Cast his spear at him: that is, “at Jonathan.” The name will have to replace the pronoun him in many cases.

Saul’s attempt to kill Jonathan with his spear recalls his earlier attempts to kill David (see 18.11 and 19.10). The Septuagint says that Saul “raised” his spear, not that he cast his spear. With a change of the vowels only in the Hebrew verb, the verb changes in meaning from cast, or “throw,” to “raise.” The Septuagint is the basis for several modern translations such as Revised English Bible (“Saul picked up his spear”) and New American Bible (“Saul brandished his spear to strike him”). This problem is not treated in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, so the standard Hebrew text should be followed at this point.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .