Study Desk

Then the woman asked, "Whom should I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up for me Sh'mu'el."

Adonai has done for himself what he foretold through me — Adonai has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to your fellow countryman David,

Sha'ul immediately fell full length on the ground and became terribly frightened because of what Sh'mu'el had said. He had no strength left in him, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

The chiefs of the P'lishtim asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Akhish answered the chiefs of the P'lishtim, "This is David, who was a servant of Sha'ul, king of Isra'el. He's been with me now for well over a year, and I haven't found anything wrong with him between the time he deserted to me and now."

But the chiefs of the P'lishtim became angry and said to him, "Have the man return and go back to the place you set aside for him. Don't let him go into battle with us, because on the battlefield he might become our enemy. What better way could there be for him to get reconciled with his lord than by [cutting off] the heads of our men?

they also gave him a lump of dried figs and two bunches of raisins. After eating, he revived; because he hadn't eaten anything or drunk any water for three days and nights.

David attacked them from dawn until the evening of the next day. Not one of them escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped on camels and got away.

It has been that way from that day on; he established it as a ruling for Isra'el to this day.

When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the leaders of Y'hudah who were his friends with a note, "Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of Adonai ."

Then they put his armor in the temple for the ‘ashtarot and fastened his body to the wall of Beit-Sh'an.

They wailed and cried, and they fasted until evening for Sha'ul, for Y'honatan his son, for Adonai 's people and for the house of Isra'el; because they had fallen by the sword.

I grieve for you, my brother Y'honatan, you meant so much to me! Your love for me was deeper than the love of women.

Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul was forty years old when he began to rule over Isra'el, and he ruled for two years. But the house of Y'hudah followed David.

David was king in Hevron over the house of Y'hudah for seven years and six months.

So they got up and paired off, twelve for Binyamin and Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul, and twelve of David's servants.

Each one grabbed his partner by the head and drove his sword into his side, so that they fell down together. For this reason that place was named Helkat-Hatzurim [field of blades]; it is in Giv‘on.

‘Asah'el chased Avner, going straight for him, veering neither right nor left.

Yo'av returned from following Avner. When he brought the troops together for review, nineteen of David's servants were missing, along with ‘Asah'el.

David sent messengers to say to Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul, "Give me back my wife Mikhal. I betrothed her to myself for 100 foreskins of the P'lishtim."

So now, do it. For Adonai has said of David, ‘Through my servant David I will rescue my people Isra'el from the power of the P'lishtim and from the power of all their enemies.'"