So he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.
Parallel translations
- WEB He changed his behavior before them, and pretended to be insane in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard.
- KJV And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
- BSB So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.
- NKJV So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.
- NASB So he disguised his sanity while in their sight and acted insanely in their custody, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David feigns madness before Achish, scratching the gate and drooling, to escape harm.
Overview
To survive, David disguises himself as a lunatic, behaving so strangely that the Philistines no longer see him as a threat. This desperate ruse reflects both his fear and his resourcefulness in a moment of crisis. The superscription of Psalm 34 ties this deliverance to David's praise of the LORD who saves the humble and afflicted.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 29:25The fear of man proves to be a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Yahweh is kept safe.
- Eccl 7:7Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
- Ps 34:1–22By David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 21:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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