1 Samuel 18:8

8 Saul was furious and resented this song.^[a] "They credited tens of thousands to David," he complained, "but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?"^[b]

1 Samuel 18:8 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 18:8

And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him
Partly because they called him plain Saul, and not King Saul; did not give him his royal title, which might serve to strengthen his suspicion, after suggested; and chiefly because they attributed a greater number of slain to David than to him, as follows:

and he said, they have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me
they ascribed [but] thousands;
and so had given more honour to an inferior officer than to the commander-in-chief, more to a subject than to a sovereign:

and [what can] he have more but the kingdom?
there is nothing left out of their song, and nothing remains to be given him but that; some think that Saul knew, by the prudent behaviour of David, and the favour he was in with God and men, and by these commendations of the women, that the kingdom would be his; and that the words of Samuel were true, and would be confirmed, that the kingdom would be rent from him, and given to his neighbour better than he. This clause, with ( 1 Samuel 18:9-11 ) , is left out of the Greek version, according to the Vatican copy.

1 Samuel 18:8 In-Context

6 As David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

7 As they celebrated, the women sang: Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.

8 Saul was furious and resented this song. "They credited tens of thousands to David," he complained, "but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?"

9 So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.

10 The next day an evil spirit from God took control of Saul, and he began to rave inside the palace. David was playing [the harp] as usual, but Saul was holding a spear,

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit furious; this saying was evil in his eyes
• [b]. 1 Sm 15:28; 24:20