Bible Dictionary
SCRABBLE
To scrabble means to make marks or scrawl. In 1 Samuel 21:13 it describes David’s actions when he pretended to be mad, though some understand the original word as meaning that he drummed on the doors.
Definition
To scrabble means to make unmeaning marks or scrawl. The word is used in the King James Version to describe David’s behavior when he feigned madness at the gate.
Biblical Usage
In 1 Samuel 21:13, David scrabbled on the doors while pretending to be mad. The underlying word can mean to make a mark, while the Septuagint understood the action as beating or drumming on the doors.
Historical Background
The word is connected with the idea of a mark, including the Hebrew letter taw, whose original form was a cross. The Revised Version margin gives “made marks,” while several interpreters follow the Septuagint’s “drummed on the doors.”
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>skrab'-l: Occurs only in 1Sa 21:13, as the translation of tawah: "David .... feigned himself mad and scrabbled on the doors of the gate." "To scrabble" (modern English "scrawl") is here to make unmeaning marks; tawah means "to make a mark" from taw, "a mark," especially as a cross (Eze 9:4), a signature (Job 31:35, see the Revised Version (British and American)), the name of the Hebrew letter taw ("t") originally made in the form of a cross; the Revised Version margin has "made marks"; but Septuagint has tumpanizo, "to beat as a drum," which the Vulgate, Ewald, Driver and others follow ("beat upon" or "drummed on the doors of the city," which seems more probable).</p>