DID YOU KNOW?
The answer
In the Bible. 1 Samuel 24:4 says, "Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's cloak." The next verses say David "was stricken to the heart" for doing it, and he stops his men from attacking the king, "for he is the Lord's anointed" (24:5-7). Saul had gone into the cave to relieve himself, and David and his men were sitting at the back of it (24:3).
Why it’s interesting
Why cutting a cloak bothers David so much is unclear. The cut may stand for taking Saul's kingdom, the way Jonathan handing David his royal robe did earlier (1 Samuel 18:4). The cave story also reads as a harsher retelling of the night raid in 1 Samuel 26, where David takes Saul's spear instead.
Scholarly consensus
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