1
tc (1:1) The translation follows the MT. The LXX reads "a man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite"; this is followed by a number of recent English translations. It is possible the MT reading <yp!ox (xop!<) arose from dittography of the mem at the beginning of the following word.
2tn (1:3) Heb "from days to days."
3tn (1:5) The exact sense of the Hebrew word áappayim ("two faces") is not certain here. It most likely is used with the preceding expression ("one portion of two faces") to mean a portion double that normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning "double" is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: "heavily" (cf. Vulg., tristis) and "worthy" or "choice" (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to áepes and translating it as "but" or "however." This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.
4tn (1:5) Heb "for Hannah he loved." Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun ("her") has been used in the translation. The translation also adds the adverb "especially" to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.
5tn (1:5) Heb "and the LORD had closed her womb." So also in v. 6. The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is pertinent to the story.
6tn (1:6) Heb "and her rival wife grieved her, even [with] grief so as to worry her."
7tn (1:7) The MT has a masculine form of the verb here (ya´aseh, "he used to do"); the subject in that case would presumably be Elkanah. But this leads to an abrupt change of subject in the following part of the verse, where the subject is the rival wife who caused Hannah anxiety. In light of v. 6 one expects the statement of v. 7 to refer to the ongoing actions of the rival wife: "she used to behave in this way year after year." Some scholars have proposed retaining the masculine form but changing the vocalization of the verb so as to read a Niphal rather than a Qal (i.e., ye´aseh, "so it used to be done"). But the problem here is lack of precedent for such a use of the Niphal of this verb. It seems best in light of the context to understand the reference to be to Hannah's rival Peninnah and to read here with the Syriac Peshitta a feminine form of the verb ("she used to do"). In the translation the referent (Peninnah) has been specified for clarity.
8tn (1:7) Heb "she"; the referent (Hannah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9tn (1:7) Heb "she"; the referent (Peninnah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10tn (1:8) Heb "why is your heart displeased?"
11sn (1:8) Like the number seven, the number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number (see, for example, Dan 1:20, Zech 8:23).
12tc (1:9) The LXX adds "and stood before the Lord," but this is probably a textual expansion due to the terseness of the statement in the Hebrew text.
13tn (1:9) Or perhaps, "on his throne." See Joüon-Muraoka, Grammar, §137.f.
14tn (1:10) Heb "she [was in] bitterness of soul."
15tn (1:10) Heb "and weeping, she was weeping." The infinitive absolute emphasizes the extent of her sorrow. The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the continuation of the action in past time.
16tn (1:11) Heb "if looking you look." The expression can refer, as here, to looking favorably upon another, in this case with compassion.
17tn (1:11) Heb "handmaid." The use of this term (translated two more times in this verse and once each in vv. 16, 17 simply as "servant" for stylistic reasons) is an expression of humility.
18tn (1:11) Heb "seed of men."
19tn (1:11) Heb "a razor will not go up upon his head."
20tc (1:12) Heb "before." Many medieval Hebrew manuscripts read "to."
21tn (1:14) Heb "Eli." The pronoun ("he") has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
22tn (1:15) Heb "No."
23tn (1:15) Heb "I am a woman difficult of spirit." The LXX has "for whom the day is difficult," apparently mistaking the Hebrew word for "spirit" (ruah) to be the word for "day" (yom).
24tn (1:15) Heb "before."
25tn (1:16) Heb "daughter of worthlessness."
26tc (1:18) Several medieval Hebrew MSS and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words "and got something to eat."
27tn (1:19) Heb "knew."
28sn (1:19) The Lord "remembered" her in the sense of granting her earlier request for a child. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.
29tn (1:20) Heb "because from the LORD I asked him." The name "Samuel" sounds like the Hebrew verb translated "asked." The explanation of the meaning of the name "Samuel" that is provided in v. 20 is not a strict etymology. It seems to suggest that the first part of the name is derived from the Hebrew root sál ("to ask"), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root sm´ ("to hear"), for the same reason. It more probably derives from sem ("name"), so that "Samuel" means "name of God." Verse 20 therefore does not set forth a linguistic explanation of the meaning of the name, but rather draws a parallel between similar sounds. This figure of speech is known as paronomasia.
30tn (1:22) The disjunctive clause is contrastive here.
31tn (1:23) Heb "what is good in your eyes."
32tn (1:23) Heb "establish his word." This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli's priestly blessing (see v. 17).
33sn (1:24) The ephah was a standard dry measure in OT times; it was the equivalent of one-tenth of the OT measure known as a homer. The ephah was equal to approximately one-half to two-thirds of a bushel.
34tc (1:24) Heb "and the boy was a boy." If the MT is correct the meaning apparently is that the boy was quite young at the time of these events. On the other hand, some scholars have suspected a textual problem, emending the text to read either "and the boy was with them" (so LXX) or "and the boy was with her" (a conjectural emendation). In spite of the difficulty it seems best to stay with the MT here.
35tn (1:28) Heb "he," apparently referring to Samuel. A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take verb as plural.
1sn (2:1) Horns of animals have always functioned for them both as offensive and as defensive weapons. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.
2tn (2:1) Heb "my mouth opens wide against."
3tn (2:1) Heb "for I rejoice in your deliverance."
4sn (2:2) In this context God's holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.
5tn (2:2) The LXX has "and there is none righteous like our God." The Hebrew term translated "rock" refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people.
6tn (2:3) Heb "proudly, proudly." If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.
7tc (2:3) The MT (Qere) reads "and by him actions are weighed." The translation assumes that reading of the the Qere ("and by him"), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew MSS, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib, "and not."
8tc (2:4) Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.
9sn (2:4) The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God's blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.
10tn (2:4) Or "languishes."
11tn (2:8) The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.
12tn (2:8) Heb "a seat of honor."
13tn (2:9) Heb "guards the feet of." The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
14tc (2:9) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading the plural ("his holy ones") rather than the singular ("his holy one") of the Kethib.
15tn (2:10) The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.
16tc (2:10) The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural ("his adversaries") rather than the singular ("his adversary") of the Kethib.
17tn (2:10) The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of "from within."
18tn (2:10) The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah's prayer Israel did not yet have a king.
19tn (2:10) Heb "the horn," here a metaphor for power or strength.
20tc (2:10) The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.
sn (2:10) The anointed one is the anticipated king of Israel, as the preceding line makes clear.
21tn (2:11) Heb "with [or, "before"] the face of."
22tn (2:12) Heb "sons of worthlessness."
23tn (2:12) Heb "they did not know the LORD." The verb here has the semantic nuance "recognize the authority of." Eli's sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not recognize his moral authority.
24tn (2:13) Heb "the habit of the priests with the people [was this]."
25sn (2:13) The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.
26tn (2:14) Heb "to all Israel."
27tn (2:15) Heb "living."
28tc (2:16) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS ("no") rather than the Kethib and MT, which read "to him."
29tc (2:17) Heb "the men," which is absent from one medieval Hebrew MS, a Qumran MS, and the LXX.
30tn (2:20) Heb "seed."
31tn (2:20) The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a non-specific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.
32tn (2:20) Heb "his."
33tn (2:21) Heb "with the LORD."
34tn (2:22) Heb "to all Israel."
35tn (2:22) Heb "lie with."
36tc (2:23) For "these" the LXX has "of the Lord" (kuriou), perhaps through the influence of the final phrase of v. 24 ("the people of the LORD"). Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.
37tn (2:24) Heb "no."
38tn (2:25) Heb "desired."
39tn (2:27) The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
40tn (2:27) Heb "your ancestor's" (also in vv. 28, 30).
41tn (2:28) Heb "him"; the referent (Eli's ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42tc (2:29) The MT has a plural "you" here, but the LXX and a Qumran MS have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb "you have honored" later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse ("you have made yourselves fat").
43tn (2:29) Heb "which I commanded, dwelling place." The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God's dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun "my" is supplied in the translation.
44tn (2:30) The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
45tn (2:30) Heb "walk about before."
46tn (2:30) Heb "may it be far removed from me."
47tn (2:31) Heb "chop off your arm." The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.
48tn (2:31) Heb "arm."
49tn (2:32) Heb "you will see [the] trouble of [the] dwelling place." Since God's dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun is supplied in the translation (see v. 29).
50tn (2:32) Heb "in all which he does good with Israel."
51tc (2:32) The LXX and a Qumran manuscript have the first person pronoun "my" here.
52tn (2:32) Heb "all the days."
53tc (2:33) The LXX, a Qumran MS, and a few old Latin MSS have the third person pronominal suffix "his" here.
54tn (2:33) Heb "to cause your eyes to fail." Elsewhere this verb, when used of eyes, refers to bloodshot eyes resulting from weeping, prolonged staring, or illness (see Lev. 26:16; Pss. 69:3; 119:82; Lam. 2:11; 4:17).
55tn (2:33) Heb "and to cause your soul grief."
56tn (2:33) Heb "and all the increase of your house."
57tc (2:33) The text is difficult. The MT literally says "they will die [as] men." Apparently the meaning is that they will be cut off in the prime of their life without reaching old age. The LXX and a Qumran MS, however, have the additional word "sword" ("they will die by the sword of men"). This is an easier reading, but that fact is not in favor of its originality.
58tn (2:34) Heb "and this to you [is] the sign which will come to both of your sons."
59tn (2:35) Heb "house."
60tn (2:35) Heb "and he will walk about before my anointed one all the days."
1tn (3:1) Heb "before Eli."
2tn (3:5) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3tn (3:6) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4tn (3:11) The Hebrew text adds "so that" here, formally connecting this clause with the next.
5tn (3:12) Or "fulfill."
6tc (3:13) The MT has wehiggadti lo. The verb is Hiphil perfect 1cs, and apparently the conjunction should be understood as vav consecutive ("I will say to him"). But the future reference makes more sense if Samuel is the subject. This would require dropping the final yod and reading the 2ms wehiggadta. Although there is no external evidence to support it, this reading has been adopted in the present translation. The alternative is to understand the MT to mean "I said to him," but for this we would expect the preterite with vav consecutive.
7tn (3:13) The translation understands the preposition to have a causal sense. However, the preposition could also be understood as the beth pretii, indicating in a broad sense the price attached to this action. So GKC §119.p.
8tc (3:13) The translation follows the LXX áelohim ("God") rather than the MT lahem ("to them"). The MT seems to mean "they were bringing a curse on themselves." But this meaning is problematic in part because the verb qll means "to curse," not "to bring a curse on," and in part because it takes an accusative object rather than the equivalent of a dative. This is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or "emendations of the scribes." Why would the ancient copyists alter the original statement about Eli's sons cursing God to the less objectionable statement that they brought a curse on themselves. Some argue that the scribes were concerned that such a direct and blasphemous affront against God could occur without an immediate response of judgment from God. Therefore they changed the text by deleting two letters (alef and yod) from the word for "God," with the result that the text then read "to them." If this ancient scribal claim is accepted as accurate, it implies that the MT here is secondary. The present translation follows the LXX (kakologounte" qeon) and a few MSS of the Old Latin in reading "God" rather than the MT "to them."
9tn (3:17) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10tn (3:17) Heb "So God will do to you and thus he will add." The verbal forms in this pronouncement are imperfects, not jussives, but the statement has the force of a curse or warning. One could translate, "May God do to you and thus may he add."
1tn (3:18) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2tn (3:18) Heb "what is good in his eyes."
3tn (3:19) Heb "and he did not cause to fall from all his words to the ground."
4tc (3:21) The LXX has a lengthy addition here: "And Samuel was acknowledged to be a prophet of the LORD in all Israel, from one end to the other. Eli was very old and, as for his sons, their way kept getting worse and worse before the LORD." The Hebraic nature of the Greek syntax used here suggests that the LXX translator was accurately rendering a Hebrew variant and not simply expanding the text on his own initiative.
5tn (3:21) The chapter division at this point is inappropriate. 1 Sam 4:1a is best understood as the conclusion to chap. 3 rather than the beginning of chap. 4.
6tn (4:1) Heb "and the word of Samuel was." The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word ("Samuel" is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word ("Samuel" is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.
7tn (4:1) Heb "and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle."
8tn (4:1) Heb "the stone, the help." The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1.
9tn (4:2) Heb "to meet."
10tn (4:2) The MT has wattitos, from the root nts. This verb normally means "to leave," "to forsake," or "to permit," but such an idea does not fit this context very well. Many scholars have suspected that the text originally read either wattet ("and it spread out"), from the root nth, or wattiqes ("and it grew fierce"), from the root qsh. The former suggestion is apparently supported by the LXX (ejklinen [eklinen, "it inclined"]) and is adopted in the translation.
11tn (4:2) Heb "before."
12tn (4:2) Heb "the Philistines, and they killed." The pronoun "they" has been translated as a relative pronoun ("who") to make it clear to the English reader that the Philistines were the ones who did the killing.
13tn (4:3) Or "people."
14tn (4:3) Heb "before."
15tn (4:3) Heb "and it will come in our midst and it will save." After the cohortative (see "let's take"), the prefixed verbal forms with the prefixed conjunction indicate purpose or result. The translation understands the ark to be the subject of the third masculine singular verbs, although it is possible to understand the Lord as the subject. In the latter case, one should translate, "when he is with us, he will save us."
16tn (4:4) Or "people."
17tn (4:5) Heb "shouted [with] a great shout."
18tn (4:7) The Hebrew text has a direct quote, "because they said, `Gods have come to the camp.'" Even though the verb translated "have come" is singular, the following subject should be taken as plural ("gods"), as v. 8 indicates. Some emend the verb to a plural form.
19tn (4:7) Traditionally "woe to." They thought disaster was imminent.
20tn (4:10) Heb "and they fled, each to his tents."
21tn (4:12) Or perhaps, "the same day." On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon-Muraoka, Grammar, §143.f.
22tc (4:13) Read with many medieval Hebrew MSS, the Qere, and much versional evidence yad ("hand") rather than the MT yak.
23tn (4:13) Heb "his heart was trembling."
24tn (4:13) Heb "and the man came to report in the city."
25tn (4:14) Heb "the sound of the cry."
26tn (4:14) Heb "the sound of this commotion."
27tn (4:15) Heb "were set" or "were fixed," i.e., without vision.
28tn (4:16) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29tn (4:17) Heb "before."
30tn (4:18) Heb "he"; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31tn (4:18) Heb "the man."
32tn (4:20) Heb "and she did not set her heart."
33sn (4:21) The name Ichabod may mean, "Where is the glory?"
1tc (5:3) The LXX adds "they entered the temple of Dagon and saw."
2tc (5:4) Heb "only Dagon was left." We should probably read the word gew ("back") before Dagon, understanding it to have the sense of the similar word gewiyya ("body"). This variant is supported by the following evidence: the LXX has he rachis ("the back" or "trunk"); the Syriac Peshitta has wegusmeh ("and the body of"); the Targum has gupyeh ("the body of"); the Vulgate has truncus ("the trunk of"). On the strength of this evidence the present translation employs the phrase "Dagon's body."
3tn (5:6) Heb "the hand of the LORD was heavy upon."
4tn (5:6) The words "the people of" are supplied in the translation for clarification.
5tc (5:6) The LXX and Vulgate add the following: "And mice multiplied in their land, and the terror of death was throughout the entire city."
6tn (5:7) Heb "men."
7tn (5:7) Heb "for his hand is severe upon."
8tn (5:8) Heb "and they sent and gathered."
9tn (5:9) Heb "the hand of the LORD was against the city."
10tn (5:9) Heb "and he struck the men of the city from small and to great."
11tn (5:10) Heb "to me."
12tn (5:10) Heb "my."
13tn (5:11) Heb "and they sent and gathered."
14tn (5:11) Heb "me."
15tn (5:11) Heb "my."
16tn (5:11) Or "panic."
17tn (5:11) Heb "the hand of God was very heavy there."
18tn (5:12) Heb "men."
1tn (6:1) Heb "field."
2tc (6:1) The LXX adds "and their land swarmed with mice."
3tc (6:3) The LXX and a Qumran MS add "the covenant of the LORD."
4tn (6:5) Heb "your mice." A Qumran MS has simply "the mice."
5tn (6:5) Heb "Perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land."
6tn (6:6) Heb "like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart."
7tn (6:6) Heb "he"; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8tn (6:6) Heb "and they sent them away and they went."
9tn (6:10) Heb "and the men did so."
10tc (6:18) A few Hebrew MSS and the LXX read "villages; the large rock...[is witness] until this very day."
11tn (6:19) Heb "he"; the referent (the LORD) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12tc (6:19) The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew MSS lack "50,000," reading simply "70" instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The translation reluctantly follows the MT and the ancient versions here.
1tn (7:1) Heb "men."
2tn (7:2) Heb "mourned after."
3tn (7:3) Heb "the Ashtarot" (plural; also in the following verse). The words "images of" are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.
sn (7:3) The Semitic goddess Ashtart (Astarte) was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.
4tn (7:3) Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
5tn (7:6) Heb "said."
6tn (7:6) Heb "judged."
7tn (7:8) Heb "don't stop."
8tc (7:8) The LXX reads "your God" rather than the MT's "our God."
9tn (7:8) After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
10tn (7:9) Heb "a lamb of milk."
11tn (7:10) Heb "approached for battle against Israel."
12tn (7:10) Heb "before."
13sn (7:12) The name Ebenezer means "stone of help" in Hebrew.
14tn (7:14) Heb "hand."
15tn (7:15) Heb "judged" (also in v. 17).
1tn (8:3) Heb "walk in" (also in v. 5).
2tn (8:3) Heb "and they turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice."
3tn (8:5) Heb "judge" (also in v. 6).
4tn (8:6) Heb "when."
5tn (8:7) Heb "Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you."
6tn (8:8) Heb "according to all the deeds which they have done."
7tn (8:9) Heb "and now, listen to their voice."
8tn (8:9) The infinitive absolute appears before the imperative for emphasis.
9tn (8:9) Heb "and tell them the manner of the king who will rule over them."
10tc (8:12) The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For "fifties" the LXX has "hundreds." The Syriac Peshitta has "heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens," perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.
11tn (8:15) Or "eunuchs."
12tc (8:18) The LXX adds "because you have chosen for yourselves a king."
13tn (8:19) Heb "and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel."
14tn (8:20) Heb "and go out before us."
15tn (8:21) Heb "and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the LORD."
16tn (8:22) Heb "listen to their voice."
1tn (9:3) Heb "became lost."
2tn (9:3) Heb "and arise, go."
3tc (9:3) The Syriac Peshitta includes the following words: "So Saul arose and went out. He took with him one of the boys and went out to look for his father's donkeys."
4tn (9:6) The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
5tn (9:6) Heb "our way on which we have gone."
6tn (9:7) Heb "look."
7sn (9:8) A quarter shekel of silver would weigh about a tenth of an ounce (about 3 grams).
8tn (9:8) Heb "our way."
9tn (9:10) Heb "your word is good."
10tc (9:13) The MT has "him" (Heb. `oto) here, in addition to the "him" at the end of the verse. The ancient versions attest to only one occurrence of the pronoun, although it is possible that this is due to translation technique rather than to their having a Hebrew text with the pronoun used only once. The present translation assumes textual duplication in the MT and does not attempt to represent the pronoun twice. However, for a defense of the MT here, with the suggested translation "for him just now--you will find him," see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 72-73.
11tn (9:14) Heb "to meet them." This may indicate purpose on Samuel's part. The next sentence indicates that the meeting was by design, not just an accident.
12tn (9:15) Heb "uncovered the ear of."
13tn (9:16) Heb "anoint."
14tn (9:17) Heb "responded."
15tn (9:19) Heb "all that is in your heart."
16tn (9:20) Heb "do not fix your heart."
17tn (9:22) Heb "took and brought."
18tn (9:24) Heb "he" (also in v. 25); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in both places in the translation for clarity.
19tc (9:27) This statement is absent in the LXX (with the exception of Origen), an Old Latin MS, and the Syriac Peshitta.
20tn (9:27) The words "Samuel then said" are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
1tn (10:1) Heb "his"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2tn (10:1) Heb "he"; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3tn (10:1) Heb "Is it not that the LORD has anointed you?" The question draws attention to the fact and is a rhetorical way of affirming the Lord's choice of Saul. The translation reflects the rhetorical force of the question.
4tn (10:1) That is, "anointed."
5tc (10:1) The MT reads simply "Is it not that the LORD has anointed you over his inheritance for a leader?" The translation follows the LXX. The MT apparently suffers from parablepsis, whereby a scribe's eye jumped from the first occurrence of the expression "the LORD has anointed you" to the second occurrence of this expression at the end of v. 1. This mistake caused the accidental omission of the intervening material in the LXX, which appears to preserve the original Hebrew text here.
6sn (10:2) In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul's father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him.
7tn (10:5) Or "sentries." Some translate "outpost" or "garrison" here (see 1 Sam 13:3). The noun is plural in the Hebrew text, but the LXX and other ancient witnesses read a singular noun here.
8sn (10:7) In light of Saul's commission to be Israel's deliverer (see v. 1), it is likely that some type of military action against the Philistines (see v.5) is implied.
9tn (10:9) Heb "he"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10tn (10:9) Heb "turned his shoulder."
11tn (10:9) Heb "God turned for him another heart."
12tc (10:10) Two medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta have the singular "he."
13tn (10:13) Heb "he"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14tn (10:14) Heb "he"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15tn (10:14) Heb "And we saw that they were not."
16tc (10:15) In the LXX and Vulgate the pronoun "you" is singular, referring specifically to Saul. In the MT it is plural, including Saul's servant as well.
17tn (10:16) Heb "he"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18tn (10:18) Heb "hand" (also later in this verse).
19tc (10:19) The translation follows many medieval Hebrew MSS, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading loá ("not") rather than the MT lo ("to him"). Some witnesses combine the variants, resulting in a conflated text. For example, a few medieval Hebrew MSS have lo loá ("to him, `No.'"). A few others have li loá ("to me, `No.'").
20tn (10:22) Or "baggage."
21tn (10:25) Heb "the regulation of the kingship." This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).
22tn (10:27) Heb "sons of worthlessness" (see 2:12).
23tc (10:27) In place of the MT ("and it was like one being silent") the LXX has "after about a month," taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran MS of Samuel, which has here "about a month." However, it seems best to stay with the MT here even though it is difficult.
1tc (11:1) 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash's practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: "Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead." This reading should not be lightly dismissed; it may in fact provide a text superior to that of the MT and the ancient versions. But the external evidence for it is so limited as to induce caution; the present translation instead follows the MT. However, for a reasonable case for including this reading in the text see the discussions in P. K. McCarter Jr., I Samuel, 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel, 103.
2tn (11:1) Heb "went up and camped."
3tn (11:4) Heb "to Gibeah of Saul."
4tn (11:4) Heb "lifted their voice and wept."
5tn (11:5) Or perhaps, "his oxen." On this use of the definite article see Joüon-Muraoka, Grammar, §137.f.
6tn (11:5) Heb "the matters of."
7tn (11:7) Heb "yoke."
8tn (11:7) Heb "like one man."
9tc (11:8) The LXX and two Old Latin MSS read 600,000 here, rather than the MT's 300,000.
10tc (11:8) The LXX, two Old Latin MSS, and a Qumran MS read 70,000 here, rather than the MT's 30,000.
11tn (11:10) The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.
12tn (11:10) Heb "according to all that is good in your eyes."
13tn (11:11) Heb "Ammon."
14tn (11:15) Heb "and there in Gilgal."
1tn (12:1) Heb "Look, I have listened to your voice."
2tn (12:1) Heb "to all which you said to me."
3tn (12:1) Heb "and I have installed a king over you."
4tn (12:3) Heb "anointed [one]."
5tn (12:3) The words "tell me" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6tn (12:5) Heb "anointed [one]."
7tn (12:5) Heb "that you have not found anything in my hand."
8tn (12:6) Heb "fathers" (also in vv. 7, 8).
9tn (12:7) Heb "and I will enter into judgment with you."
10tn (12:7) Heb "all the just actions which he has done with you and with your fathers."
11tn (12:9) Heb "Look, I have listened to your voice."
12tn (12:10) Heb "the Ashtarot" (plural). The words "images of" are supplied in both vv. 3 and 4 for clarity.
sn (12:10) The Semitic goddess Ashtart (Astarte) was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
13tn (12:10) After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
14sn (12:11) Jerub-Baal is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.
15tc (12:11) The MT has "Bedan" here. But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading "Barak."
16tc (12:11) In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has "Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel." But the Targum has "Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel," while the Syriac Peshitta has "Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson."
17tn (12:14) Heb "and you listen to his voice."
18tn (12:14) Heb "the mouth of the LORD." So also in v. 15.
19tn (12:14) The words "all will be well" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
20tn (12:15) Heb "listen to the voice of."
21tc (12:15) The LXX reads "your king" rather than the MT's "your fathers." The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate "as it was against your fathers." See McCarter, 1 Samuel, 212.
22tn (12:19) Heb "for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king."
23tn (12:20) Heb "you have done all this evil."
24tn (12:22) Heb "on account of his great name."
1tc (13:1) The MT does not have "thirty." A number appears to have dropped out of the Hebrew text here, since as it stands the MT (literally, "a son of a year") must mean that Saul was only one year old when he began to reign! Although most LXX MSS lack the entire verse, some Greek MSS have "thirty years" here (while others have "one year"). The Syriac Peshitta has Saul's age as twenty-one. But this seems impossible to harmonize with the implied age of Saul's son Jonathan in the following verse. Taking into account the fact that in v. 2 Jonathan was old enough to be a military leader, some scholars prefer to supply in v. 1 the number forty (cf. NASB). The present translation ("thirty") is a possible but admittedly uncertain proposal.
2tc (13:1) The MT has "two years" here. If this number is to be accepted as correct, the meaning apparently would be that after a lapse of two years at the beginning of Saul's reign, he then went about the task of consolidating an army as described in what follows. But if the statement in v. 1 is intended to be a comprehensive report on the length of Saul's reign, the number is too small. According to Acts 13:21 Saul reigned for forty years. The NIV, taking this forty to be a round number, adds it to the "two years" of the MT and translates the number in 2 Sam 13:1 as "forty-two years." While this is an acceptable option, the present translation instead replaces the MT's "two" with the figure "forty." Admittedly the textual evidence for this decision is weak, but the same can be said of any attempt to restore sense to this difficult text. The Syriac Peshitta lacks this part of v. 1.
3tn (13:2) Heb "each one to his tents."
4tn (13:3) Or perhaps "struck down the Philistine official." See the note at 1 Sam 10:5.
5tn (13:3) Heb "blew the ram's horn in."
6tn (13:4) The words "this message" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7tn (13:4) Heb "stinks." The figurative language indicates that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines.
8tn (13:4) Heb "were summoned after."
9tn (13:6) This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49.
tn () The word "River" is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
11tn (13:8) This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 201-23.
12tn (13:8) Heb "dispersed from upon him."
13tn (13:10) Heb "to bless him."
14tn (13:11) Heb "dispersed from upon me."
15tn (13:12) Heb "said."
16tn (13:12) Or "forced myself."
17tn (13:13) Or "kept."
18tn (13:13) Heb "commanded."
19tn (13:14) This verb form, as well as the one that follows ("appointed"), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul's dynasty are numbered.
20tn (13:14) Heb "according to his heart." The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.
21tn (13:14) Heb "commanded."
22tc (13:15) The LXX and two Old Latin MSS include the following words here: "on his way. And the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the warring army. When they arrived from Gilgal...."
23tn (13:16) The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses in v.16 indicates synchronic action.
24tc (13:20) The translation follows the LXX ("their sickle") here, rather than the MT "plowshares," which is due to dittography from the word earlier in the verse.
25tn (13:21) Heb "the price was." The meaning of the Hebrew word hryxp is uncertain. This is the only place it occurs in the OT. Some propose the meaning "sharpening," but "price" is a more likely meaning if the following term refers to a weight (see the following note on the word "shekel"). See McCarter, I Samuel, 238.
26tn (13:21) This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked myp have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See McCarter, I Samuel, 238; DNWSI, 910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 259.
27tc (13:21) Heb "and for a third, a pick." The Hebrew text suffers from haplography at this point. The translation follows the textual reconstruction offered by McCarter, I Samuel, 235.
1tn (14:6) Heb "act."
2tn (14:7) Heb "in your heart."
3tn (14:7) Heb "Look, I am with you, according to your heart." See the note at 13:14.
4tn (14:8) Heb "Look!"
5tn (14:9) Heb "stand."
6tn (14:11) Heb "the two of them."
7tn (14:12) Heb "a thing."
8tn (14:12) The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan's certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.
9tn (14:13) Heb "and they fell before Jonathan."
10tn (14:13) Heb "and the one carrying his equipment was killing after him."
11tn (14:15) Heb "fell upon."
12tn (14:15) Heb "and it was by the fear of God." The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word "God" functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word "fear," in which one might translate "a very great fear." It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon-Muraoka, Grammar, §141.n.
13tn (14:16) Heb "saw, and look!."
14tn (14:16) Heb "the crowd melted and went, even here."
15tn (14:17) Heb "and they mustered the troops, and look!"
16tc (14:18) Heb "the ark of God." It seems unlikely that Saul would call for the ark, which was several miles away in Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Sam 7:2). The LXX and an Old Latin MS have "ephod" here, a reading which harmonizes better with v. 3 and fits better with the verb "bring near" (see 1 Sam 23:9; 30:7) and with the expression "withdraw your hand" in v.19. This reading is followed in the translation.
17tn (14:18) Heb "for the ark of God was in that day, and the sons of Israel." The translation follows the text of some Greek manuscripts. See the previous note.
18tn (14:19) Or perhaps "until."
19tn (14:20) Heb "and look, there was"
20tn (14:20) Heb "the sword of a man against his companion, a very great panic."
21tn (14:21) Heb "and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around."
22tc (14:23) The LXX includes the following words: "And all the people were with Saul, about ten thousand men. And the battle extended to the entire city on mount Ephraim."
23tn (14:25) Heb "all the land."
24tn (14:25) Heb "the surface of the field."
25tn (14:26) Heb "and the army entered the forest, and look!"
26tn (14:26) Heb "and there was no one putting his hand to his mouth."
27tn (14:27) Heb "and he returned his hand to his mouth."
28tc (14:27) The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew MSS in reading "gleamed," rather than the Kethib, "saw."
29tn (14:28) Heb "your father surely put the army under an oath." The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize the solemn nature of the oath.
30tc (14:29) The LXX reads "saw." See v. 27.
31tc (14:32) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading "and they rushed greedily upon," rather than the Kethib, "and they did."
340tc (14:32) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading "the plunder," rather than the Kethib, "plunder."
32tc (14:32) The translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS hassalal ("the spoil") rather than following the Kethib reading, salal ("spoil").
33tn (14:33) Heb "You have acted deceptively." In this context the verb refers to violating an agreement, in this case the dietary and sacrificial regulations of the Mosaic law. The verb form is second masculine plural; apparently Saul here addresses those who are eating the animals.
34tn (14:34) Heb "and all the army brought near, each his ox by his hand, and they slaughtered there."
35tn (14:36) Heb "plunder."
36tn (14:36) Heb "until the light of the morning."
37tn (14:36) Heb "and there will not be left among them a man."
38tn (14:36) Heb "all that is good in your eyes." So also in v. 40.
39tn (14:38) Heb "know and see."
40tn (14:39) Heb "and there was no one answering from all the army."
41tc (14:41) Heb "to the LORD God of Israel: `Give what is perfect.'" The Hebrew textual tradition has accidentally omitted several words here. The translation follows the LXX. See McCarter, I Samuel, 247-48, and Klein, 1 Samuel, 132.
sn (14:41) The Urim and Thummim were used for lot casting in ancient Israel. Their exact identity is uncertain; they may have been specially marked stones drawn from a bag. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8, and Deut 33:8, as well as the discussion in Klein, 1 Samuel, 140.
42tn (14:41) Heb "went out."
43tc (14:42) The LXX includes the following words: "Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, `It is not this word.' But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son."
44tn (14:43) Heb "Look, I, I will die." Apparently Jonathan is acquiescing to his anticipated fate of death. However, the words may be taken as sarcastic ("Here I am about to die!") or as a question, "Must I now die?" (see NIV, "And now must I die?").
45tn (14:44) Heb "So God will do and so he will add, surely you will certainly die, Jonathan."
46tn (14:45) Heb "and he did not die."
47tn (14:46) Heb "to their place."
48tn (14:47) Heb "his," which could refer to Israel or to Saul.
49tc (14:47) The translation follows the LXX ("he was delivered"), rather than the MT, which reads, "he acted wickedly."
50tn (14:48) Heb "plunderers."
51sn (14:49) The list differs from others. In 1 Sam 31:2 (= 1 Chr 10:2), Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua are listed as Saul's sons, while 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39 list Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
52sn (14:50) The word "uncle" can modify either Abner or Ner. See the note on the word "son" in v. 51 for further discussion.
53tn (14:51) 1 Chr 9:35-36 indicates that Jeiel (= Abiel?) had two sons (among others) named Ner and Kish (see also 1 Sam 9:1 and 1 Chr 8:30, where some Greek manuscripts include the name Ner, though it is absent in the Hebrew text). If this Kish was the father of Saul and Ner was the father of Abner, then Saul and Abner were cousins. However, according to 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39, Ner, not Abiel, was the father of Kish. In this case, Kish and Abner were brothers and Abner was Saul's uncle. The simplest solution to the problem is to see two men named Kish in the genealogy: Abiel (Jeiel) was the father of Ner and Kish I. Ner was the father of Abner and Kish II. Kish II was the father of Saul. The Kish mentioned in 1 Sam 9:1 was the father of Saul (v.2) and must be identified as Kish II. In this case the genealogy is "gapped," with Ner being omitted. Abiel was the grandfather of Kish II.
1tn (15:1) Heb "to the voice of the words of the LORD."
2tn (15:2) Heb "what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him."
3tn (15:2) Heb "he"; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4tn (15:3) Or perhaps "don't take pity on."
5tn (15:4) Heb "caused the people to hear."
6tn (15:4) Heb "people."
7tc (15:5) The LXX has the plural here, "cities."
8tc (15:5) The translation follows the LXX and Vulgate (which assume a reading wayyaáreb, "and he set an ambush," from the root árb with quiescence of alef) rather than the MT, which has wayyareb, "and he contended," from the root ryb.
9tn (15:5) That is, "the dry stream bed."
10tc (15:6) The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate (which assume a reading áespeka, "I sweep you away," from the root sph) rather than the MT áosipeka, "I am gathering you," from the root ásp.
11tn (15:7) Heb "[as] you enter."
12tn (15:9) The Hebrew text is difficult here. We should probably read wehammasmannim ("the fat ones") rather than the MT wehammisnim ("the second ones"). However, if the MT is retained, the sense may be as the Jewish commentator Kimchi supposed: the second-born young, thought to be better than the firstlings. (For discussion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 123-24.)
13tn (15:9) Heb "good."
14tc (15:9) The MT has here the very odd form nemibza, but this is apparently due to a scribal error. The translation follows instead the Niphal participle nibza.
15tn (15:12) Heb "and look."
16tn (15:12) Heb "and he turned and crossed over."
17tc (15:12) At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin MS include the following words not found in the MT: "to Saul. And behold, he was offering as a burnt offering to the LORD the best of the spoils that he had brought from the Amalekites."
18tn (15:13) Heb "to Saul."
19tn (15:14) The words "if that is the case" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
20tn (15:15) Heb "they brought them."
21tn (15:16) Or perhaps "be quiet."
22tc (15:16) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading the singular ("he said") rather than the plural ("they said") of the Kethib.
23tn (15:17) Heb "anointed."
24tn (15:18) Heb "journey."
25tc (15:18) The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix ("you") rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT ("they").
26tn (15:19) Heb "listened to the voice of the LORD."
27tn (15:19) Heb "you have done what is evil in the eyes of the LORD."
28tn (15:20) Heb "listened to the voice of the LORD."
29tn (15:20) Heb "journey."
30tn (15:22) Heb "as [in] listening to the voice of the LORD."
31tn (15:22) Heb "look."
32tn (15:22) Heb "listening."
33tn (15:22) The expression "is better" is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
34tn (15:23) Or "from [being]."
35tn (15:24) Heb "the mouth of the LORD."
36tn (15:24) Heb "and your words."
37tn (15:24) Heb "and I listened to their voice."
38tn (15:25) Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
39tn (15:27) Heb "he," but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran MS and the LXX include the name "Saul" here.
40tn (15:29) Heb "splendor," used here by metonymy as a title for the LORD.
41tn (15:29) Or perhaps "does not lie."
42sn (15:29) This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., "Does God Change His Mind?" BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
43tn (15:30) Heb "he"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44tn (15:32) The MT reading ma´adannot (literally, "bonds," used here adverbially, "in bonds") is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ´nd ("to bind around"), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root ´dn with the meaning "voluptuously," but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root m´d ("to totter" or "shake"). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle tremon (tremon, "trembling").
45tn (15:32) Heb "and Agag said."
46tc (15:32) The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin MSS, and the Syriac Peshitta it is probably preferable to delete sar ("is past") of the MT; it looks suspiciously like a dittograph of the following word (mar, "bitter"). This further affects the interpretation of Agag's comment. In the MT he comes to Samuel confidently assured that the danger is over (see KJV and NIV, "Surely the bitterness of death is past"). However, it seems more likely that Agag realized that his fortunes had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and that the clemency he had enjoyed from Saul would not be his lot from Samuel. The present translation thus understands Agag to approach not confidently but in the stark realization that his death is imminent ("Surely death is bitter!").
47tn (15:35) That is, Samuel.
1tc (16:1) The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: "And the Lord said to Samuel."
2tn (16:1) Heb "for I have seen among his sons for me a king."
3tn (16:2) Heb "in your hand."
4tn (16:3) Heb "say."
5tn (16:4) Heb "said."
6tc (16:4) In the MT the verb is singular ("he said"), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions in reading the plural ("they said").
7tn (16:6) Heb "he"; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8tn (16:6) Heb "saw."
9tn (16:6) Heb "his anointed one."
10tn (16:7) Heb "don't look toward."
11tn (16:7) Heb "for not that which the man sees." The translation follows the LXX, which reads, "for not as man sees does God see." The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See McCarter, I Samuel, 274.
12tn (16:7) Heb "to the eyes."
13tn (16:8) Heb "and caused him to pass before."
14tn (16:8) Heb "he" (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15tn (16:9) Heb "caused to pass by."
16tn (16:10) Heb "caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel." This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.
17tn (16:11) Heb "he"; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.
18tn (16:12) Heb "and he sent and brought him."
19tn (16:14) Or "an injurious spirit." The phrase need not refer to an evil, demonic spirit. The Hebrew word translated "evil" may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be "a mischief making spirit."
20tn (16:16) Heb "and he will play with his hand."
21tn (16:16) Heb "and it will be better for you."
22tn (16:17) Heb "see."
23tn (16:18) Heb "mighty man of valor and a man of war."
24tn (16:18) Heb "discerning of word."
25tn (16:18) Heb "a man of form."
26tn (16:20) Heb "a kid of the goats."
27tn (16:20) Heb "by the hand of."
28tn (16:21) Heb "he loved him."
29tn (16:22) Heb "Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes."
30tn (16:23) Heb "would turn aside from upon him."
1tc (17:1) The content of 1 Sam 17-18, which includes the David and Goliath story, differs considerably in the LXX as compared to the MT, suggesting that this story circulated in ancient times in more than one form. The LXX for chs. 17-18 is much shorter than the MT, lacking almost half of the material (39 of a total of 88 verses). Many scholars (e.g., McCarter, Klein) think that the shorter text of the LXX is preferable to the MT, which in their view has been expanded by incorporation of later material. Other scholars (e.g., Wellhausen, Driver) conclude that the shorter Greek text (or the Hebrew text that underlies it) reflects an attempt to harmonize certain alleged inconsistencies that appear in the longer version of the story. Given the translation characteristics of the LXX elsewhere in this section, it does not seem likely that these differences are due to deliberate omission of these verses on the part of the translator. It seems more likely that the Greek translator has faithfully rendered here a Hebrew text that itself was much shorter than the MT in these chapters. Whether or not the shorter text represented by the LXX is to be preferred over the MT in 1 Sam 17-18 is a matter over which textual scholars are divided. For a helpful discussion of the major textual issues in this unit see D. Barthélemy, D. W. Gooding, J. Lust, and E. Tov, The Story of David and Goliath: Textual and Literary Criticism, OBO 73 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986). Overall it seems preferable to stay with the MT, at least for the most part. However, the major textual differences between the LXX and the MT will be mentioned in the notes that accompany the translation so that the reader may be alert to the major problem passages.
2tn (17:1) Heb "camps."
3tn (17:2) Heb "to meet."
4tn (17:4) Heb "the man of the space between the two [armies]." See v. 23.
5tc (17:4) Heb "his height was six cubits and a span." A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall. However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read "four cubits and a span" here, that is, about six feet, nine inches. This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath's height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See McCarter, I Samuel, 286, 291.
6sn (17:5) Although the exact weight of Goliath's defensive body armor is difficult to estimate in terms of modern equivalency, it was obviously quite heavy. Driver, following Kennedy, suggests a modern equivalent of about 220 pounds (100 kg). (See S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 139.) Klein, taking the shekel to be equal to .403 ounces, arrives at a somewhat smaller weight of about 126 pounds (57 kg). (See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel, 175.) But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed!
7sn (17:6) Or "greaves." These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
8tn (17:7) The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading "wood," rather than the "arrow" (the reading of the Kethib).
9sn (17:7) That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
10tn (17:8) The Hebrew text adds "and said to them."
11tc (17:8) The translation follows the ancient versions in reading "choose," (from the root bhr), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (brh) elsewhere means "to eat food"; the sense of "to choose," required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.
12tn (17:8) Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.
13tn (17:10) Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.
14tn (17:11) Heb "all Israel."
15tc (17:12) Some MSS of the LXX lack vv. 12-31.
16tc (17:12) The translation follows the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading "in years," rather than MT "among men."
17tn (17:13) Heb "his."
18tn (17:15) Heb "was going and returning."
19tn (17:17) Heb "run."
20tn (17:18) Heb "officer of the thousand."
21tn (17:18) Heb "and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare."
22tn (17:18) Heb "and their pledge take." This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. Klein, ! Samuel, 177.
23tn (17:20) Or "entrenchment."
24tn (17:22) Heb "the guard of the equipment."
25tn (17:23) Heb "according to these words."
26tn (17:24) Or "fled."
27tn (17:25) Heb "he is coming up."
28tn (17:26) Heb "and turns aside humiliation from upon Israel."
29tn (17:27) Heb "people."
30tn (17:27) Heb "according to this word, saying."
31tn (17:28) Heb "the anger of Eliab became hot."
32tn (17:28) Heb "the wickedness of your heart."
33tn (17:29) Heb "Is it not [just] a word?"
34tn (17:30) Heb "and spoke according to this word."
35tn (17:30) Heb "the people."
36tn (17:31) Heb "he took him."
37tn (17:32) Heb "Let not the heart of a man fall upon him." The LXX reads "my lord," instead of "a man."
38tc (17:36) The LXX includes here the following words not found in the MT: "Should I not go and smite him, and remove today reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one?"
39tn (17:37) Or "Go, and may the LORD be with you."
40tn (17:39) Heb "he had not tested."
41tn (17:40) This Hebrew word occurs only here and its exact meaning is not entirely clear. It refers to a receptacle of some sort and apparently was a common part of a shepherd's equipment. Here it serves as a depository for the stones that David will use in his sling.
42tc (17:41) Most LXX MSS lack v. 41.
43sn (17:43) Sticks is a pejorative reference to David's staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (m^Q@l) is used for both.
44tc (17:44) Many medieval Hebrew MSS have "the earth" here, instead of the MT's "the field."
45tc (17:48) Most LXX MSS lack the second half of v. 48.
46tc (17:50) Most LXX MSS lack v. 50.
47tn (17:50) Verse 50 is a summary statement; v. 51 gives a more detailed account of how David killed the Philistine.
48tn (17:51) Heb "his"; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49tc (17:51) Most LXX MSS lack the words "drew it from its sheath."
50tn (17:52) Heb "arose and cried out."
51tc (17:52) Most of the LXX MS tradition has here "Gath."
52tn (17:54) Heb "his"; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53tc (17:55) Most LXX MSS lack 17:55-18:5.
1tn (18:1) Heb "the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David."
2tn (18:1) Heb "like his [own] soul."
sn (18:1) On the nature of Jonathan's love for David, see J. A. Thompson, "The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel," VT 24 (1974): 334-38.
3tn (18:2) Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4tn (18:3) Heb "like his [own] soul."
5tn (18:5) Heb "it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul."
6tn (18:6) Heb "them." The masculine plural pronoun apparently refers to the returning soldiers.
7tn (18:6) Heb "with tambourines, with joy, and with three stringed instruments."
8tn (18:8) Heb "said." So also in vv. 11, 17.
9tn (18:10) The Hebrew text adds here "with his hand."
10tn (18:13) Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11tn (18:13) Heb "an officer of a thousand."
12tn (18:13) Heb "and he went out and came in before the people." See v. 16.
13tn (18:14) Heb "in all his ways."
14tc (18:17) Much of the MS evidence for the LXX lacks vv. 17-19.
15tn (18:17) Heb "son of valor."
16tn (18:18) Heb "Who are my relatives, the clan of my father?" The term yj, traditionally understood as "my life," is here a rare word meaning "family, kinfolk" (see HALOT 309). The phrase "clan of my father" may be a scribal gloss explaining the referent of this rare word.
17tn (18:20) Heb "the matter."
18tc (18:21) The final sentence of v. 21 is absent in most LXX MSS.
19tn (18:23) Heb "in the ears of."
20tn (18:25) Heb "the king's."
21tn (18:26) Heb "and it was acceptable in the eyes of David."
22tn (18:26) Heb "the days were not fulfilled."
23tn (18:27) Heb "arose and went."
24tn (18:28) Heb "saw and knew."
25tn (18:28) Heb "Saul's."
26tc (18:29) The final sentence of v. 29 is absent in most LXX MSS.
tn (18:29) Heb "all the days."
27tc (18:30) Verse 30 is absent in most LXX MSS.
1tn (19:1) Heb "delighted greatly in David."
2tn (19:2) Heb "seeking."
3tn (19:2) Heb "stay in."
4tn (19:2) Heb "and hide yourself."
5tn (19:3) Heb "when I see."
6tn (19:4) Heb "spoke good with respect to David."
7tn (19:4) Heb "good."
8tn (19:5) Heb "and he put his life into his hand."
9tn (19:6) Heb "and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan."
10tn (19:7) Heb "and he was before him as before."
11tn (19:8) Heb "and he struck them down with a great blow."
12tn (19:9) Heb "[was] to."
13tn (19:10) Heb "and he drove the spear into the wall."
14tn (19:10) Heb "fled and escaped."
15tn (19:11) Heb "your life."
16tn (19:13) Heb "teraphim" (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah's reform movement in the seventh century. In 2 Sam 19:13 the idol placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
17tn (19:13) The exact meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat's hair, perhaps used as a fly-net while one slept. See HALOT 458.
18tn (19:13) Heb "at the place of its head."
19tn (19:17) Heb "Send me away! Why should I kill you?" The question has the force of a threat in this context. See McCarter, I Samuel, 325, 26.
20tn (19:22) Heb "he" (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21tn (19:24) Heb "and he fell down."
1tn (20:1) Heb "and he came and said before Jonathan."
2tn (20:1) Heb "What is my guilt?"
3tn (20:2) Heb "he"; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4tc (20:2) The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew MSS, and the ancient versions in reading "he will not do," rather than the Kethib of the MT ("do to him").
5tn (20:2) Heb "without uncovering my ear."
6tc (20:3) The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word "again."
7tn (20:3) The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
8tn (20:3) Heb "said," that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.
9tn (20:4) Heb "whatever your soul says, I will do for you."
10tn (20:5) Heb "and I must surely sit with the king to eat." The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
11tn (20:6) Heb "to run."
12tn (20:7) Heb "good."
13tn (20:7) Heb "know that the evil is completed from with him."
14tn (20:8) Heb "and you must do loyalty."
15tn (20:8) Heb "for into a covenant of the LORD you have brought your servant with you."
16tn (20:8) Heb "and if there is in me guilt."
17tc (20:12) The Hebrew text has simply "the LORD God of Israel." On the basis of the Syriac version, many reconstruct the text to read "[is] my witness," which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if du, "witness," immediately followed dwd, "David," in the original text).
18tn (20:12) Heb "and uncover your ear."
19tn (20:13) Heb "uncover your ear."
20tn (20:13) Heb "in peace."
21tn (20:16) Heb "cut." The object of the verb ("covenant") must be supplied.
22tn (20:16) The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads "and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the LORD will seek from the hand of the enemies of David." The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in MT) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15.
23tn (20:17) Heb "for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him."
24tc (20:19) Heb "you will do [something] a third time." The translation assumes an emendation of the verb to tyvylv, "[on the] third [day]."
25tn (20:19) Heb "you must go down greatly." See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom.
26tn (20:19) Heb "on the day of the deed." This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2.
27tn (20:21) Heb "from you and here."
28tn (20:22) Heb "from you and onward."
29tc (20:23) Heb "the LORD [is] between me and between you forever." The translation assumes that the original text read mlwu du du, "a witness forever," with the noun "a witness" accidentally falling out of the text by haplography. See McCarter, I Samuel, 338.
30tc (20:25) Heb "and Jonathan arose." Instead of MT's mqyw, "and he arose," (from the hollow verbal root mwq), the translation assumes a reading mdqyw, "and he was in front of" (from the verbal root mdq). See McCarter, I Samuel, 338.
31tn (20:25) Heb "and Abner sat at the side of Saul."
32tn (20:26) The words "about it" are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.
33tn (20:26) Heb "said," that is, to himself.
34tn (20:29) Heb "send me."
35tn (20:29) Heb "commanded."
36tn (20:29) Heb "be released [from duty]."
37tc (20:30) Many medieval Hebrew MSS include the words "his son" here.
38tn (20:30) Heb "son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness." But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul's unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan's liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is "bastard of a wayward woman" (HALOT 796), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be "You stupid son of a bitch!" However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul's utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= "traitor"]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul's jealousy and hatred of David.
39tn (20:31) Heb "all the days that."
40tn (20:31) The words "some men" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
41tn (20:31) Heb "a son of death."
42tn (20:33) Heb "him"; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43tn (20:33) Heb "knew."
44tn (20:34) Heb "for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him." The referent of the pronoun "him" is not entirely clear, but the phrase "concerning David" suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
45tn (20:36) Heb "he"; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46tn (20:37) Heb "called after" (also in v. 38).
47tn (20:39) Heb "the matter."
48tc (20:41) The translation follows the LXX in reading "the mound," rather than the MT's "the south." It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading "from beside the south" would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as "from the south side of the stone." This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.
49tn (20:41) Heb "fell."
1sn (21:1) Beginning with 20:42b, the verse numbers through 21:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:42b ET = 21:1 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:2 ET = 21:3 HT, etc., through 21:15 ET = 21:16 HT. With 22:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
2tn (21:1) Heb "he"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3tn (21:2) Heb "trembled to meet."
4tn (21:2) Heb "let now a man know anything about the matter [for] which I am sending you and [about] which I commanded you."
5tn (21:2) Heb "servants."
6tn (21:2) The Hebrew expression here refers to a particular, but unnamed, place. It occurs in the OT only here, in 2 Kgs 6:18, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz uses it to refer to Naomi's unnamed kinsman-redeemer. A contracted form of the expression appears in Dan 8:13.
7tn (21:3) Heb "under your hand."
8tn (21:4) Heb "servants."
9tn (21:5) Heb "servants'."
10tn (21:12) Heb "placed these matters in his heart."
11tn (21:13) Heb "in their eyes."
12tn (21:13) Heb "in their hand."
1tn (22:1) Heb "house."
2tn (22:2) Heb "bitter of soul."
3tn (22:2) Heb "to."
4tn (22:3) Heb "go forth."
5tn (22:4) Heb "all the days."
6tn (22:6) Heb "and Saul heard that David and the men who were with him were known."
7tc (22:7) The MT has "to all of you" If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have "and." A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.
8tn (22:7) Heb "officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred."
9tn (22:8) Heb "uncovers my ear."
10tn (22:13) Heb "by giving."
11tn (22:13) Heb "rises up against."
12tn (22:15) Heb "set a matter against."
13tn (22:15) Heb "small or great."
14tn (22:17) Heb "runners."
15tn (22:17) Heb "their hand is."
16tn (22:17) Heb "to extend their hand to harm."
17tc (22:18) The number is confused in the Greek MS tradition. The LXX, with the exception of the Lucianic recension, has the number 305. The Lucianic recension, along with a couple of Old Latin MSS, has the number 350.
18tc (22:22) The translation follows the LXX , which reads "I am guilty," rather than the MT, which has "I have turned."
19tn (22:23) Or "the one who." This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar's life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.
1tn (23:5) Heb "and struck them down with a great blow."
2tn (23:6) Heb "an ephod went down in his hand."
3tn (23:7) The MT reading ("God has alienated him into my hand") in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word nikkar, "alienated," to sikkar ("he has shut up [i.e., delivered]"). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has "God has sold him into my hands," apparently reading makar, "sold," for MT's nikkar. The present translation is a rather free interpretation of the verb nikkar found in the MT.
4tn (23:8) Heb "So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men."
5tn (23:9) Heb "Saul was planning the evil against him."
6tn (23:10) Heb "seeking."
7tn (23:13) Heb "they went where they went."
8tn (23:14) Heb "all the days."
9tn (23:14) Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10tn (23:15) Heb "saw."
11tn (23:16) Heb "strengthened his hand."
12tn (23:20) Heb "to all the desire of your soul."
13tn (23:22) Heb "know and see." The expression is a hendiadys. See also v. 23.
14tn (23:22) Heb "his place where his foot is."
15tn (23:23) Heb "established."
16tn (23:23) Heb "I will search him out."
17tn (23:25) Heb "to search."
18sn (23:28) The name Sela Hammahlekoth probably means "Rock of Divisions" in Hebrew, in the sense that Saul and David parted company there. This etymology assumes that the word derives from the Hebrew root hlq I ("to divide"). However, there is another root hlq, which means "to be smooth or slippery." If the word is taken from this root, the expression would mean "Slippery Rock."
19sn (24:1) Beginning with 23:29, the verse numbers through 24:22 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 23:29 ET = 24:1 HT, 24:1 ET = 24:2 HT, 24:2 ET = 24:3 HT, etc., through 24:22 ET = 24:23 HT. With 25:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
1tn (24:2) Heb "to search [for]."
2tn (24:2) Heb "upon the face of."
3tn (24:2) Or "the region of the Rocks of the Mountain Goats," if this expression is understood as a place name.
4tn (24:3) Heb "to cover his feet," an idiom for relieving oneself.
5tn (24:4) Heb "is good in your eyes."
6tn (24:5) Heb "the heart of David struck him."
7tn (24:6) Heb "anointed."
8tn (24:6) Or "for."
9tn (24:6) Heb "anointed."
10tn (24:7) Heb "went on."
11tn (24:10) Heb "it had pity," apparently with the understood subject being "my eye," in accordance with a common expression.
12tn (24:10) Heb "anointed."
13tn (24:11) Heb "there is not in my hand."
14tn (24:16) Heb "lifted his voice and wept."
15tn (24:17) Or "righteous."
16tn (24:21) Heb "by the LORD."
17tn (24:21) Heb "cut off."
18tn (24:22) Heb "and David swore an oath to Saul."
1tn (25:2) Heb "great."
2sn (25:3) The name Nabal means "foolish" or "senseless" in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.
3tn (25:3) Heb "good of insight."
4tn (25:5) Heb "David."
5tn (25:5) Or "young men."
6tn (25:5) Heb "and David said to the young men."
7tn (25:5) Heb "and inquire concerning him in my name in regard to peace."
8tc (25:6) The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading lehai ("to life," or "to the one who lives"). But the Vulgate has fratribus meis ("my brother"), and this seems to fit the context better than the other reading. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation follows the Vulgate in reading "my brother."
9tc (25:8) The translation follows many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading baánu ("we have come") rather than the MT's banu ("we have built").
10tn (25:8) This refers to the ten servants sent by David.
11tn (25:8) Heb "whatever your hand will find."
12tn (25:12) Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13tn (25:14) Heb "bless."
14tn (25:15) Heb "all the days we walked about with them when we were."
15tn (25:17) Heb "he is a son of worthlessness."
16tn (25:18) Heb "skins."
17sn (25:18) The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.
18tn (25:21) Heb "said."
19tc (25:22) Heb "Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add." Most of the Old Greek MS tradition has simply "David," with no reference to his enemies. In OT imprecations such as the one found in v. 22 it is common for the speaker to direct malediction toward himself as an indication of the seriousness with which he regards the matter at hand. In other words, the speaker invites on himself dire consequences if he fails to fulfill the matter expressed in the oath. However, in the situation alluded to in v. 22 the threat actually does not come to fruition due to the effectiveness of Abigail's appeal to David in behalf of her husband Nabal. Instead, David is placated through Abigail's intervention. It therefore seems likely that the reference to "the enemies of David" in the MT of v. 22 is the result of a scribal attempt to deliver David from the implied consequences of this oath. The present translation follows the LXX rather than the MT here.
20tn (25:22) Heb "one who urinates against a wall" (also in v. 34).
21tn (25:25) Heb "and foolishness is with him."
22tn (25:25) Heb "my lord's servants, whom you sent."
23tn (25:27) Heb "blessing."
24tn (25:27) Heb "are walking at the feet of."
25tn (25:30) Heb "according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you."
26tn (25:30) Heb "appoint."
27tn (25:31) Heb "and this will not be for you for staggering and for stumbling of the heart of my lord."
28tn (25:31) Heb "and the LORD will do well for my lord."
29tn (25:32) Heb "blessed" (also in vv. 33, 39).
30tn (25:33) Heb "blessed."
31tn (25:35) Heb "up."
32tn (25:35) Heb "your voice."
33tn (25:35) Heb "I have lifted up your face."
34tn (25:36) Heb "and the heart of Nabal was good upon him."
35tn (25:36) Heb "and she did not tell him a thing, small or large."
36tn (25:37) Heb "when the wine had gone out from Nabal."
37tn (25:37) Heb "and his heart died within him and he became a stone."
38tn (25:39) Heb "who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal."
39tn (25:39) Heb "his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the LORD has turned back on his head."
40tn (25:41) Heb "Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash."
41tn (25:42) Heb "going at her feet."
42tn (25:43) Heb "taken."
1tn (26:1) Heb "upon the face of."
2tn (26:3) Heb "after."
3tn (26:4) Heb "and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come."
4tn (26:8) Heb "let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time."
5tn (26:9) Heb "anointed" (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
6tn (26:16) Heb "Not good [is] this thing which you have done."
7tn (26:16) Heb "you are sons of death."
8tn (26:18) Heb "What in my hand [is] evil?"
9tn (26:19) Heb "may he smell." The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God's disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., "Does God Deceive?" BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
10tn (26:19) Heb "but if the sons of men."
11tn (26:20) Heb "the calling [one]," which apparently refers to a partridge.
12tn (26:21) Heb "my life was valuable in your eyes."
13tn (26:21) Heb "and I have erred very greatly."
14tn (26:23) Heb "and the LORD returns to the man his righteousness and his faithfulness."
15tn (26:24) Heb "your life was great this day in my eyes."
16tn (26:24) Heb "may my life be great in the eyes of the LORD."
17tn (26:25) Heb "blessed."
18tn (26:25) Heb "you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able." The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.
1tn (27:1) Heb "said to his heart."
2tn (27:3) Heb "a man and his house."
3tn (27:7) Heb "the number of the days."
4tn (27:7) Heb "days." The plural of the word "day" is sometimes used idiomatically to refer specifically to a year. In addition to this occurrence in v. 7 see also 1 Sam 1:3, 21; 2:19; 20:6; Lev 25:29; Judg 17:10.
5tn (27:8) Heb "from where you come."
6tn (27:9) Heb "the land."
7tc (27:10) The translation follows the LXX (epi tina) and Vulgate (in quem) áel mi ("to whom") rather than the MT áal ("not"). The MT makes no sense here. Another possibility is that the text originally had áan ("where"), which has been distorted in the MT to áal. Cf. the Syriac Peshitta and the Targum, which have "where."
8tn (27:11) Heb "all the days."
9tn (27:12) Heb "saying."
10tn (27:12) Heb "he really stinks." The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul's hatred of him.
11tc (27:12) Many medieval Hebrew MSS lack the preposition "in."
12tn (27:12) Heb "permanently."
1tn (28:1) Heb "their camps."
2tc (28:1) The translation follows the LXX (eis polemon) and a Qumran MS ([m]lhmh) bammilhamah ("in the battle") rather than the MT's bammahaneh ("in the camp"). While the MT reading is not impossible here, and although admittedly it is the harder reading, the variant fits the context better. The MT can be explained as a scribal error caused in part by the earlier occurrence of "camp" in this verse.
3tn (28:2) Heb "the guardian for my head."
4tn (28:2) Heb "all the days."
5tn (28:3) Heb "in Ramah, even in his city."
6tn (28:3) The Hebrew term translated "mediums" actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see TDOT 1:133).
7sn (28:3) See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
8tn (28:5) Heb "he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified."
9sn (28:6) See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
10tn (28:7) Heb "an owner of a ritual pit." See the note at v. 3.
11tn (28:8) Heb "Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you."
12tn (28:9) Heb "how he has cut off."
13tn (28:9) See the note at v. 3.
14tn (28:9) Heb "my life."
15tn (28:12) Heb "in a great voice."
16tn (28:13) Heb "gods." The modifying participle (translated "coming up") is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.
17tn (28:17) Heb "just as he said by my hand."
18tn (28:18) Heb "listen to the voice of the LORD."
19tn (28:19) Heb "And the LORD will give also Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines."
20tc (28:19) With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here "and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall."
21tn (28:19) Heb "camp."
22tn (28:20) Heb "also there was no strength in him."
23tn (28:20) Heb "food."
24tn (28:21) Heb "listened to your voice."
25tn (28:21) Heb "listened to your words that you spoke to me."
26tc (28:23) The translation follows many medieval Hebrew MSS in reading wayyipseru ("and they pressed," from the root psr) rather than the MT's wayyipresu ("and they broke forth," from the root prs).
27tn (28:23) Heb "he listened to their voice."
28sn (28:24) Masoretic MSS of the Hebrew Bible mark this word as the half-way point in the book of Samuel, treating 1 and 2 Samuel as a single book. Similar notations are found at the midway point for all of the books of the Hebrew Bible.
29tn (28:24) Heb "a calf of the stall."
1tn (29:1) Heb "camps."
2tn (29:2) Heb "passing by with respect to hundreds and thousands." This apparently describes a mustering of troops for the purpose of inspection and readiness.
3tn (29:3) Heb "these days or these years."
4tn (29:3) Heb "from the day of his falling [away] until this day."
5tn (29:4) Heb "and the leaders of the Philistines said."
6tn (29:4) Heb "so that he might not become."
7tn (29:4) Or perhaps, "our men." On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon-Muraoka, Grammar, §143.e.
8tn (29:5) Heb "in dances."
9tn (29:6) Heb "it is good in my eyes." Cf. v. 7.
10tn (29:6) Heb "your going forth and your coming in." The expression is a merism.
11tn (29:6) Heb "camp."
12tn (29:6) Heb "eyes."
13tn (29:6) Heb "good."
14tn (29:7) Heb "go."
15tn (29:7) Heb "and you must not do evil in the eyes of the leaders of the Philistines."
16tn (29:9) Heb "I know that you are good in my eyes."
17tc (29:10) The LXX and a couple of Old Latin MSS include here the following words: "and you shall go to the place that I have appointed you. Don't place an evil thing in your heart, for you are good before me."
18tn (29:10) Heb "when you get up early in the morning and you have light, go."
19tc (29:11) Heb "to go in the morning to return." With the exception of Origen and the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek tradition lacks the phrase "in the morning." The Syriac Peshitta also omits it.
1tn (30:1) The Hebrew text adds "with fire."
2tn (30:3) Heb "and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire."
3tn (30:4) Heb "people."
4tn (30:4) Heb "lifted up their voice and wept."
5tn (30:4) Heb "until there was no longer in them strength to weep."
6tn (30:6) Heb "people."
7tn (30:6) Heb "said to stone him."
8tn (30:6) Heb "for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one."
9tn (30:9) Heb "stood." So also in v. 10.
10tn (30:12) Heb "his spirit returned to him."
11tn (30:14) The Hebrew text adds "with fire."
12tn (30:16) Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13tn (30:16) Heb "because of all the large plunder."
14tn (30:17) Heb "who rode on camels and fled."
15tn (30:18) Heb "David." The pronoun ("he") has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
16tn (30:19) Heb "there was nothing missing to them, from the small even unto the great, and unto sons and daughters, and from loot even unto all which they had taken for themselves."
17tn (30:21) Heb "David." The pronoun ("him") has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.
18tc (30:22) Heb "with me." The singular is used rather than the plural because the group is being treated as a singular entity, in keeping with Hebrew idiom. It is not necessary to read "with us," rather than the MT "with me," although the plural can be found here in a few medieval Hebrew MSS. See also the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate, although these versions may simply reflect an understanding of the idiom as found in the MT rather than a different textual reading.
19tc (30:23) This clause is difficult in the MT. The present translation accepts the text as found in the MT and understands this clause to be elliptical, with an understood verb such as "look" or "consider." On the other hand, the LXX seems to reflect a slightly different Hebrew text, reading "after" where the MT has "my brothers." The Greek translation yields the following translation: "You should not do this after the LORD has delivered us." Although the Greek reading should be taken seriously, it seems better to follow the MT here.
20tn (30:25) Heb "a statute and a judgment." The expression is a hendiadys.
21tn (30:26) Heb "blessing."
22tn (30:27) This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
1tn (31:2) Heb "stuck close after."
2tn (31:2) Heb "the Philistines."
3tn (31:3) Heb "and the battle was heavy against Saul."
4tn (31:3) Heb "the shooters, men with the bow."
5tn (31:8) Heb "fallen."
6tn (31:9) Heb "his"; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7sn (31:10) The Semitic goddess Ashtart (Astarte) was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. See the note on the same term in 7:3.
8tc (31:12) The translation follows the MT, which vocalizes the verb as a Qal. The LXX, however, treats the verb as a Hiphil, "they brought."