Bible Strands
1 Samuel 18:8
And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul speaks aloud in direct response to the women’s victory song that compared his military tally to David’s. He voices his resentment publicly immediately after hearing the acclaim shift toward David.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּ֨חַר (va/i.Yi.char), meaning “it burned,” and וַ/יֵּ֤רַע (va/i.Ye.ra'), meaning “it was displeasing,” to describe Saul’s reaction. These terms literally depict his anger as a consuming fire and his deep offense at the comparison.
The thread — This pattern of royal jealousy and threatened succession appears in 1 Samuel 15:28, where God removes the kingdom from Saul, and 1 Samuel 20:31, where Saul explicitly links David’s survival to the loss of his own throne. Proverbs 13:10 further frames this dynamic by noting that arrogance breeds strife.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of how public praise can trigger insecure leadership. It requires readers to observe how fear of losing status can distort judgment and turn allies into targets.
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 Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 15:28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
- Proverbs 13:10 Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
- 1 Samuel 20:31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”
- Esther 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.
- James 4:5 Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
- Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
- Numbers 11:1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 22:34 “I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in your sight, I will go back home.”
- 1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- 1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.