Era 6 · The First Kings1 Samuel
The Spear and the Water Jar
"The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness"
Saul camps by the hill of Hachilah. David asks, "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?" Abishai: "I will go down with thee." They find Saul asleep within the trench, his spear stuck in the ground at his head, Abner and the people around him. "God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him… at once, and I will not smite him the second time."
"Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?… the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish." They take the spear and the cruse of water. "No man saw it, nor knew it… because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them."
From a hilltop David calls: "Art not thou a valiant man, Abner?… wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king?… see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water." Saul: "I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm… I have played the fool." "The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness." "Blessed be thou, my son David." They part, and never meet again.
Two stories or one?
| Chapter 24 | Chapter 26 | |
|---|---|---|
| Betrayal | Saul learns David is at En-gedi | Ziphites betray David (as in 23:19) |
| Setting | A cave by day | A camp by night |
| Token | Corner of the robe | Spear and water jar |
| Urged to kill | David's men | Abishai |
| Saul's answer | "Thou art more righteous than I" | "I have sinned… I have played the fool" |
Traditional readers see two incidents with deliberate echoes; many critical scholars see two versions of one tradition. The differences in detail are real; neither reading is proven.
The spear
Saul's spear marks him throughout: he hurls it at David (18:11; 19:10) and at Jonathan (20:33), sleeps with it at his head here, and leans on it as he dies (2 Samuel 1:6).
The Case for the Biblical Account
Scripture's account
David spares Saul in the camp (1 Samuel 26).
What evidence would we expect?
The Judean wilderness near Ziph.
The discoveries
Proposed Ziph at Tell Zif; Hachilah unlocated.
Testing the discoveries
Geography is plausible; the event is known only from Samuel.
The strongest reconstruction
Narratives emphasizing David's innocence regarding Saul.
What remains possible
One event or two.
What the evidence shows
- Chapters 24 and 26 are two versions of one event.
- "A deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them."
Continue the journey
Connected in this bookDavid Spares Saul at En-gedi1 Samuel 24: The cave at En-gedi.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- The cave at En-gedi.
- "A deep sleep" (tardemah).
- "How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand?"