David's Mighty Warriors - Three of The Thirty

Three of The Thirty

The text also contains a narrative passage about "three of The Thirty". It is unclear from the text whether this refers to The Three, hence implying that The Three were a special group within The Thirty, or whether it refers to another group of three individuals. The narrative, which recounts a single exploit, ends with "such were the exploits of the three mighty men", and textual scholars believe that the narrative may be an extract from a larger group of tales concerning these three. The flowing narrative differs in style from the more abrupt introductions to individual members of The Three and The Thirty that surround it, and textual scholars believe that it may originally have been from a different document.

In the narrative, three of the thirty visit David when he is located at the cave of Adullam. While there, David expresses a heartfelt desire for water from a well near Bethlehem, which the narrative states was occupied by Philistines. The three of the thirty therefore forcefully break past the Philistines, and draw water from the well, which they take back to David. David refuses to drink the water, instead pouring it out "before Yahweh", arguing that it was the blood of the men who had risked their lives. Biblical scholars argue that the description of David pouring out the water is a reference to David offering the water to Yahweh as a libation.