1 Samuel 26:6
in 1 Samuel 26And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
KJV
Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 26
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ahimelech the Hittite - Only mentioned here. Uriah was also a Hittite. Abishai - He was son of Zeruiah, David’s sister, but probably about the same age as David. He because very famous as a warrior 2Sa 23:18, but was implicated with his brother Joab in the murder of Abner in retaliation for the death of their brother Asahel 2Sa 3:30.
This site's exposition
Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp
on 1 Samuel 26:6-8
David asks who will go down with him into the camp, and Abishai, his sister's son and Joab's brother, answers at once. Once inside, Abishai reads the sleeping king and the spear at his head as a verdict already handed down, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand, and offers to end it in one stroke and never need a second. His words echo the exact language David's own men used in the cave at Engedi in chapter 24, and David's answer will echo his own from that same chapter.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And David said to Achimelech the Hittite, etc. Many, when the Lord was preaching in the flesh, from the Gentiles, many from the Jews flocked to the faith, but he chose the first ministers of his word, by whom he would overthrow and conquer the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), but the other either declined it as too dangerous an enterprise, or at least was content that Abishai, who was forward to it, should run the risk of it rather than himself.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Zerujah - David's sister. His father is not named either because he was now dead; or because he was an obscure person.
Then answered David,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Abishai the son of Zeruiah - She was David’s sister; and therefore Abishai and Joab were nephews to David.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַן | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲחִימֶ֣לֶךְ | ʾachimelekh | Ahimelech | H288 → | 16 times |
| הַחִתִּ֗י | hachiti | the Hittite | H2850 → | |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲבִישַׁ֨י | ʾavishai | Abishai | H52 → | 25 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צְרוּיָ֜ה | tzeruyah | Zeruiah | H6870 → | |
| אֲחִ֤י | ʾachi | [the] brother of | H251 → | 630 times |
| יוֹאָב֙ | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִֽי־ | mi- | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יֵרֵ֥ד | yered | will he go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אִתִּ֛י | ʾiti | with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲבִישַׁ֔י | ʾavishai | Abishai | H52 → | 25 times |
| אֲנִ֖י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֵרֵ֥ד | ʾered | I will go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיַּ֨עַןand he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲחִימֶ֣לֶךְAhimelech
ʾachimelekhH288 →16 times
הַחִתִּ֗יthe Hittite
hachitiH2850 →
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אֲבִישַׁ֨יAbishai
ʾavishaiH52 →25 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צְרוּיָ֜הZeruiah
tzeruyahH6870 →
אֲחִ֤י[the] brother of
ʾachiH251 →630 times
יוֹאָב֙Joab
yoavH3097 →
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מִֽי־who?
mi-H4310 →423 times
יֵרֵ֥דwill he go down
yeredH3381 →381 times
אִתִּ֛יwith me
ʾitiH854 →929 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲבִישַׁ֔יAbishai
ʾavishaiH52 →25 times
אֲנִ֖יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֵרֵ֥דI will go down
ʾeredH3381 →381 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃with you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
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
2 Samuel 2:18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle,
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 12:8
Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions…
- Habakkuk 3:19
GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
- Song of Solomon 2:17
Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.
- Song of Solomon 8:14
Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
- Psalms 18:33
He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
- 1 Chronicles 12:8
Through
2 Samuel 11:6At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- Matthew 26:72
And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
- Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
- Proverbs 28:13
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
3 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…
- PersonEarly monarchyAhimelechPriest of Nob who gave the fugitive David the showbread and Goliath's sword, not knowing the king's quarrel; slain with eighty-fiv…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.
