The textual confusion between the thirty and “the three” continues in this verse. But most versions translate “thirty” as the first number in this verse. This is the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, which gives a {D} rating to this reading, and it certainly seems to make more sense if the number “thirty” is read in verse 18, although that is not the reading recommended in this Handbook. It is odd that Abishai is said to be the leader of a group that he is apparently not even a member of (see, for example, verses 17-18 in New Century Version, which says “… He was captain of the Three … He became their commander. But he was not a member of them”).

The most renowned of the thirty: in some languages this may be reworded as “more people knew his name than any of the rest of the Thirty.” And in some cases it will be necessary to turn this sentence around to say “among the Thirty, people praised him the most.”

Became their commander: it is unknown whether he was elected by the group of Thirty or named to this position by King David. But the important point here is that “he was the commander” (Contemporary English Version).

He did not attain to the three: that is, he did not reach the level of the three most famous warriors. The verb translated attain is a very general one, but the context shows that what is intended is that he did not achieve membership in the most elite group, although by making this statement it is implied that he was very close to this rank. Some other ways that this has been translated are “he was not equal to the Three” (New Jerusalem Bible), “he was not a member of [the Three]” (New Century Version), “he could not rival the first three” (Knox), and “he was not promoted to a place in the Trio” (Moffatt).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .