1 Samuel 26:14
in 1 Samuel 26And David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner, “Will you not answer me, Abner?” “Who calls to the king?” Abner replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
KJV
And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?
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This verse in 1 Samuel 26
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then David . . . stood on the top of an hill afar off . . . and cried to the people--(See on Jud 9:7). The extraordinary purity and elasticity of the air in Palestine enable words to be distinctly heard that are addressed by a speaker from the top of one hill to people on that of another, from which it is separated by a deep intervening ravine.
This site's exposition
Then David crossed to the other side and stood atop the mountain at a distance
on 1 Samuel 26:13-16
From a mountain across a wide gulf, David calls out to Abner and the camp. He shames the general as worthy of death for the watch he failed. Henry reads the distance David keeps as mercy that rests on God and need not stand near enough to be struck back.
This site's exposition
Who calls to the king?
Abner's reply guards the king's dignity even while the king lies unguarded. Matthew Henry suggests Abner held David too cheap to fear and so set no proper watch. David calls to Abner first, the man answerable for Saul's safety.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Abner answered and said: Who are you that cries out? etc. The Pharisees and scribes responded, not recognizing the disciples of Jesus, who cried out teaching the people, and disturbed the kingdom of the Jews, as if by the shedding of Christ's blood, convicting …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David cried unto the people,....
"It is I," says David, and then he upbraids him with his sleeping when he should have been upon his guard. Perhaps Abner, looking upon David as a despicable enemy and one that there was no danger from, had neglected to set a watch; however, he himself ought to have been more wakeful.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֨א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| דָוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֗ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְנֵ֤ר | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נֵר֙ | ner | Ner | H5369 → | 17 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲל֥וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַעֲנֶ֖ה | taaneh | will you answer | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אַבְנֵ֑ר | ʾavner | O Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| וַיַּ֤עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אַבְנֵר֙ | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| וַיֹּ֔אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| קָרָ֥אתָ | karata | [who] you have called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֨אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
דָוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֗םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְנֵ֤רAbner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
נֵר֙Ner
nerH5369 →17 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הֲל֥וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תַעֲנֶ֖הwill you answer
taanehH6030 →331 times
אַבְנֵ֑רO Abner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
וַיַּ֤עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
אַבְנֵר֙Abner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
וַיֹּ֔אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מִ֥יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אַתָּ֖ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
קָרָ֥אתָ[who] you have called out
karataH7121 →733 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
