Shmuel Alef 26:10

10 Dovid said furthermore, As Hashem liveth, Hashem shall strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into milchamah, and perish.

Shmuel Alef 26:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 26:10

And David said furthermore
In order to make Abishai easy, and prevent his doing what he proposed:

[as] the Lord liveth;
which was the form of an oath, made to assure Abishai of the truth of what follows, and therefore he need not be hasty to put Saul to death, since it would not be long before he should die, in one or other of the three following ways: either

the Lord shall smite him;
suddenly, which the Jews call cutting off, or death by the hand of heaven, by the immediate hand of God:

or his day shall come to die;
the time appointed for him to die a natural death, of some disease common to men:

or he shall descend into battle, and perish;
which was commonly reckoned death, casual or accidental, and in which last way Saul did die, ( 1 Samuel 31:3 1 Samuel 31:4 ) .

Shmuel Alef 26:10 In-Context

8 Then said Avishai to Dovid, Elohim hath delivered thine oyev into thine yad today; now therefore let me strike him, now, with the khanit, pinning him to the ground once; I will not strike him the second time.

9 And Dovid said to Avishai, Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his yad against Hashem’s moshiach, and be guiltless?

10 Dovid said furthermore, As Hashem liveth, Hashem shall strike him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into milchamah, and perish.

11 Chalilah (far be it) from me by Hashem that I should stretch forth mine yad against Hashem’s moshiach; but, take now thou the khanit (spear) that is at his head, and the flask of mayim, and let us go.

12 So Dovid took the khanit and the flask of mayim from near Sha’ul’s head; and they got them away, and no one saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked; for they were all asleep; because a tardamat Hashem was fallen upon them.