1 Samuel 26:7
in 1 Samuel 26That night David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the troops were lying around him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay round about him.
KJV
So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 26
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIf Saul had been asked the reason for his hostility, he would have been compelled to admit that it was the favors received from David's hand. Moreover, even though Saul had been found asleep by David during the very time that the latter was being pursued, and although Saul lay, an easy victim, before his enemy, his life was again spared by that just man, for he refrained from doing him violence.
This site's exposition
Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp
on 1 Samuel 26:6-8
Abishai reads the sleeping king as a verdict, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand,” and offers to end it with one stroke. His words echo those of David's men in the cave in chapter 24, and David's answer echoes his own.
This site's exposition
his spear stuck in the ground by his head
Saul had thrown his spear at David at 18:11 and 19:10, and now it stands in the ground within David's reach. Basil of Caesarea marks how easy a victim the sleeping king made for David. John Gill adds that David took only Abishai, for secrecy.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Therefore, David and Abisai came to the people by night, etc. The Lord and his disciples came to visit the people, who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, and found his kingdom entirely depressed in kinship, and torpid with blind stupor, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So David and Abishai came to the people by night,.... Josephus (l) wrongly says, that he took with him both Abishai and Ahimelech; he chose to have but one, for the greater secrecy.
Came - That is, to Saul's host. It might seem a bold and strange attempt; but it may be considered: 1. That David had a particular assurance that God would preserve him to the kingdom.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹא֩ | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| דָוִ֨ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַאֲבִישַׁ֥י׀ | vaavishai | and Abishai | H52 → | 25 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָם֮ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לַיְלָה֒ | laylah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁא֗וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| שֹׁכֵ֤ב | shokhev | [was] lying | H7901 → | 212 times |
| יָשֵׁן֙ | yashen | sleeping | H3463 → | |
| בַּמַּעְגָּ֔ל | bama'gal | in the camp | H4570 → | 16 times |
| וַחֲנִית֥וֹ | vachanito | and spear his | H2595 → | 47 times |
| מְעוּכָֽה־ | meukhah- | [was] thrust | H4600 → | |
| בָאָ֖רֶץ | vaaretz | in the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו | meraashotov | [the] place of head his | H4763 → | 8 times |
| וְאַבְנֵ֣ר | veavner | and Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| וְהָעָ֔ם | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שֹׁכְבִ֖ים | shokhevim | [were] lying | H7901 → | 212 times |
| סְבִיבֹתָֽיו׃ ס | sevivotov | around him | H5439 → | 336 times |
וַיָּבֹא֩and he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
דָוִ֨דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַאֲבִישַׁ֥י׀and Abishai
vaavishaiH52 →25 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָם֮the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לַיְלָה֒night
laylahH3915 →233 times
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
שָׁא֗וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
שֹׁכֵ֤ב[was] lying
shokhevH7901 →212 times
יָשֵׁן֙sleeping
yashenH3463 →
בַּמַּעְגָּ֔לin the camp
bama'galH4570 →16 times
וַחֲנִית֥וֹand spear his
vachanitoH2595 →47 times
מְעוּכָֽה־[was] thrust
meukhah-H4600 →
בָאָ֖רֶץin the ground
vaaretzH776 →2504 times
מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֑יו[the] place of head his
meraashotovH4763 →8 times
וְאַבְנֵ֣רand Abner
veavnerH74 →63 times
וְהָעָ֔םand the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
שֹׁכְבִ֖ים[were] lying
shokhevimH7901 →212 times
סְבִיבֹתָֽיו׃ סaround him
sevivotovH5439 →336 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
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Basil of Caesarea, CONCERNING ENVY; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.