Bible Strands
1 Samuel 18:7
And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The women of Israel sing this proclamation to King Saul as they return home after David’s victory over the Philistine. They meet him with tambourines and dancing to celebrate the military campaign.
The words — The term ta‘aḥēnāh (H6030) translates as they sang, while hiqqâh (H5221) means he has struck down. These verbs frame a public tally of combat casualties rather than a theological claim.
The thread — The identical phrase resurfaces in 1 Samuel 21:11 and 1 Samuel 29:5 when foreign servants quote it to accuse David of political ambition. Its structure mirrors the victory chorus in Exodus 15:21.
Why it lands — The text records a comparative kill count that Saul immediately reads as a threat to his throne. It requires the reader to note how human celebration can trigger royal paranoia and reveal the tension between public acclaim and divine selection.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 21:11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
- Exodus 15:21 And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”
- 1 Samuel 29:5 Is this not the David about whom they sing in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
- Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates! Be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may enter!