1 Samuel 14:18

14:18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring near the ephod,” ¹  for he was at that time wearing the ephod. ² 

1 Samuel 29:4

29:4 But the leaders of the Philistines became angry with him and said ³  to him, “Send the man back! Let him return to the place that you assigned him! Don’t let him go down with us into the battle, for he might become ⁴  our adversary in the battle. What better way to please his lord than with the heads of these men? ⁵ 

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¹ tc Heb “the ark of God.” It seems unlikely that Saul would call for the ark, which was several miles away in Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Sam 7:2). The LXX and an Old Latin ms have “ephod” here, a reading which harmonizes better with v. 3 and fits better with the verb “bring near” (see 1 Sam 23:9; 30:7) and with the expression “withdraw your hand” in v.19. This reading is followed in the present translation (cf. NAB, TEV, NLT).

² tc Heb “for the ark of God was in that day, and the sons of Israel.” The translation follows the text of some Greek manuscripts. See the previous note.

³ tn Heb “and the leaders of the Philistines said.”

⁴ tn Heb “so that he might not become.”

⁵ tn Or perhaps, “our men.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.e.