When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)
Saul abode ... under a tree in Ramah, х tachat (H8478) haa'eeshel (H815) baaraamaah (H7413)] - under the tamarisk upon the hill. Oriental princes frequently sit with their court under some shady canopy in the open air. A spear was the early sceptre, as we are informed by Justin, who says, 'Anciently kings had spears as signs of royal authority.' Saul's spear might be distinguished from common spears by its length as well as its decorations; and that this was likely to be the case may be inferred from the relics of Egypt and Assyria, in both of which a massive mace was used as a royal sceptre.
Having his spear in his hand - or at his hand; i:e., near beside him. When a band of Arabs is preceded by one carrying a long pike, it indicates that there is a chief or prince among them. On his alighting, the pike is fixed upright in the ground, close to the center where the head man is seated (Pocock's 'Description of the East).
And all his servants were standing about him - not under the tree; because the text distinctly represents the king only as enjoying the arboreal shade; and the tamarisk is too diminutive and limited in its dimensions to admit of a group of royal attendants standing under it.