13So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.
The Hebrew word eleph normally means thousand, but in a military context it can refer simply to a unit of unknown size/number. If 1 Samuel 25:12 serves as a guide, then David had around 500 men to take care of.
13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.