And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

1 SAMUEL 21:13KJV
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1 Samuel 21:13 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 21:13 mean?

1 Samuel 21:13 describes David pretending to be insane while he is among the people of Gath. David’s strange conduct is a deliberate response to danger: he is afraid of Achish, the king of Gath, after the king’s servants recognize him.

The narrator shows David acting in public, scratching at the gate doors and allowing saliva to run into his beard. Those details make his act visible to the people around him, who can see his face as well as his actions.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 21:13

  • “behaviour” — טַעַם (taʿam): The word can refer to judgment or understanding. Here it describes the soundness of mind that David makes others think he has lost.
  • “scrabbled” — תָּוָה (tavah): The word can carry the sense of marking or making marks. The KJV pictures David making scratch marks on the gate doors as part of his act.

Why 1 Samuel 21:13 matters

  • David’s conduct is presented as an act, not as a sudden change in his mind. The narrator says he “feigned himself mad,” after verse 12 describes his fear of Achish.
  • The plan affects how Achish sees David. In verses 14–15, Achish treats David as a madman and questions why his servants brought such a person to him.
  • The words “in their hands” place David under the control of the people around him. His actions take place while he is exposed to their judgment, not safely apart from them.

Where else these words appear

“scrabbled” Hebrew H8427 · used in 2 verses

  • Ezekiel 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

“spittle” Hebrew H7388 · used in 2 verses

  • Job 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

“behaviour” Hebrew H2940 · used in 12 verses

  • Exodus 16:31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
  • Job 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
  • Proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

“beard” Hebrew H2206 · used in 18 verses

  • Leviticus 13:29 If a man or woman have a plague upon the head or the beard;
  • 1 Samuel 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
  • Psalms 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;