Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
The incident recorded in this chapter concerns "cutting off" (1 Samuel 24:4-5; 1 Samuel 24:11; 1 Samuel 24:21). David had the opportunity and received encouragement to cut off Saul’s life but chose to cut off only his robe hem. He ended up promising not to cut off Saul’s descendants and name.