1 Tawarikh 2:16

2:16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abshai, ¹  Joab, and Asahel.

1 Tawarikh 11:20

11:20 Abishai the brother of Joab was head of the three ²  elite warriors. He killed three hundred men with his spear ³  and gained fame along with the three elite warriors. ⁴ 

1 Tawarikh 11:1

David Becomes King

11:1 All Israel joined David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! ⁵ 

1 Samuel 26:6

26:6 David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” Abishai replied, “I will go down with you.”

1 Samuel 26:8

26:8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me drive the spear ⁶  right through him into the ground with one swift jab! ⁷  A second jab won’t be necessary!”

1 Samuel 26:2

26:2 So Saul arose and

went down to the desert of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand select men of Israel, to look for David in the desert of Ziph.

1 Samuel 3:1

The Call of Samuel

3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. ⁸  Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.

1 Samuel 10:10

10:10 When Saul and his servant ⁹  arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul ¹⁰  and he prophesied among them.

1 Samuel 10:14

10:14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul ¹¹  replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, ¹²  we went to Samuel.”

1 Samuel 16:9-11

16:9 Then Jesse presented ¹³  Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. ¹⁴  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ¹⁵  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

1 Samuel 19:21-22

19:21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 19:22 Finally Saul ¹⁶  himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”

1 Samuel 20:6

20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go ¹⁷  to his city Bethlehem, ¹⁸  for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’

1 Samuel 20:2

20:2 Jonathan ¹⁹  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ²⁰  large or small without making me aware of it. ²¹  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

1 Samuel 21:1

21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met ²²  David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?”

1 Samuel 23:18

23:18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord, David stayed on at Horesh, but Jonathan went to his house.

¹ tn In 2 Sam 2:18 this name appears as “Abishai,” a spelling followed by many English versions here.

² tc The Syriac reads “thirty” here and at the beginning of v. 21; this reading is followed by some English translations (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

³ tn Heb “he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain.”

⁴ tn Heb “and to him [reading with the Qere] there was a name among the three.”

⁵ tn Heb “look, your bone and your flesh [are] we.”

⁶ tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.

⁷ tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”

⁸ tn Heb “before Eli.”

⁹ tc Two medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta have the singular “he” (in which case the referent would be Saul alone).

tn Heb “they”; the referents (Saul and his servant) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Heb “And we saw that they were not.”

¹³ tn Heb “caused to pass by.”

¹⁴ tn 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.

¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “to run.”

¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰ tc 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”).

²¹ tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

²² tn Heb “trembled to meet.”