Structure of 1 Samuel 29

As we read and interpret the narrative of 1 Samuel 29, we must remember that it forms part of the larger accession narrative (1 Samuel 27:1–31:13; 2 Samuel 1:1–27). As a climax of all that came before, these chapters detail the events that eventually led to David becoming king.¹ A particular focus in this final section of the book is both to compare David with Saul as well as to highlight that he did not have any hand in Saul’s death.² This is one of the reasons that the author has chosen to narrate events out of their chronological order. The events recorded in 1 Samuel 29 took place before Saul’s visit to the medium of En-dor (1 Samuel 28:1–25). By telling the story in this way, the author is able to compare David with Saul.³ It also allows him to heighten the tension and suspense of the story,⁴ seeing that 1 Samuel 28:1–2 leaves us wondering what happened to David. Was he forced to do what he had always refused, namely, to take up his sword against Saul?⁵

At the beginning of 1 Samuel 29, David found himself in a predicament. If he left Philistia to join the Israelite forces, he would once again be at the mercy of Saul. If he were to march with the Philistine armies, however, he could have jeopardized his God-given obligation of becoming the next king of Israel. The northern tribes were committed to the idea of a Saulide dynasty (2 Samuel 3:31). Humanly speaking, they would have been very unlikely to submit to David’s kingship if he played any role in Saul’s defeat,⁶ even if he were to turn and fight against the Philistines.⁷ The Lord providentially engineered the course of David’s life so that he did not fight against Saul but returned to Ziklag.⁸ The Lord was with David everywhere he went, even among the Philistines (1 Samuel 18:12, 1 Samuel 18:28),⁹ where the Philistine commanders once again served as David’s deliverers (1 Samuel 23:19–28).¹⁰