For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me this day.
Finally Saul asked David not to cut off his descendants when he came to power (1 Samuel 24:21). As noted earlier, it was customary in the ancient Near East for a new king to kill all the descendants of the ruler whom he replaced. This prevented them from rising up and reestablishing the dead king’s dynasty. David had already promised Jonathan that he would not kill his descendants (1 Samuel 20:14-17), and he now made the same promise to Saul (1 Samuel 24:22). To cut off someone’s name meant to obliterate the memory of him. David even agreed to spare Saul’s reputation in Israel (cf. 2 Samuel 1:17-27).