1 Samuel 21:13
in 1 Samuel 21So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
KJV
And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 21
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Scrabbled - literally, made marks (margin), namely, the mark of the “tau” (t), which in the ancient Hebrew and Phoenician was in the shape of a cross. (See Eze 9:4.) On the doors of the gate - The gate of Achish’s palace-yard or court, in which the attendants waited. The house itself stood in this court. (Compare Est 2:19, Est 2:21.)
This site's exposition
So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands
on 1 Samuel 21:13-15
David "feigned madness," scratching on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard, and Achish turns him away as insane. The older writers weigh the deception honestly, some reading it as a sinful shift of weak faith like the lie at Nob, others as a lesser evil that cost no life. Psalm 34’s title sets its writing here, calling the king Abimelech, a throne name.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
When Saul was pursuing David, David fled to king Achish, and since through the motive of jealousy he was suspected there, he carefully changed his countenance, covering his face with spittle so that he would be thought to be diabolically possessed and thus released unharmed …
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4 · Written before 99.
proposed
Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.
All these modes of expression will be thought lies, if a figurative expression or action is to be considered a lie. But, if it is not a lie when signs signifying one thing are put for another to serve the understanding of a truth, certainly that should not be judged a lie either which Jacob did or said to his father in order to be blessed, or what Joseph said in sporting with his brothers, or David's pretense of insanity, or other signs of the same kind. They should be judged as prophetic expressions and actions set forth for the understanding of those things which are true. Those things are veiled in figures, in garments as it were, in order that they may exercise the mind of the pious inquirer and not become cheap for being bare and obvious. Although we have learned their meaning stated openly and plainly in other places, still, when they are dug out of obscurity, they are somehow recreated in our knowledge and thus become sweet. A student is not hindered because they are shrouded in this way. On the contrary, they are rendered more acceptable: for being remote they are more ardently desired, and for being desired they are more joyfully discovered.
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 5 -- Second Discourse on Simplicity · Written before 523.
proposed
For behold David the prophet also in his scheme for delivering his life from death feigned himself to the Philistines to be a madman and without sense, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard after the manner of a man who lacked understanding, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he collapsed in their hands, etc. The hands of the Gethites, the works of the Jews; the doors of the gate reveal the beginnings of heavenly grace; saliva signifies infirmity; the beard signifies virtue. David collapsed in the hands of the Gethites; the Lord …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he changed his behaviour before them,....
He used the gestures and fashions of a natural fool, or one that had gone out of his wits, supposing they would be ready enough to believe that the disgrace he had fallen into, and the troubles he was now in, had driven him distracted.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
feigned himself mad--It is supposed to have been an attack of epilepsy, real or perhaps only pretended. This disease is relieved by foaming at the mouth. let his spittle fall down upon his beard--No wonder that Achish supposed him insane, as such an indignity, whether done by another, or one's self, to the beard, is considered in the East an intolerable insult.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And he changed his behavior - Some imagine David was so terrified at the danger to which he was now exposed, that he was thrown into a kind of frenzy, accompanied with epileptic fits. This opinion is countenanced by the Septuagint, who render the passage thus: Ιδου ιδετε ανδρα επιλητον; “Behold, ye see an epileptic man. Why have ye introduced him to me?” Μη ελαττουμαι επιληπτων εγω; “Have I any need of epileptics, that ye have brought him to have his fits before me, (επιληπτευεσθαι προς με?”) It is worthy of remark, that the spittle falling upon the beard, i.e., slavering or frothing at the mouth, is a genuine concomitant of an epileptic fit. If this translation be allowed, it will set the conduct of David in a clearer point of view than the present translation does. But others think the whole was a feigned conduct, and that he acted the part of a lunatic or madman in order to get out of the hands of Achish and his courtiers. Many vindicate this conduct of David; but if mocking be catching, according to the proverb, he who feigns himself to be mad may, through the just judgment of God, become so. I dare not be the apologist of insincerity or lying. Those who wish to look farther into this subject may consult Dr. Chandler, Mr. Saurin, and Ortlob, in the first volume of Dissertations, at the end of the Dutch edition of the Critici Sacri.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Is this not Dovid, the king of the land. They said to Achish, "There was a stipulation between us: 'If he will be able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your slaves.' 10 Above:9.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְשַׁנּ֤וֹ | vayshano | and he changed it | H8138 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| טַעְמוֹ֙ | ta'mo | sense his | H2940 → | |
| בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם | beeineihem | in view their | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וַיִּתְהֹלֵ֖ל | vaiyitholel | and he pretended to be mad | H1984 → | |
| בְּיָדָ֑ם | beyadam | in hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַיְתָיו֙ | vaytav | and he made marks | H8427 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דַּלְת֣וֹת | daltot | [the] doors of | H1817 → | 88 times |
| הַשַּׁ֔עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וַיּ֥וֹרֶד | vaiyored | and he made to flow down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| רִיר֖וֹ | riro | spittle his | H7388 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זְקָנֽוֹ׃ | zekano | beard his | H2206 → |
וַיְשַׁנּ֤וֹand he changed it
vayshanoH8138 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
טַעְמוֹ֙sense his
ta'moH2940 →
בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔םin view their
beeineihemH5869 →887 times
וַיִּתְהֹלֵ֖לand he pretended to be mad
vaiyitholelH1984 →
בְּיָדָ֑םin hand their
beyadamH3027 →1618 times
וַיְתָיו֙and he made marks
vaytavH8427 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דַּלְת֣וֹת[the] doors of
daltotH1817 →88 times
הַשַּׁ֔עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
וַיּ֥וֹרֶדand he made to flow down
vaiyoredH3381 →381 times
רִיר֖וֹspittle his
riroH7388 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
זְקָנֽוֹ׃beard his
zekanoH2206 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 29:25The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:8
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Luke 12:4
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 91:14
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.
- Proverbs 16:20
Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
- Psalms 118:8
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:7Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Against Lying 10.24; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 33 (34).1; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 5 -- Second Discourse on Simplicity.