Now translates the common Hebrew conjunction. The events of verses 8 and 9 are not later than the time that David lived among the Philistines (verse 7). Good News Translation therefore correctly says “During that time.”

The verb went up is commonly used to designate the beginning of a military campaign (see 7.7; 1 Kgs 20.22). Both the context and the form of the verb suggest that this was something that happened repeatedly and not just once. In languages that have habitual verb forms, it will be appropriate to use such a form here.

Geshurites: a nomadic tribe that lived near the Philistines (Deut 3.14; Josh 13.2).

Girzites: this group of people is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, and there are problems identifying them. The Septuagint, followed by Anchor Bible and Klein, does not have this name. According to this verse they lived somewhere between Philistia and Egypt. The margin of the Masoretic Text corrects Girzites to “Gizrites” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible) or “Gezrites” (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Gezer, however, was located too far north to fit this context. It is very possible that the Masoretic Text is corrupt here and that a group called the Girzites never even existed. It seems best to follow the Masoretic Text, but translators may follow either the reading in the text or the reading in the margin of the Masoretic Text.

Amalekites: see the comments on 14.48.

The words from of old translate one word in Hebrew. Some consider this to be an error in the Masoretic Text. New Revised Standard Version says “for these were the landed settlements from Telam on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt” (similarly Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation, Contemporary English Version, La Bible Pléiade). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the Hebrew text should be corrected to read “from Telam,” finding some evidence for this text in the manuscripts of the Septuagint tradition. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} reading to this corrected text. Translators should follow the model of New Revised Standard Version rather than either Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation. Telam is a settlement in southern Judah (Josh 15.24; and see the comments on 15.4 and 2 Sam 3.12). The spelling “Telaim” in Revised English Bible is a variant spelling of the same location.

Shur: its location is discussed at 15.7.

Several modern versions take the last half of this verse as a digression that explains the geographical location of the ethnic groups involved. It is therefore enclosed in parentheses by New International Version and New Century Version and set off by dashes in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The context indicates that the actions of David were repeated. Good News Translation attempts to reflect this with the English verb forms “would raid” (verse 8), “would come back” (verse 9), “would ask” and “would tell” (verse 10), and “would kill” (verse 11). The receptor language should also attempt to present the events in these verses as habitual action.

Smote the land: this is figurative language, meaning that David attacked the people living in the regions mentioned in the previous verse. Revised English Bible says “When David raided any territory,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “David laid the countryside waste.”

Camels: see the comments on 15.3.

The garments: this was presumably the clothing that had belonged to the men and women killed in battle. Both Judges 8.26 and 2 Kgs 7.8 suggest that clothing was considered legitimate spoils of war.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Against whom: the footnote in Revised Standard Version is not precise. Not only does the Masoretic Text lack the word whom, it appears to say “not” instead of against. The Masoretic Text seems to say “you [second person plural] do not raid.” Some manuscripts and versions are based on a slight change in the second letter of the Hebrew word for “not,” which changes the meaning to “where?” and this seems to be the basis for the translations of Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, and others that say “Where did you raid?”

Since the Hebrew negative “not” and the Hebrew preposition “against” have the same two consonants, others assume that the Hebrew should be corrected by supplying the word “whom.” This is the solution in Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament resolves the difficulty by claiming that the Hebrew word usually rendered as a negative is here a dialectical variant of another Hebrew word that means “where.” Whichever solution to the textual problem is followed, the meaning is basically the same, “Where did you raid?” or “Whom did you raid?”

In some languages the direct question of Achish may be better translated as an indirect quotation: “Whenever King Achish asked David where he had been raiding….” David’s responses may also be rendered as indirect speech, following the model of Good News Translation.

Today: the Hebrew noun has a wide range of meanings. Here it does not refer to a period of twenty-fours hours. Rather it refers to the recent time during which David had been carrying out raids. In some languages it will be better to say “this time” (Good News Translation, New American Bible).

The Negeb refers to the southern, dry region of the kingdom of Judah (see also 30.1, 14, 27; 2 Sam 24.07). But the term is used three times here. Instead of transliterating the term in each case, New Century Version focuses on the meaning, “the southern part of” Palestine, which was traditionally divided according to the groups living in the area. Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, highlights the fact that these areas were in the desert:

• David would answer, “Oh, we attacked some desert town that belonged to the Judah tribe.” Sometimes David would say, “Oh, we attacked a town in the desert where the Jerahmeel clan lives” or “We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites live.”

In any case, King Achish would have had the impression that David was attacking Israelite territory, and his confidence in David would therefore have increased.

The Jerahmeelites and the Kenites (see also 15.6) are mentioned again in 30.29 as people who received spoils of war from David’s army (see the comments there).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse will be difficult to translate in some languages because it contains a quotation within a quotation. First, David’s thoughts are expressed in direct quotation. Then, in his thoughts David quotes the words of the conquered people, So David has done. Revised English Bible deals with the second quotation in the following manner: “He let neither man nor woman survive … for fear that they might denounce him and his men for what they had done.”

So David has done: literally “this David did and such.” While this is presented as a direct quotation, it is clearly not the exact words of anyone.

All the while he dwelt … the Philistines: as stated in verse 7, David lived among the Philistines for sixteen months.

The country: here, as in verse 7, it does not simply mean that David lived in the territory of the Philistines, but also that he lived in the countryside of the Philistines rather than in one of the five major Philistine cities.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And: the Hebrew conjunction is translated “But” in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. Most modern versions, however, either leave the conjunction untranslated or translate it as “and,” as does Revised Standard Version. Bible en français courant begins this verse “That is why.”

The verb rendered trusted in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation is translated “counted more and more on” by La Bible du Semeur.

Thinking is literally an infinitive form of the verb “to say.” But the meaning seems to be “said to himself,” as in Good News Translation.

He has made himself utterly abhorred: the construction in Hebrew consists of reinforcing verbs (see page 20 and following). The root of the word translated abhorred has to do with emitting an unpleasant odor or smelling bad (see the comments on 13.4). Fox has “He has made himself reek, yes, reek so to his (own) people.” New International Version says “He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites….” Revised English Bible makes the whole quotation into indirect discourse: “[thinking] that David had made himself so obnoxious among his own people….”

Servant: this does not mean that David would take care of the daily needs of the king by serving in his court. Rather David had entered into a feudal arrangement in which the king of Gath provided land for David. In exchange for this land and protection by the king, David promised to give military service to Achish when needed. For this reason some translations render the Hebrew term with the technical term “vassal” (so Revised English Bible, New American Bible). Contemporary English Version, using less technical language, attempts to get at the same sort of meaning by having Achish say “From now on he will have to take orders from me!”

In languages where the direct quotation would be better rendered indirectly, the following model may be useful:

• So Achish trusted David and thought that the people of Israel were so angry with him that David would have to remain in his service permanently.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In those days: literally “And it happened [traditionally, It came to pass] in those days.” But since some time has passed, it is reasonable to translate this transition verb phrase as “Some time later” (Good News Translation) or simply “Later” (New Century Version). Another possibility is “It then happened that…” (New Jerusalem Bible).

The word translated forces is often rendered “camp, host, army.” Here it refers to the military troops at the disposal of the Philistine leaders.

Achish: see the comments on 21.10.

Understand: literally “To know you know.” This is a very emphatic statement indicating that what follows is to be clearly understood: “Be sure of this” (Knox); “You must understand” (Anchor Bible); “You know, of course” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Revised Standard Version).

The army: in Hebrew this is the same word as that rendered forces in the first half of this verse. Instead of the word in the army, found in the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint says “into battle.” Compare New Jerusalem Bible, “It is understood that you and your men go into battle with me.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament supports the Masoretic Text, giving it a {B} rating. The difference in meaning between the Hebrew and the Greek texts is not very important for translation purposes.

A single manuscript, from Qumran, has the name “Jezreel” at the end of this verse; this is the basis for the New American Bible translation “you and your men must go out on campaign with me to Jezreel” (see 29.1).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Very well, you shall know: the Septuagint says “Therefore you shall now know.” The Masoretic Text may be rendered “Very well [or, Assuredly], it is you who will know.” The pronoun you is emphatic and gives a strong contrast. In verse 1 Achish tells David “You know of course that you and your men are to go out with me in the army” and in verse 2 David replies, “Well, it is you who will know.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text.

Your servant: that is, David, since he is speaking of himself. This will be better translated “I am your servant.” Regarding the use of third person when speaking about oneself, see page 12 and following.

Bodyguard: literally “keeper of my head.” Compare 29.4, where the Philistine soldiers express fear that David, the “keeper of my head,” may turn against them and cut off their heads. A different Hebrew term is the basis for this same English word in the Revised Standard Version rendering of 22.14 and in 2 Sam 23.23. In those cases the Hebrew word refers to a group of people who would protect the king. In this verse the pronoun you is singular, showing that the reference is to an individual. According to Contemporary English Version, David and all of his men will be the bodyguards for Achish: “you and your men will always be my bodyguards.” Possibly this is the intended meaning, but since the Hebrew is singular, it is better to understand the permanent bodyguard as a reference to David alone. Surely Achish had other bodyguards, so the meaning may be that Achish made David his “chief bodyguard” (Fox).

For life: literally “all the days.” The meaning of this Hebrew idiom is correctly translated in English as “for life” (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version) and “permanent [bodyguard]” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible).

For life is literally “all the days.” The idea is translated “permanently” by New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation. In other languages it may be rendered in a way very similar to the Hebrew or by saying “all the time,” or by simply using the habitual form of the verb. Still others may say “as long as I live.”

The stage having been set for a battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, the scene now shifts to Saul’s exchange with the ghost of Samuel. The actual military confrontation is picked up again in chapter 29.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The town of Shunem, which overlooked the eastern end of the Valley of Jezreel, was located about twelve kilometers (or seven and one-half miles) northwest of Mount Gilboa. Mount Gilboa rises to a height of 520 meters (about 1700 feet) above sea level.

Depending on the perspective of the receptor language, the verb rendered came may become “went” (Contemporary English Version) or “advanced” (New American Bible). This verb of movement is, however, left implicit in certain modern versions. Others leave the verb assembled implicit.

At Gilboa: though Good News Translation says “Mount Gilboa,” it is uncertain whether the name Gilboa refers to the mountain or to a nearby city by that name. Here and in 2 Sam 21.12, the Hebrew text says only Gilboa and not “Mount Gilboa” as elsewhere in the Old Testament. The Hebrew may be rendered “at Gilboa” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) or “on Gilboa” (New American Bible). The English preposition “on” in New American Bible clearly suggests that the reference is to Mount Gilboa, and “on Gilboa” also occurs in the Revised Standard Version translation of 2 Sam 21.12.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .