‘Blood without Cause’: 1 Sam 23–26

Abstract In this chapter, it is argued that in 1 Sam 24–26, David and the reader are brought to a fuller understanding of both the acuteness of the temptation to shed illegitimate blood and the threat which yielding to it will pose to David and his house. In 1 Sam 24, David and his men encounter Saul and his men in a cave near Adullam. While David is reminded of a prophecy that Saul has been delivered into his hand, he insists he will not raise his hand against ‘the LORD’s anointed’. When confronted with David’s restraint, Saul recognizes that this righteousness will ensure David receives his kingdom, but Saul also requests and receives assurances that his family will be spared when this happens. In 1 Sam 25, David is sorely tempted to annihilate Nabal’s house for a violation of the cultural norm of hospitality. Instead, when Nabal’s wife Abigail persuades David that to do so would lead to ‘bloods’ and dim his future prospects, David relents, crediting Nabal’s eventual death to the LORD’s retribution and taking Abigail as his wife. In chapter 26, David is offered a further temptation to kill Saul when a divine sleep descends on the king and David’s nephew Abishai offers to kill him. Taking Saul’s spear and his water jug instead of his life, David withdraws, reminding Saul of his restraint and Abner of his responsibility to protect Saul, though the reader also learns of David’s anxiety that shedding blood illegitimately will require his own blood to be shed.