I Shmuel 26: Spearmint

Chapter 26 plays out almost the same way aschapter 24. Shaul and his forces close in on David. In the middle of the night,David sneaks into Shaul’s camp. David has the opportunity to kill Shaul, butinstead steals his spear and his water jug (וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֶת־הַחֲנִיתוְאֶת־צַפַּחַת הַמַּיִם מֵרַאֲשֹׁתֵי שָׁאוּל) (I Samuel 26:12). Just as hedid in chapter 24, David goes up the nearest hill and calls out to Shaul andshows him once again that he had a chance to kill Shaul, but did not. (He alsotakes a moment to get a dig in against Avner, Shaul’s general, for notprotecting the king.) Shaul’s cloak was symbolic in chapter 24, and Shaul’sspear is symbolic here.The spear appears a few times in I Samuel. Thefirst is in chapter 13. “Thus on the day of the battle, no sword or spear wasto be found in the possession of any of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; onlySaul and Jonathan had them” (וְהָיָה בְּיוֹם מִלְחֶמֶת וְלֹא נִמְצָא חֶרֶבוַחֲנִית בְּיַד כׇּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אֶת־שָׁאוּל וְאֶת־יוֹנָתָן וַתִּמָּצֵאלְשָׁאוּל וּלְיוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ) (13:22). Here the spear is symbolic of thepower of kingship. Only Shaul and his son are given the power denied toeveryone else.The spear next appears in the story of Goliath.The text takes time to explain that Goliath’s spear was the length of a weavingbeam (וְעֵץ חֲנִיתוֹ כִּמְנוֹר אֹרְגִים) (I Samuel 17:7). The spear onceagain is a symbol of strength, this time the enemy’s strength. Yet David isable to defeat Goliath despite his powerful spear.In chapters 18, 19, and 20, Shaul tries in vainto kill David by pinning him to the wall with his spear. “And Saul hurled thespear, for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall’” (וַיָּטֶל שָׁאוּלאֶת־הַחֲנִית וַיֹּאמֶר אַכֶּה בְדָוִד וּבַקִּיר) (I Samuel 18:11). Shaulclings to the spear. In chapter 22 he holds the spear with him while he holdscourt under the tamarisk tree (וְשָׁאוּל יֹשֵׁב בַּגִּבְעָה תַּחַת־הָאֶשֶׁלבָּרָמָה וַחֲנִיתוֹ בְיָדוֹ) (I Samuel 22:6), and in chapter 26, he sleepswith the spear right at his side (וְשָׁאוּל שֹׁכֵב בַּמַּעְגָּל וַחֲנִיתוֹמְעוּכָה בָאָרֶץ מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו) (I Samuel 26:7).Shaul believes that the spear makes himpowerful. By capturing the spear, David shows him that the spear holds no real power. In the throne room, he was the only one with a spear, but it was not enough to defeat David. In chapter 24, when David takes part of Shaul’s cloak, he takes a symbol of his kingship, and in chapter 26, when he takes his spear, he takes a symbol of Shaul’s power. Shaul does not learn the lesson of Goliath, that mere symbolic power is not enough. A spear cannot defeat the other anointed of God (מְשִׁיחַ ה׳). In fact, David explicitly declares that he would not raise his hand against Shaul because he is “the LORD’s anointed” (חָלִילָהלִּי מֵה׳ אֶשְׁלַח יָדִי בִּמְשִׁיחַ ה׳) (I Samuel 26:11).