1 Samuel 30 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
1 Samuel 30
Strength sought in God amid devastating loss
Editorial Christian reading under the faith theme associated with David in Hebrews 11:32 [NT2]. The grief of the families and the threat against David remain explicit.
30:1–8 | Ziklag burned and the pursuit authorized
Verse MT 30:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:1
When David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negeb and Ziklag. They had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:1
When David and his men entered Ziklag on the third day, Amalek had attacked the south and Ziklag, struck Ziklag, and burned it with fire.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The return, raid and burning agree. Greek uses the collective name Amalek and south for Hebrew Negeb.
Verse MT 30:2 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:2
They had taken captive the women who were in it, from small to great. They had killed no one, but drove them away and went on their way.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:2
The women and everything in it, from small to great—they killed neither man nor woman, but took them captive and went on their way.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly includes everything in the town and both man and woman in the statement about survival. Hebrew initially specifies the women and then says no one was killed.
Verse MT 30:3 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:3
David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire. Their wives, sons and daughters had been taken captive.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:3
David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire. Their wives, sons and daughters had been taken captive.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The discovery and named captives agree.
Verse MT 30:4 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:4
David and the people with him raised their voices and wept until they had no strength to weep.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:4
David and his men raised their voices and wept until they no longer had strength to weep.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The subjects are people with David in Hebrew and his men in Greek. Both describe weeping to exhaustion.
Verse MT 30:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:5
David’s two wives had been taken captive: Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:5
Both David’s wives had been taken captive: Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The names and description agree. Nabal’s earlier death is not explained again within the verse.
Verse MT 30:6 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:6
David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him. The soul of all the people was bitter, each over his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in YHWH his God.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:6
David was greatly afflicted, for the people spoke of stoning him. The soul of all the people was in anguish, each over his sons and daughters. But David was strengthened in the Lord his God.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew presents David strengthening himself; Greek has a passive form, was strengthened. The divine source and the people’s threat agree.
Verse MT 30:7 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:7
David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:7
David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Bring the ephoud.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek lacks the account of Abiathar carrying out the request. Ephoud retains its Greek form; both witnesses here name the father Ahimelech.
Verse MT 30:8 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:8
David inquired of YHWH, “Shall I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake it?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake it and certainly rescue.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:8
David inquired through the Lord, “Shall I pursue this geddour? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake and certainly rescue.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek carries over the band term as geddour and then uses a plural pronoun. The doubled assurance agrees. An explicit object for rescue is not supplied in either answer.
30:9–15 | The exhausted men and the abandoned Egyptian
Verse MT 30:9 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:9
David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They came to the Besor stream, where those remaining stayed.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:9
David went, he and the six hundred men with him. They came to the Bosor torrent, and those remaining stood still.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The six hundred and the halt agree. Besor and Bosor are corresponding place forms; the watercourse terms overlap.
Verse MT 30:10 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:10
David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred men stayed, who were too exhausted to cross the Besor stream.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:10
He pursued with four hundred men. Two hundred men stayed behind, who sat beyond the Bosor torrent.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew explicitly gives exhaustion as the reason for not crossing; Greek locates the men beyond the torrent. Greek supplies the exhaustion explanation later, in 30:21.
Verse MT 30:11 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:11
They found an Egyptian man in the field and took him to David. They gave him bread, and he ate; they gave him water to drink.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:11
They found an Egyptian man in a field, took him, and brought him to David in a field. They gave him bread, and he ate; they gave him water to drink.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek repeats the field setting when the man is brought to David. Both retain food and water before David’s questions.
Verse MT 30:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:12
They gave him a piece of fig cake and two raisin clusters, and he ate. His spirit returned to him, for he had eaten no bread and drunk no water for three days and three nights.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:12
They gave him a piece of fruit cake, and he ate. His spirit settled within him, for he had eaten no bread and drunk no water for three days and three nights.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek has no separate two raisin clusters. Its palathē denotes a pressed fruit cake without the Hebrew fig term. The returning or settling spirit describes recovery here, without a medical diagnosis.
Verse MT 30:13 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:13
David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” He said, “I am an Egyptian youth, a slave of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:13
David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The Egyptian youth said, “I am a slave of an Amalekite man. My master left me because I fell ill; today is the third day.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both identify an Egyptian enslaved to an Amalekite and abandoned after illness. The third-day expressions are rendered in their respective forms.
Verse MT 30:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:14
We raided the Negeb of the Cherethites, the territory belonging to Judah, and the Negeb of Caleb. We burned Ziklag with fire.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:14
We attacked the south of Cholthi, the regions of Judea, and the south of Cheloub. We burned Ziklag with fire.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The territorial names differ in form: Cherethites and Caleb in Hebrew, Cholthi and Cheloub in Greek. Judea renders the Greek regional name; the column does not silently replace every Greek place name with Hebrew.
Verse MT 30:15 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:15
David said to him, “Will you take me down to this raiding band?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding band.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:15
David said to him, “Will you take me down to this geddour?” He said, “Please swear to me by God that you will neither put me to death nor hand me over into my master’s hands, and I will take you down to this geddour.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The requested oath and promised guidance agree. Hebrew’s conditional oath formula is expressed as a negative commitment; Greek states the negatives explicitly.
Rescue and a share for those who stayed behind
Editorial Christian thematic reading alongside Christ’s call to generosity [NT5, Luke 6:30–38]. The equal share is David’s stated rule in this narrative, not an invented Gospel quotation.
30:16–20 | The camp struck and the captives recovered
Verse MT 30:16 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:16
He took him down, and there they were, spread over the whole land, eating, drinking and celebrating because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:16
He took him down there, and there they were, scattered over the whole land, eating, drinking and celebrating with all the great spoils they had taken from the land of the foreigners and the land of Judah.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The discovery, celebration and origins of the spoil agree.
Verse MT 30:17 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:17
David struck them from twilight until the evening of the following day. None of them escaped except four hundred young men who rode camels and fled.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:17
David came upon them and struck them from daybreak until evening, and on the following day. No man among them was saved except four hundred youths who had mounted camels and fled.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly begins at daybreak and continues with and on the following day; Hebrew has twilight, a term whose morning or evening reference can depend on context. The timing is not harmonized. The four hundred escapees agree.
Verse MT 30:18 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:18
David rescued everything Amalek had taken. David also rescued his two wives.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:18
David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued both his wives.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The recovery and rescue agree; Hebrew repeats David’s name.
Verse MT 30:19 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:19
Nothing belonging to them was missing, from small to great, sons and daughters, spoil, or anything they had taken from them. David brought it all back.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:19
Nothing belonging to them was missing, from small to great, from the spoils to sons and daughters and everything they had taken from them. David brought it all back.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The comprehensive recovery agrees, with a different order for the spoil and children.
Verse MT 30:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:20
David took all the flocks and cattle. They drove them before that livestock and said, “This is David’s spoil.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:20
David took all the flocks and herds and led them ahead of the spoils. Concerning those spoils it was said, “These are David’s spoils.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew changes to an unnamed plural subject for driving and speaking, with the difficult expression before that livestock. Greek keeps David as the leader, has spoils rather than livestock in the comparison, and uses a passive announcement.
30:21–25 | The dispute over the spoils and David’s rule
Verse MT 30:21 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:21
David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow David and whom they had left at the Besor stream. They came out to meet David and the people with him. David approached the people and asked about their welfare.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:21
David came to the two hundred men who had grown too weak to follow David and whom he had seated at the Bosor torrent. They came out to meet David and the people with him. David approached the people, and they asked him about his welfare.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has an unnamed plural subject leaving the men, then David asking after them. Greek has a singular subject leaving them and the men asking after David. These changes of agency are retained.
Verse MT 30:22 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:22
Every evil and worthless man among the men who had gone with David answered. They said, “Because they did not go with me, we will give them none of the spoil we rescued, except each man’s wife and sons. Let them take them away and go.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:22
Every pestilent and evil man among the warriors who had gone with David answered. They said, “Because they did not pursue with us, we will give them none of the spoils we rescued. Let each take only his wife and children and return.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly calls them warriors and specifies pursuit with us; Hebrew retains the singular with me within the group’s speech. Hebrew sons and Greek children also differ. The exclusion is the men’s proposal, not the narrator’s rule.
Verse MT 30:23 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:23
David said, “You must not do this, my brothers, with what YHWH has given us. He guarded us and delivered into our hand the raiding band that came against us.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:23
David said, “You must not do this, after the Lord has given to us and guarded us. The Lord delivered into our hands the geddour that came against us.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek lacks my brothers, repeats Lord, and frames the opening as after the Lord has given. Both attribute the rescue to divine action rather than the warriors’ merit alone.
Verse MT 30:24 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:24
Who would listen to you about this? The share of the one who goes down into battle shall be like the share of the one who stays with the equipment. They shall share alike.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:24
Who would listen to these words of yours? For they are no less than you. As is the share of the one who goes down into war, so shall be the share of the one who stays with the equipment. They shall share equally.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds the explicit affirmation that those left behind are no less than the warriors. Both establish an equal share for fighting and guarding the equipment.
Verse MT 30:25 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:25
From that day onward, he made it a statute and a ruling for Israel, until this day.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:25
From that day onward, it became a command and a rule for Israel, until today.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew explicitly has a personal agent establishing the rule; Greek says it became a rule. Until this day belongs to the narrative’s own viewpoint.
30:26–31 | Gifts to the elders and neighboring places
The Greek-only list numbered 30:28a appears once within this unit.
Verse MT 30:26 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:26
David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, his friends, saying, “Here is a blessing for you from the spoil of YHWH’s enemies.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:26
David came to Ziklag and sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah and to his neighbors, saying, “Look, from the spoils of the Lord’s enemies.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew calls the recipients his friends and the gift a blessing. Greek separately mentions his neighbors and lacks the word blessing, leaving an elliptical announcement.
Verse MT 30:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:27
He sent it to those in Bethel, Ramoth-negeb and Jattir;
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:27
He sent it to those in Beth-zur, Ramah of the south and Jeththor;
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Bethel and Beth-zur are distinct names. The remaining names also differ in form. He sent it supplies the continuing action of 30:26 for the recipient list.
Verse MT 30:28 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:28
to those in Aroer, Siphmoth and Eshtemoa;
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:28
to those in Aroer, to the Ammadi, and to those in Saphi and Esthie;
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek supplies four recipient groups against three in Hebrew, including the Ammadi. Its sequence is retained rather than made identical with Hebrew’s place names.
Verse 30:28a Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
No MT counterpart
— No corresponding verse in the Hebrew base text. —
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:28a
to those in Gath, Kinan, Saphek and Thimath;
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The displayed Greek edition numbers this additional list 30:28a. It receives its own comparison row; none of these four clauses is added to the Hebrew column.
Verse MT 30:29 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:29
to those in Racal, the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and the cities of the Kenites;
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:29
to those in Carmel, the cities of the Ierameli, and the cities of the Kenezi;
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has Racal and Kenites; Greek has Carmel and Kenezi. The different geographical and group identifications are not reduced to ordinary spelling variants.
Verse MT 30:30 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:30
to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan and Athach;
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:30
to those in Ierimouth, Beer-sheba and Noo;
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: All three place names differ between these witnesses. No reconstructed common list is substituted for either displayed text.
Verse MT 30:31 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 30:31
to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David and his men had gone about.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 30:31
to those in Hebron, and to all the places through which David and his men had passed.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The final named destination and inclusive closing statement agree.