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1 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 23
This
chapter gives an account of David's relieving Keilah, when it had like to have
fallen into the hands of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 23:1; and
of Saul's design to surprise him there, which David having notice of, and
inquiring of the Lord, departed from thence; which when Saul heard of, he
forbore to come forth, 1 Samuel 23:7; and
of David's being in the wilderness of Ziph, where, in a wood there, he had an
interview with Jonathan, 1 Samuel 23:14; and
of the Ziphites offering to deliver him up to Saul, for which he commends them,
and gives them instructions how they should behave to him in that affair, 1 Samuel 23:19; and
of his seeking him in the wilderness of Maon, where David and his men were in
great danger of being taken; which was prevented by the news of the Philistines
invading the land coming to Saul just at the nick of time, 1 Samuel 23:24.
1 Samuel 23:1 Then they told
David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are
robbing the threshing floors.”
YLT
1And they declare to David,
saying, `Lo, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are spoiling
the threshing-floors.'
Then they told David,.... Either the men of
Keilah sent to him, being near them, or some well wishers of theirs, and of
their country, acquainted him with their case:
saying, behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah; had laid
siege to it, being a fortified place, 1 Samuel 23:7; it
was a city in the tribe of Judah, on the borders of the Philistines; of which
See Gill on Joshua 15:44,
and they rob the threshing floors; took away the corn upon
them, which they were threshing and winnowing, which were usually done without
the city for the sake of wind, see Judges 6:11; it was
harvest time when the three mighty men came to David in the cave of Adullam,
and so now it might be the time of threshing, harvest being over, see 1 Samuel 22:1;
compared with 2 Samuel 23:13.
1 Samuel 23:2 2 Therefore David inquired
of the Lord,
saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David,
“Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”
YLT
2And David asketh at
Jehovah, saying, `Do I go? -- and have I smitten among these Philistines?' And
Jehovah saith unto David, `Go, and thou hast smitten among the Philistines, and
saved Keilah.'
Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I go and smite
these Philistines?.... For though David was well disposed to serve his country, and
was desirous of freeing them from their enemies the Philistines, he might have
some doubts in his mind whether it would be right for him to engage with them
now; partly because he could not act under a commission from his prince, Saul
the king; and partly because he had such a small number of forces with him,
that it might be hazardous for him to attack the armies of the Philistines with
them, and attempt to raise the siege of Keilah; and therefore he thought it
advisable, as doubtless it was, to inquire of the Lord what was his mind and
will in this matter: how and by what means he inquired it is not said, very
probably it was by the prophet Gad, who was with him, 1 Samuel 22:5; for
as for Abiathar, he was not yet come with the ephod, the Urim and Thummim, to
inquire by them, 1 Samuel 23:6;
though some think that is observed there to show in what way David did inquire,
namely, by Urim and Thummim; and so Kimchi and Abarbinel understand it; and it
is supposed that he came to David when he was about Keilah, and near unto it,
and so before he came thither, and time enough for him to inquire by him
whether he should go thither or not:
and the Lord said unto David, go, and smite the Philistines, and
save Keilah; which was not only giving him leave to go, and signifying it was
his mind and will he should; but that he should be successful, and rout the
Philistines, and raise the siege of Keilah, and save the city from falling into
their hands.
1 Samuel 23:3 3 But David’s men said to
him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah
against the armies of the Philistines?”
YLT
3And David's men say unto
him, `Lo, we here in Judah are afraid; and how much more when we go to Keilah,
unto the ranks of the Philistines?'
And David's men said unto him, behold, we be afraid here in Judah,.... Of Saul
and his army falling upon them, and crushing them, though they were in the
tribe of Judah, where they had many friends, and in the heart of that tribe:
how much more then if we come to Keilah; which, though
in the same tribe, yet in the further parts of it, and on the borders of the
Philistines: and there engage
against the armies of the Philistines? too numerous
and powerful for them, and so by this means be driven out of their place of
safety, the forest of Hareth, where they could hide themselves upon occasion;
to be exposed not only to the Philistines, before them, on the edge of their
country, from whence they could have re-enforcements easily, but to Saul and
his army behind them; and so, being between two fires, would be in danger of
being cut off.
1 Samuel 23:4 4 Then David inquired of the
Lord once again. And
the Lord
answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the
Philistines into your hand.”
YLT
4And David addeth again to
ask at Jehovah, and Jehovah answereth him, and saith, `Rise, go down to Keilah,
for I am giving the Philistines into thy hand.'
Then David inquired of the Lord yet again,.... Not for
his own sake, who firmly believed it was the will of God he should go and
succeed, but for the sake of his men, and to remove the doubts and fears that
hung on their minds:
and the Lord answered him, and said, arise, go down to Keilah; immediately,
make no stay, nor hesitate about it, but go with all haste to the relief of the
place:
for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hands; which is
still more explicit, and is a promise not only of delivering Keilah out of the
hands of the Philistines, but of delivering them into David's hands, and so of
an entire: victory; and therefore none of David's men had anything to fear
after such a declaration of the will of God.
1 Samuel 23:5 5 And David and his men went
to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and
took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
YLT
5And David goeth, and his
men, to Keilah, and fighteth with the Philistines, and leadeth away their cattle,
and smiteth among them -- a great smiting, and David saveth the inhabitants of
Keilah.
So David and his men went to Keilah,.... Animated by a
commission from God, and a promise of success by him:
and fought with the Philistines; encamped before Keilah:
and brought away their cattle; which they had brought
with them for the support of their army; or having routed them, they pursued
them into their own country, and brought off their cattle from thence:
and smote them with a great slaughter; killed great
numbers of them, and put the rest to flight:
so David saved the inhabitants of Keilah; from falling
into the hands of the Philistines, by timely raising the siege of the city.
1 Samuel 23:6 6 Now it happened, when
Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down
with an ephod in his hand.
YLT
6And it cometh to pass, in
the fleeing of Abiathar son of Ahimelech unto David, to Keilah, an ephod came
down in his hand.
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David
to Keilah,.... Either when he was there, or near the place:
that he came down
with an ephod in his hand; not with a linen ephod on his back, which
the priests in common wore, but the ephod with the Urim and Thummim in his
hand, which was peculiar to the high priest; and his father the high priest
being dead, it belonged to him, and therefore he took care to bring it with
him; though the words may be literally rendered, "the ephod came down in
his hand"F11אפוד ירד
בידו "ephod descendit in manu sua", Pagninus,
Montanus; "ephod descendebat in manu sua", Munsterus; so Tigurine
version and Piscator. , as it were by chance, and not with design; and so some
Jewish interpretersF12Kimchi & Ben Melech. understand it, that
in his fright and flight, among his garments and other things he took hold of
to carry with him, and not minding well what he took, this happened to be,
being so ordered by the providence of God; though the Targum renders
it,"the ephod he made to descend in his hand,'or brought it in his hand; and
so Kimchi and Abarbinel observe it may be interpreted, though they seem to
incline to the other sense.
1 Samuel 23:7 7 And Saul was told that
David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand,
for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.”
YLT
7And it is declared to Saul
that David hath come in to Keilah, and Saul saith, `God hath made him known for
my hand, for he hath been shut in, to enter into a city of doors and bar.'
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah,.... No doubt
it was told him what he came thither for, to relieve it, and deliver it out of
the hands of the Philistines, and what success he had; which one would have
thought would have reconciled his mind to him, and made him think well of them;
but instead of that, it only led him to contrive mischief against him:
and Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; as if the
success he had given to David was against, him, and in favour of Saul:
for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and
bars; while he betook himself to caves, and fields, and woods, he had
no great hopes of finding him out, and coming up with him, and seizing him; but
now he had got into a fortified place, enclosed with walls, and that had gates
to it, kept bolted and barred; when he brought his army against it, and
surrounded it, he imagined he would not be able to get out, and escape his
hands.
1 Samuel 23:8 8 Then Saul called all the
people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
YLT
8And Saul summoneth the
whole of the people to battle, to go down to Keilah, to lay siege unto David
and unto his men.
And Saul called all the people together to war,.... Or
"caused them to hear"F13ישמע
"fecit audire", Montanus, Piscator. summoned them by an herald, whom
he sent into all parts of the kingdom to proclaim war, and require them in his
name to attend him; which was the prerogative of a king to do:
to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men; that was what
he privately intended, but the pretence was to make war against the
Philistines.
1 Samuel 23:9 9 When David knew that Saul
plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod
here.”
YLT
9And David knoweth that
against him Saul is devising the evil, and saith unto Abiathar the priest,
`Bring nigh the ephod.'
And. David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him,.... That is,
plotted and contrived it, formed schemes in order to do him mischief, giving
out one thing, and designing another; so he pretended war against the
Philistines, but his intention was to come against Keilah, and take David
there:
and he said to Abiathar the priest, bring hither the ephod; not for David
to put on, but for the priest himself, that being clothed with it, and the Urim
and Thummim in it, he might inquire for him of the Lord.
1 Samuel 23:10 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel,
Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy
the city for my sake.
YLT
10And David saith, `Jehovah,
God of Israel, Thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul is seeking to come in
unto Keilah, to destroy the city on mine account.
Then said David,.... By the priest, for it was he that put
the questions for and in the name of the inquirer:
O Lord God of Israel; the great Jehovah, the
covenant God of his people, who always has a merciful regard unto them:
thy servant hath certainly heard; had good information of
it, on which he could depend:
that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah; that was his intention
and resolution:
to destroy the city for my sake; to besiege it, and
demolish it, if that was necessary, in order to take him.
1 Samuel 23:11 11 Will the men of Keilah
deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel,
I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come
down.”
YLT
11Do the possessors of Keilah
shut me up into his hand? doth Saul come down as Thy servant hath heard?
Jehovah, God of Israel, declare, I pray Thee, to Thy servant.' And Jehovah
saith, `He doth come down.'
Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hands? will Saul
come down, as thy servant hath heard?.... That is, if David
continued there, which is the supposition all proceeds upon. The questions are
not orderly put, as may easily be observed, the last should have been first;
which shows some perturbation of mind David was in upon hearing the design of
Saul against him:
O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant; give an
answer by Urim and Thummim, as he did:
and the Lord said, he will come down; if David
abode there; that was in his thoughts, in his purpose and design, which the
Lord, being omniscient, full well knew, who knows all future contingencies:
hence the JewsF14T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 73. 1,2. gather, that two things
are not to be asked together; and if they are asked, only answer is made to
one, and the answer is only made to that which it was proper to ask first; and
that which is asked out of order should be asked again, which was the case
here, as follows.
1 Samuel 23:12 12 Then David said, “Will the
men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They
will deliver you.”
YLT
12And David saith, `Do the
possessors of Keilah shut me up, and my men, into the hand of Saul?' And
Jehovah saith, `They shut [thee] up.'
Then said David, will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into
the hand of Saul?.... That is, the lords and great men of the place, the governor
of the city, and the heads of it, the chief magistrates in it:
and the Lord said, they will deliver thee up: that is,
provided he stayed there; for the Lord knew the dispositions and affections of
their minds, that they were inclined to do it, and would do it, if he continues
among them till Saul came down; which showed the great ingratitude of this
people to their deliverer.
1 Samuel 23:13 13 So David and his men,
about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could
go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the
expedition.
YLT
13And David riseth -- and his
men -- about six hundred men, and they go out from Keilah, and go up and down
where they go up and down; and to Saul it hath been declared that David hath
escaped from Keilah, and he ceaseth to go out.
Then David and his men, which were about six hundred,.... Having
had an increase of two hundred since he was at the cave of Adullam, 1 Samuel 22:1, and
upon his relief of Keilah, 1 Samuel 23:5; so
that he sustained no loss of men by fighting with the Philistines, but had an
addition to his small forces:
arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they
could go; not knowing whither they should go, having no particular place
in view; but went where they thought they could be safest, or that appeared the
most proper place for them; so the Targum,"they went to a place which was
fit to go unto;'which was fittest for their purpose, and most for their safety
and security, be it where it would:
and it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; very likely
some of the inhabitants informed him of it, since they were disposed to deliver
David to him, had he stayed among them, and Saul had come down:
and he forbore to go forth: from the place where he
was, in order to come to Keilah,
1 Samuel 23:14 14 And David stayed in strongholds
in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph.
Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
YLT
14And David abideth in the
wilderness, in fortresses, and abideth in the hill-country, in the wilderness
of Ziph; and Saul seeketh him all the days, and God hath not given him into his
hand.
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds,.... In the
wilderness of Ziph, in high and strong rocks there, as it seems to be explained
by what follows:
and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph; which had its
name from a city in the tribe of Judah, of which See Gill on Joshua 15:55,
and Saul sought him every day; for though he did not go
forth from the place where he was to Keilah, yet hearing which way he went, and
whereabout he lurked, he sought after him continually, if haply he might find
him:
but God delivered him not into his hand: which suggests,
that it was only the providence of God that secured him, or, in all
probability, such was the diligence of Saul, that he would have found him out,
and he must have fallen into his hands, as he expected.
1 Samuel 23:15 15 So David saw that Saul had
come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a
forest.[a]
YLT
15And David seeth that Saul
hath come out to seek his life, and David [is] in the wilderness of Ziph, in a
forest.
And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life,.... Either he
saw him with his bodily eyes from the top of the mountain where he was, 1 Samuel 23:14; or
he perceived, he understood by information given him by his friends, it may be
by Jonathan, or by spies he sent to observe his motions:
and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood; where he and
his men could hide themselves among the trees in it; sometimes he was in a
mountain in this wilderness, and sometimes in a wood, where he thought himself
the safest; thus was this great man obliged to shift about for his safety.
1 Samuel 23:16 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son,
arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.
YLT
16And Jonathan son of Saul
riseth, and goeth unto David to the forest, and strengtheneth his hand in God,
And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose,.... And came from
Gibeah, which, according to BuntingF15Travels, &c. p. 334. (text
not clear could be 834 or some other number) , was twenty two miles from the
place where David was:
and went to David into the wood: having had intelligence
where he was, this being a proper place to have an interview with him
privately:
and strengthened his hand in God; and his heart too, his
hand of faith to lay hold on God, as his covenant God and lean and rely upon
him; he strengthened him in his power and in his providence, and in his
promises to him; the Targum is,"he strengthened him in the Word of the
Lord;'not only in his word and promise, but in Christ the essential Word of
God, who should spring from him according to the flesh.
1 Samuel 23:17 17 And he said to him, “Do
not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king
over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.”
YLT
17and saith unto him, `Fear
not, for the hand of Saul my father doth not find thee, and thou dost reign
over Israel, and I am to thee for second, and also so knoweth Saul my father.'
And he said unto him, fear not,.... Distrust not the
power, providence, and promises of God, nor dread the wrath of Saul, or fear
falling into his hands:
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; to lay hold
on him, seize him, and do him any hurt:
and thou shalt be king over Israel; meaning after the death
of his father; which he knew either by some special revelation made to him; or
rather by being informed he had been anointed by Samuel, and which he had
either from Samuel or from David himself; and this he most firmly believed,
though David was now in so low a condition:
and I shall be next unto thee; not succeed him in the
kingdom; but if living when he came to the throne, he should be the second man
in civil affairs, as he now was, and that he should be content with:
and that also Saul my father knoweth; having
knowledge of the anointing of David by Samuel; or he might, and did conclude this
from various circumstances, that David was his neighbour Samuel had told him
of, God had given his kingdom to, 1 Samuel 15:28.
1 Samuel 23:18 18 So the two of them made a
covenant before the Lord.
And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
YLT
18And they make a covenant
both of them before Jehovah; and David abideth in the forest, and Jonathan hath
gone to his house.
And they two made a covenant before the Lord,.... Renewed
the covenant they had before made in the name and fear of God, and before him
as a witness of it. Kimchi and Abarbinel interpret this phrase:
before the Lord, of the covenant being made before Abiathar,
with the Urim and Thummim in his hand; and so JeromF16Trad. Heb. in
lib. Reg. fol. 76. K. , before Gad the prophet, and Abiathar who wore the
ephod:
and David abode in the wood; being a proper place for
him for secrecy and safety:
and Jonathan went to his house; in Gibeah; and these two
dear and cordial friends never saw one another more, as is highly probable.
1 Samuel 23:19 19 Then the Ziphites came up
to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the
woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?
YLT
19And the Ziphites go up unto
Saul to Gibeah, saying, `Is not David hiding himself with us in fortresses, in
the forest, in the height of Hachilah, which [is] on the south of the desolate
place?
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah,.... Who
though he had been out in quest of David, yet was now returned to Gibeah, the
place of his residence, and where he kept his court; and hither came the
Ziphites, the inhabitants of Ziph, in the wilderness of which David hid
himself, with a proposal to deliver him to Saul; for though they were of the
same tribe with David, yet being terrified with what Saul had done to Nob, they
thought it best for their own security to inform Saul where he was, and make an
offer to deliver him to him. Some interpreters, as Kimchi, think that this was
done before Jonathan was with Saul, and should be rendered, "the Ziphites
had come up to Saul"; and hence it is before said, and David saw, &c.
for he had heard that the Ziphites should say to Saul, that David had hid
himself there; and at this time it was that David wrote the fifty ninth psalm, Psalm 54:1,
saying, doth not David hide himself with us in the strong holds in
the wood; which is in the wilderness of Ziph, in their neighbourhood; they
were informed he had hid himself there, and they thought it their duty to let
the king know of it: and particularly
in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Hachilah is
by JeromF17De loc. Heb. fol. 91. C. called Echela; and he speaks of
a village of that name seven miles from Eleutheropolis, and of Jeshimon as ten
miles from Jericho to the south, near the dead sea; on the top of this hill,
which was an ascent of thirty furlongs or about four miles, Jonathan the high
priest built a castle, and called it Masada, often spoken of by Josephus; who
saysF18De Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 8. sect. 3. Vid. Adrichom. Theatrum T.
S. p. 38. 2. & 39. 1. , that Herod built a wall around it of seven furlongs
or about a mile, twelve cubits high, and eight broad, and thirty seven towers
of fifty cubits stood in it.
1 Samuel 23:20 20 Now therefore, O king,
come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall
be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”
YLT
20And, now, by all the desire
of thy soul, O king, to come down, come down, and ours [is] to shut him up into
the hand of the king.'
Now therefore, O king, come down,.... From Gibeah to Ziph,
and the wilderness of it, where David was:
according to all the desires of thy soul to come down; to seize such
a prey which he was greatly desirous of, and of nothing more so than of that
according to Abarbinel, the sense is, that the thing was ready in whatever way
he should desire it; if he chose to come down himself, and lay hold on him,
they invite him to come down; but if he did not choose to come down himself,
they would seize him, and bring him to him, and deliver him up into his hand,
and so he would be under no necessity of going down after him:
and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand; this we will
take upon us to do, and save the king the trouble of coming down.
1 Samuel 23:21 21 And Saul said, “Blessed are
you of the Lord,
for you have compassion on me.
YLT
21And Saul saith, `Blessed
[are] ye of Jehovah, for ye have pity on me;
And Saul said, blessed be ye of the Lord,.... He highly
commends them for the offer they made to him, blesses God for them, and desires
the blessing of God upon them for it:
for ye have compassion on me; pitied him on account of
the troubles he met with from his son-in-law, were sorry for him, and
sympathized with him, which others did not, of which he complained, 1 Samuel 22:8.
1 Samuel 23:22 22 Please go and find out for
sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him
there. For I am told he is very crafty.
YLT
22go, I pray you, prepare
yet, and know and see his place where his foot is; who hath seen him there? for
[one] hath said unto me, He is very subtile.
Go, I pray you, prepare yet,.... That is, go home,
return to their habitations, and get things in a greater readiness for him;
inquire more diligently after David, get more intelligence of him, and inform
themselves more exactly about him:
and know and see his place where his haunt is; or
"foot"F19רגלו "pes
ejus", Pagninus, Montanus. is, where that steps and walks most frequently,
not only get knowledge of it by information, but if they could get sight of it
with their own eyes, that they might describe it more exactly:
and who hath seen him there; not only seen
the place, but him in the place, and that often, that it may be certain it is
the place he usually resorts to:
for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly; sometimes he
is seen in one place, and sometimes in another; he is here today, and elsewhere
tomorrow; and by such crafty methods it is not easy to know where the place is,
and where to be found; this Saul had information of from some, who knew the
methods David took to keep it unknown where it was; or "it says to
me"; my heart says so to me, as R. Isaiah interprets it; my mind suggests
this to me, knowing the man, that he uses such wiles as these: or "he said
to me", so Kimchi; when he was with me, and we were intimate, when I used
to ask him how he smote the Philistines, so and so, and preserved himself from
them; his answer was, "that he dealt very subtilly", he used a good
deal of craftiness; and so I imagine he does now.
1 Samuel 23:23 23 See therefore, and take
knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with
certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that
I will search for him throughout all the clans[b] of Judah.”
YLT
23And see and know of all the
hiding-places where he hideth himself, and ye have turned back unto me
prepared, and I have gone with you, and it hath been, if he is in the land,
that I have searched him out through all the thousands of Judah.'
See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where
he hideth himself,.... Which he most frequents, that ye may be able to describe
them, and the way to them, and easily find them when necessary:
and come ye again to me with the certainty; of time and
place, when and where he may be certainly found:
and I will go with you; upon such certain
intelligence: it is very much he did not seize this opportunity, and go
directly with them; for by this delay, David being informed of the Ziphites
coming to Saul to betray him, had time to depart elsewhere:
and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land; in the land
of Israel, or rather in the land that is in the tribe of Judah:
that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah; through all
the divisions of that tribe, which, as others, were divided into thousands, see
Micah 5:2.
1 Samuel 23:24 24 So they arose and went to
Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon,
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
YLT
24And they rise and go to
Ziph before Saul, and David and his men [are] in the wilderness of Maon, in the
plain, at the south of the desolate place.
And they arose, and went to Ziph, before Saul,.... Not
before his person, as if he went with them, and they before him leading the
way; but they went thither before he went, to prepare things more exactly, and
with more certainty, before he came, and in order to return to him again and go
with him:
but David and his men were in the wilderness at Maon; for by the
time the Ziphites returned home, David had intelligence of their design, and
therefore removed from the wilderness of Ziph to the wilderness of Maon; which,
though in the same tribe, was a distinct place; See Gill on Joshua 15:55,
in the plain on the south of Jeshimon; the same as
in 1 Samuel 23:19;
only David was now farther to the south of it, and in a plain, whereas before
he was on an hill.
1 Samuel 23:25 25 When Saul and his men went
to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and
stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued
David in the Wilderness of Maon.
YLT
25And Saul and his men go to
seek, and they declare to David, and he goeth down the rock, and abideth in the
wilderness of Maon; and Saul heareth, and pursueth after David [to] the
wilderness of Maon.
And Saul also and his men went to seek him,.... Whether
the Ziphites returned to him with better intelligence, or sent him word where
David was, is not said, however Saul with his army came out in search of him:
and they told David; or it was told him, that
Saul was come in quest of him:
wherefore he came down into a rock; either into a cave in
it, or he came down from the hill Hachilah to a plain or valley, in order to go
up to a rock, the same with the mountain in 1 Samuel 23:26,
and abode in the wilderness of Maon; in which was the rock or
mountain he came to:
and when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the
wilderness of Maon; for upon the intelligence of the Ziphites, he came out to seek
for him in the wilderness of Ziph, but hearing that he was removed to the
wilderness of Maon, he pursued him there.
1 Samuel 23:26 26 Then Saul went on one side
of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So
David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling
David and his men to take them.
YLT
26And Saul goeth on this side
of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain, and David
is hastened to go from the face of Saul, and Saul and his men are compassing
David and his men, to catch them.
And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men
on that side of the mountain,.... Saul with his army came to the very
mountain where David and his men were, the one was on one side of it, and the
other on the other side; there was only one mountain between them:
and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; he fled on
one side of the mountain, while Saul was pursuing him on the other, and
hastening to get round unto him:
for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to
take them; he took methods by dividing his troops, and sending them
different ways, to surround David and his men, and had very near effected it.
1 Samuel 23:27 27 But a messenger came to
Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!”
YLT
27And a messenger hath come
in unto Saul, saying, `Haste, and come, for the Philistines have pushed against
the land.'
But there came a messenger unto Saul,.... From his
court, by order of his council there; though the JewsF20Midrash apud
Yalkut in loc. say it was an angel from heaven; but be it which it will, it was
certainly the providence of God that directed this affair, that a messenger
should come to Saul just at that very time that David was like to fall into his
hands:
saying, haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have invaded the
land; were come into it, and spread themselves in it, as the word
signifies, which expresses their numbers they had poured in, the force they
came with, and the possessions they had already got; perhaps they had taken the
advantage of Saul's departure in quest of David, to penetrate into the tribe of
Benjamin, where his patrimony, residence, and court were, and which were liable
to fall into their hands; and therefore his presence was immediately required,
and haste was necessary.
1 Samuel 23:28 28 Therefore Saul returned
from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that
place the Rock of Escape.[c]
YLT
28And Saul turneth back from
pursuing after David, and goeth to meet the Philistines, therefore they have
called that place `The Rock of Divisions.'
Therefore Saul returned from pursuing after David,.... Stopped
short at once, as soon as ever he received the message:
and went against the Philistines; to stop them in their
progress, and drive them out of his country:
therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth, which
signifies the rock of divisions. David and his men, very probably, gave it this
name, not only because it divided between Saul and his men, and David and his
men, when they were one on one side of it, and the other on the other side of
it; but because Saul was, by the providence of God, divided and separated from
David here, whereby he escaped falling into his hands. The Targum
is,"therefore they called that place the rock of division, the place where
the heart of the king was divided to go here and there:'he was divided in his
own mind, and at a loss what to do; he was in two minds, as Jarchi says, and
did not know which to follow, whether to return and deliver his country from
the hands of the Philistines, or to pursue and take David; and others represent
the soldiers of Saul as divided, some saying that since the son of Jesse was
just falling into their hands, they should not leave him; others, that the war
of Israel should be regarded before him, who might be found at any timeF21Midrash
apud Yalkut in loc. .
1 Samuel 23:29 29 Then David went up from
there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.
YLT
29And David goeth up thence,
and abideth in fortresses [at] En-gedi.
And David went up from thence,.... From the wilderness
of Maon, having had a narrow escape for his life:
and dwelt in strong holds in Engedi; another place in the
tribe of Judah, and which lay in the wilderness of Judah, and from whence that
is called the wilderness of Engedi; and here Dr. LightfootF23Works,
vol. 1. p. 58. thinks he penned the sixty third psalm, Psalm 63:1, the
wilderness about Engedi being the most desert of all other places, that being
upon the borders of the dead sea; of this place; see Gill on Joshua 15:62.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)