1 Samuel 21:11

21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,

‘Saul struck down his thousands,

But David his tens of thousands’?”

1 Samuel 26:8

26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear ¹  right through him into the ground with one swift jab! ²  A second jab won’t be necessary!”

1 Samuel 30:16

30:16 So he took David ³  down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot ⁴  they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

[26:8]  ¹ tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.

[26:8]  ² tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”

[30:16]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”