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 .