Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it happened, as often as they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
"The princes of the Philistines." There is a great deal of ambiguity in much of what is found in certain passages; and, in this instance, it is not clear whether the Philistine princes were leaders of armies into battle, or if they came out, after the manner of Goliath, seeking single combat.  The New English Bible understands it to mean that, "they came out seeking single combat."  Willis designated this understanding of the passage as "plausible,"[10] but to this writer it appears far more likely that they came as leaders of military detachments.