reason to interpret this singing and dancing as a tradition which began at the killing of Goliath and continued for several years afterward. The Philistines will be aware of this song—it is mentioned twice again by Philistines, which would indicate that the singing of this song occurred on more than one occasion (1Sam. 21:11 29:5). It is highly unlikely that the Philistines would be aware of this song if it had been song only at the occasion of Goliath being killed (and, as I have already mentioned, this refrain was not sung at the time that Goliath was killed, but it eventually became a part of the celebration of Israeli victories).

Our problem is that we tend to see events as presented in a narrative as always been chronological and sequential. In Jewish writing, this is not always the case. They seem to think more topically. For this portion of the narrative to actually represent several occasions would be a very Jewish way of presentation. There are ways for us to interpret this passage as referring to single, consecutive events; but that raises as many problems as it solves. For instance, it appears in the end of 1Sam. 17 that David and Saul do not necessarily join in the attack upon the Philistines, who are retreating. It is possible that they did and that is left out of the narrative. However, recall that David is not a full-fledged soldier at the time of defeating Goliath, so that it would have been unnatural for him to join in the pursuit of the Philistines (especially since he only had a sling shot). An explanation of the song lyrics can be made, if we are speaking of only one victory parade after one battle, but I don’t see it as being a reasonable explanation.

You might think that I am making way too much of this chapter and tying it to the previous chapter; however, apparently others have struggled with this as well. In the two main Septuagint versions, we have an abbreviated approach to this chapter (LXX β) and we have the version which corresponds more closely to the Massoretic text (the Alexandrian Septuagint). The abbreviated version does not leave us without questions, nor does it solve the issues that I have raised here. We still have David victorious over Goliath, followed by women coming out and singing that refrain, followed by Saul being afraid of David and removing him to be a captain in his army. This leaves us with the problem, what about the refrain, And David has slain his tens of thousands?

Keil and Delitzsch have a rather lengthy footnote dealing specifically with the chronology of this portion of the book of Samuel, a small portion of which I will quote: Some supposed discrepancies...are founded upon the erroneous assumption that everything contained in these two chapters are to be regarded as strictly chronological. But the fact recorded in v. 2, namely that Saul took David to himself, and did not allow him to go back to his father’s house any more, occurred unquestionably some time earlier than those mentioned in vv. 6ff. with their consequences. Saul took David to himself immediately after the defeat of Goliath, and before the war had been brought to an end. But the celebration of the victory, in which the paean of the women excited jealousy in Saul’s mind, did not take place till the return of the people and of the king at the close of the war. How long the war lasted we do not know; but...it certainly follows that some days, if not weeks, must have elapsed between David’s victory over Goliath and the celebration of the triumph. My point is that several have commented on these two or three chapters alone pointing out that they are not laid out in strict, chronological order.

I should mention one more thing: the words thousands and ten thousands are often used in parallel in poetry (Deut. 32:30 Psalm 91:7 Micah 6:7). This does not mean that our general understanding of the meaning of this refrain should be adjusted and that we should have a poetic understanding of it (that is, to understand that this is simply a common parallelism which does not mean what we think it means). Certainly, it is possible that Saul and the men he personally commanded have killed thousands of men; and that David and the men under him have killed tens of thousands; however, it can just as reasonably be interpreted that David and his leadership are responsible for considerably more enemy deaths than Saul. In no way should we interpret this refrain as merely meaning that Saul and David have killed lots of men between the two of them. Saul did not understand it in that way, nor did the Philistines (1Sam. 21:11 29:5). If men of that era understood that this elevated David above Saul, then we should also understand it in that way.

What passes for fame in one generation does not necessarily hold up in the next. In my lifetime, I have never seen this sort of a turnout for a war heroes or for several war heroes (although there has been, on several occasions, a minor celebration for some war heroes. However, so that we might understand this, David was like the Beatles to his generation (although they were not completely out of control); or he was like a celebrity to the generation during which I write.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he burns to Saul exceedingly and so he is displeasing in his [two] eyes the word the this. And so he says, “They have given to David ten thousands and to me they have given the thousands; and still to him certainly the kingdom.”

Septuagint                             And it seemed evil in the eyes of Saul concerning this matter, and he said, “To David they have given ten thousands, and to me they have given thousands.” [The Alexandrian Septuagint adds: “And what more can he have but the kingdom?”]

Significant differences:          That Saul was burned up over this is not given in the Greek (but we do find this in the Hebrew, Latin and Syriac); the Alexandrian LXX does have the same final line of the Hebrew, although it appears to be more idiomatically stated (however, this final phrase is in agreement with the Syriac and the Latin, so maybe I have missed the idiom in the Hebrew?).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       This song made Saul very angry, and he thought, “They are saying that David has killed ten times more enemies than I ever did. Next they will want to make him king.”

NLT                                This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Saul became very angry because he considered this saying to be insulting. “To David they credit tens of thousands,” he said, “but to me they credit └only┘ a few thousand. The only thing left for David is my kingdom.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        Saul was much distressed and greatly vexed about the matter. For he said, “To David they have given tens of thousands, and to me they have given thousands. All that he lacks is the kingship!”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him [lit., was evil in his eyes]; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands , but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?”

Young's Updated LT              And it is extremely displeasing to Saul and he says, “They have given to David myriads, and to me they have given the thousands; and more to him is only the kingdom.”

What is the gist of this verse? When the women of Israel began to ascribe to David greater victories than Saul, he became extremely angry. He apparently recognizes that David is his successor.

Translation: This [lit., it] angered Saul exceedingly... The women came up with a harmless and accurate song; David was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of enemies and Saul was responsible for the deaths of thousands. This does not mean that David personally killed 20,000 men and Saul personally killed 2000 (or whatever). David led troops who they themselves were responsible for killing tens of thousands of men. It was a result of David’s bravery, leadership and tactics which allowed him to be victorious over all so many of the enemy.

Translation: ...and this saying displeased him [lit., is displeasing in his eyes]. As discussed in the table, the subject of the two verbs is this saying (or, this song); it was the song which angered and displeased Saul. Saul’s initial reaction was one of anger, but, when he thought about it further, the words of the song displeased him because of the possible repercussions of them. The idea was that the people thought more of David than they did of Saul. Up until this time, he had been Israel’s golden boy. Certainly, he had stumbled here and there, but much of that was outside the radar of Israel in general. However, his war record was public record, as was David’s, and he did not compare favorably to David.

Translation: Therefore [lit., and], he said, “They have ascribed [lit., given] ten [of] thousands to David but they have [only] ascribed to me thousands. Saul apparently had a staff of men in whom he confided, and he first repeats to them the gist of this song. As already discussed, the men under David were actually the ones who killed tens of thousands of Israel’s enemies.

You may ponder, just who is Israel fighting? Israel was surrounded by enemies and there were enemies within her borders. Ever since the Jews returned to the land in 1947, there has been continual fighting. Because they are God’s people, Satan is going to inspire enemies to rise up against them. This is why antisemitism can continue to run rampant, even when Jews are almost fully assimilated into certain societies. The Philistines will continue to be thorns in the side of Israel even through the time that David is king (although there will be an uneasy coalition there for a short time). There are the Ammonites, the Edomites and the Moabites to the east and southeast of Israel. The Amalekites, who should have been completely wiped out by Saul, still remained in southern Judah. The Phœnicians were on the northern coast of Israel, although I don’t know when they arrived there or whether there were any acts of aggression toward Israel. There are also enemies to the north of Israel. Even given just the first four groups of enemies, that is enough to occupy Saul and his armies.

Translation: In addition, the kingdom [is] certainly his!” Saul already knows that the kingdom has been taken from him, although the actual transfer of power has not come to pass yet. He probably did not realize who the next king would be until hearing the words the this song. Now he knows who the next king of Israel will be, and this has got him very disturbed. Recall what Samuel had said to Saul: Jehovah was rejected you from being king over Israel. He has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and He has given it to your friend who is greater than you.” (1Sam. 15:26b, 28b). Saul knew.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so is Saul eyeing David from the day the that and beyond.

Alexandrian Septuagint         And Saul eyed David from that day and onward.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Saul never again trusted David.

NLT                                So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

TEV                                       And so he was jealous and suspicious of David from that day on.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        From that day on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

Young's Updated LT              And Saul is eyeing David from that day and from that time onward.

What is the gist of this verse? Saul, realizing that David was his successor, eyed him with suspicion and jealousy from that day forward.

Translation: So Saul began [lit., is] eyeing David [or, regarding David with suspicion] from that day forward. The verb found here is only used here, so that we cannot unequivocally determine its meaning. However, its noun cognate is eye, so we get what we need from its cognate and the context. Saul simply kept his eye on David from that day forward.

Saul knows that God has replaced him as king; however, he does not know that David has been anointed nor does he know the manner in which he will be replaced or the time frame. Saul has no idea that David’s patience and faith will be tested for several years and that he, Saul, is going to be the instrument of testing.

Edersheim describes Saul at this time: [The refrain of the women sufficed to kindle in Saul deep and revengeful envy. Following upon what the spirit of evil from the Lord had set before him as his own fate, sealed as it was by his solemn rejection from the kingdom and the conscious departure of the Spirit of God, the popular praise seemed to point out David as his rival. And every fresh success of David, betokening the manifest help of God, and every failure of his own attempts to rid himself o f this rival, would only deepen and embitter this feeling, and lead him onwards, from step to step, until the murderous passion became all engrossing, and made the king not only forgetful of Jehovah, and of what evidently was His purpose, but also wholly regardless of the means which he used. Thus Saul’s dark passions were ultimately concentrated in the one thought of murder.

Saul Begins to Make Attempts on David’s Life; Israel’s Love for David Grows

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he is from the next day and so comes upon a spirit of God evil unto Saul. And so he prophesies in a midst of the house and David is playing in his hand as a day in a day and the spear [was] in a hand of Saul.

Septuagint                             And it came to pass from the next day that an evil spirit from God fell upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of his house. And David was playing on the harp with his hand, according to his daily custom. And Saul’s spear was in his hand.

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       The next day the Lord let an evil spirit take control of Saul, and he began acting like a crazy man inside his house. David came to play the harp for Saul as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand.

NAB                                       The next day an evil spirit from God came over Saul, and he raged in his house. David was in attendance, playing the harp as at other times, while Saul was holding his spear.

NLT                                The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to play the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who had a spear in his hand,...

REB                                       The next day an evil spirit from God seized on Saul. He fell into a frenzy [or, prophetic rapture] in the house, and David played the lyre to him as he had done before. Saul had a spear in his hand,...

TEV                                       The next day an evil spirit from God suddenly took control of Saul, and he raved in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did everyday, and Saul was holding a spear.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The next day an evil spirit from God seized Saul. He began to prophesy in his house while David strummed a tune on the lyre as he did every day. Now, Saul had a spear in his hand.

JPS (Tanakh)                        The next day an evil spirit of God gripped Saul and he began to rave in the house, while David was playing [the lyre], as he did daily. Saul had a spear in his hand,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was laying the harp with his hand, as usual [lit., day by day]; and a [lit., the] spear was in Saul’s hand.

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass, on the next day, that the spirit of sadness from God prospers over Saul, and he prophesies .

What is the gist of this verse? When Israel was not at war, it was David’s duty to play music in the king’s palace, which is what he is doing in this verse. Saul is seized by an evil spirit from God and he speaks apart from his own volition. At this time, Saul has a spear in his hand.