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1 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 24
Saul
being returned from following the Philistines, renews his pursuit after David, 1 Samuel 24:1; and
they meeting in a cave, where David had the opportunity of taking away the life
of Saul, which his men pressed him to, yet only cut off the skirt of his robe, 1 Samuel 24:3;
which, calling after him, he held up to him to convince him he had his life in
his hands, but spared it, 1 Samuel 24:9; upon
which he very pathetically reasons with him about the unreasonableness and unrighteousness
of his pursuit after him, to take away his life, 1 Samuel 24:11;
which so affected Saul, that he confessed he was more righteous than he, and
owned that the kingdom would be his, and only desired him to swear to him not
to cut off his offspring, which David did, and so they parted, 1 Samuel 24:16.
1 Samuel 24:1 Now it
happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was
told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”
YLT
1And it cometh to pass when
Saul hath turned back from after the Philistines, that they declare to him,
saying, `Lo, David [is] in the wilderness of En-gedi.'
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the
Philistines,.... Having, as it should seem, got the victory over them, and
driven them out of his country, and pursued them to their own:
that it was told him, saying, behold, David is in the
wilderness of Engedi; in the strong holds of it, the high rocks and mountains in it, 1 Samuel 23:29.
1 Samuel 24:2 2 Then
Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and
his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
YLT
2And Saul taketh three
thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goeth to seek David and his men, on
the front of the rocks of the wild goats,
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,.... Out of
his army, with which he had been pursuing the Philistines:
and went to seek David, and his men, upon the rocks of the wild goats; which were in
the wilderness of Engedi; those rocks were exceeding high and terrible to look
at, full of precipices, and so prominent, that to travellers they seemed as if
they would fall into the adjacent valleys, that it even struck terror into them
to look at themF24Adrichom Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 47. &
Brocard. in ib. ; called the rocks of wild goats, because these creatures,
called from hence "rupicaprae", or rock goats, see Job 39:1; delighted
to be there; and are, as PlinyF25Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53. says, of
such prodigious swiftness, that they will leap from mountain to mountain, and
back again at pleasure; these mountains David and his men chose for safety, and
the height and craggedness of them did not deter Saul and his men from seeking
him there.
1 Samuel 24:3 3 So
he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul
went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses
of the cave.)
YLT
3and he cometh in unto folds
of the flock, on the way, and there [is] a cave, and Saul goeth in to cover his
feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding.
And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave,.... For the
sheep to be led into at noon, to shelter them from the heat: such was the cave
of Polyphemus, observed by BochartF26Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45.
col. 467, 468. , in which sheep and goats lay down and slept; See Gill on Zephaniah 2:6,
and Saul went in to cover his feet; the Targum is, to do his
necessaries; and so JosephusF1Antiqu. l. 6. c. 13. sect. 4. ; and
the Jewish commentators generally understand it of easing nature; and as the
eastern people used to wear long and loose garments, these, when they performed
such an action, they used in modesty to gather them close about them, that no
part of the body, their feet, and especially the parts of nature which should
be concealed, might be seen; but the Syriac and Arabic versions render it,
"and there he lay" or "slept"; which suggest, that his
going into the cave was in order to take some sleep and rest, when it was usual
to cover the feet, both to prevent taking cold, and the private parts of the
body being exposed to view; and this accounts better for Saul not hearing
David's men in the cave, and for his being insensible of David's cuttings off
the skirt of his garment, and best agrees with the use of the phrase in Judges 3:24; the
only place besides this in which it is used; See Gill on Judges 3:24,
and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave; unseen and
unobserved by Saul, even six hundred of them; nor need this seem strange, since
in those parts of the world there were caves exceeding large, made so either by
nature or art. VanslebF2Relation of a Voyage, p. 227. speaks of a
cave in Egypt so extraordinary large, that, without hyperbole, a thousand
horses might there draw up in battle array, and of another larger than that;
and Strabo saysF3Geograph. l. 16. p. 520. , that towards Arabia and
Iturea are mountains difficult to be passed, and in which are deep caves, one
of which would hold four thousand men: and as the mouths of these caves were
generally narrow, and the further parts of them large, and also dark, persons
at the entrance of them could be seen, when those in the more remote parts
could not; and this cave is said to be extremely darkF4Le Bruyn's
Voyage to the Levant, ch. 51. p. 199. ; which accounts for Saul's being seen
when he came into the cave, whereas David and his men could not be seen by him.
1 Samuel 24:4 4 Then
the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you,
‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it
seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s
robe.
YLT
4And the men of David say
unto him, `Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto thee, Lo, I am giving thine
enemy into thy hand, and thou hast done to him as it is good in thine eyes;'
and David riseth and cutteth off the skirt of the upper robe which [is] on Saul
-- gently.
And the men of David said unto him,.... Some of his
principal men, who were about him, and near him, such as Joab and Abishai:
behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee: now the time
was come that he spoke of to him by Samuel, or Gad, or to himself directly:
behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand; and such was
Saul, as appeared by his seeking to take away his life; and now he was in the
hand of David to take away his life, if he pleased:
that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee; an
opportunity of this kind now offered:
then David arose; from that part of the cave in which he was,
the further part of it:
and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily; unawares to
him, and unobserved by him, which might be easily done, if Saul was asleep, and
it is probable he was; and by the same way it may be accounted for that he did
not hear the discourse that passed between David and his men.
1 Samuel 24:5 5 Now
it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s
robe.
YLT
5And it cometh to pass
afterwards that the heart of David smiteth him, because that he hath cut off
the skirt which [is] on Saul,
And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him,.... His
conscience accused him, and he repented of what he had done:
because he had cut off Saul's skirt; which though less than
what his servants put him upon, and he might have thoughts of doing, yet was
considered by him as a great indignity to his sovereign, and therefore sat
uneasy on his mind.
1 Samuel 24:6 6 And
he said to his men, “The Lord
forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to
stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.”
YLT
6and he saith to his men,
`Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord -- to the
anointed of Jehovah -- to put forth my hand against him, for the anointed of
Jehovah he [is].'
And he said unto his men,.... When he returned and
brought the skirt of Saul's garment in his hand; or else he said this before
that, though here mentioned, when they moved it to him to dispatch him, as he
had a fair opportunity of doing it:
God forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's
anointed; and which he could not think of but with detestation and
abhorrence, since he was his sovereign lord and master, and he a subject of
his, and was anointed by the order of God, and his person sacred:
to stretch forth my hand against him; to take away
his life; to cut off the skirt of his garment gave him uneasiness; but to slay
him, the thought of it was shocking to him:
seeing he is the anointed of the Lord; anointed by
Samuel to be king, 1 Samuel 10:1, by
order of the Lord, 1 Samuel 9:17.
1 Samuel 24:7 7 So
David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them
to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.
YLT
7And David subdueth his men
by words, and hath not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul hath risen
from the cave, and goeth on the way;
So David stayed his servants with these words,.... Or
pacified them, as the Targum, and made them quiet and easy in that he had not
slain him, and reconciled their minds to his conduct, and restrained them from
laying hands on him, by observing to them, that he was the anointed of the
Lord:
and suffered them not to rise against Saul; to take away his life; he not only
argued with them, but laid his commands on them that they should not slay him:
but Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way; he rose from
his sleep, and went out of the cave unhurt, and proceeded on in the way he came
to the sheepcotes, and which led on further, 1 Samuel 24:3.
1 Samuel 24:8 8 David also arose
afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the
king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the
earth, and bowed down.
YLT
8and David riseth
afterwards, and goeth out from the cave, and calleth after Saul, saying, `My
lord, O king!' And Saul looketh attentively behind him, and David boweth --
face to the earth -- and doth obeisance.
David also arose afterward,.... After Saul was gone:
and went out of the cave; where he had been all
the time that Saul had been in it:
and cried after Saul: with a loud voice: my
lord the king; by which titles Saul would know that he was called unto:
and when Saul looked behind him; to see who it was that
called unto him:
David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself: giving
reverence and honour to him as a king; See Gill on 1 Samuel 20:41.
1 Samuel 24:9 9 And David said to Saul:
“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’?
YLT
9And David saith to Saul,
`Why dost thou hear the words of man, saying, Lo, David is seeking thine evil?
And David said to Saul, wherefore hearest thou men's words,.... The false
charges and accusations, that some of Saul's courtiers brought against David,
as Doeg the Edomite, and such like sycophants and flatterers, to whom Saul
hearkened, and believed what they said, and acted upon it. David chose rather
to lay the blame on Saul's courtiers than on himself; and he began with him in
this way, the rather to reconcile him to him, and cause him to listen to what
he had to say: and represents them as
saying to him:
behold, David seeketh thy hurt? seeks to take away thy
life, and seize upon thy crown and throne; than which nothing was more foreign
from him.
1 Samuel 24:10 10 Look, this day your eyes
have seen that the Lord
delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me
to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out
my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’
YLT
10Lo, this day have thine
eyes seen how that Jehovah hath given thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and
[one] said to slay thee, and [mine eye] hath pity on thee, and I say, I do not
put forth my hand against my lord, for the anointed of Jehovah he [is].
Behold, this day thine eyes have seen,.... Or may
see; there is full proof and evidence of it, and which will be presently shown:
how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the
cave; from whence they were both just come:
and some bade me kill thee; some of the
men that were with David, some of his officers or principal friends put him
upon it, having a fair opportunity, and thinking it no evil, since he was his
enemy, and sought his life; or "it said, kill thee"; my heart
prompted me to it, that said so at first, as Ben Gersom interprets it; some
refer it to God, who in his providence said so, or so it might be understood by
David, as if Providence directed him to it, by giving film such an opportunity
of doing it:
but mine eye spared thee; had pity on him, and
notwithstanding the suggestions of friends, and of his own heart at first, or
the seeming direction of Providence, yet he had mercy on him, and forbore
slaying him:
and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; and king,
whose subject I am:
for he is the Lord's anointed; the Lord has
raised him to this dignity; invested him with the office of a king, and as such
I regard him, and therefore have refrained mine hand from him, from hurting
him,
1 Samuel 24:11 11 Moreover, my father, see!
Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of
your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil
nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my
life to take it.
YLT
11`And, my father, see, yea
see the skirt of thine upper robe in my hand; for by cutting off the skirt of
thy upper robe, and I have not slain thee, know and see that there is not in my
hand evil and transgression, and I have not sinned against thee, and thou art
hunting my soul to take it!
Moreover, my father,.... So he was in a natural
sense, as having married his daughter; and in a civil sense, as he was a king,
and was, or ought to have been, the father of his country, and to treat his
subjects as his children, and David among the rest:
see, yea see, the skirt of thy robe in my hand; look on it
again and again; view it with the eyes of thy body intently, that thou mayest
be satisfied of it, and behold with the eyes of thy mind and understanding, and
consider that I could as easily have had thine head in my hand as the skirt of
thy robe; and here see an instance and proof of the integrity and sincerity of
my heart, and cordial affections to thee, and an evidence against all the
charges and accusations of my enemies, and that I have no ill design upon thy
person and life, and am far from seeking thy hurt, as they say:
for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not; not only did
that to show that he was in his power, but did not cut off his head, as he
could:
know thou, and see, that there is neither evil nor transgression
in mine hand; this might be a full conviction to him that he had no ill,
neither in his heart nor hand, to do unto him:
and I have not sinned against thee; done nothing to offend
him, never acted against his will, nor disobeyed any of his commands, or had
been guilty of one overt act of treason or rebellion, but all the reverse:
yet thou huntest my soul to take it; pursued him from place
to place, hunted him in the wildernesses of Ziph and Maon, and upon the rocks
of Engedi, as a partridge on the mountains, 1 Samuel 26:20; and
lay in wait for him to kill him, as the Targum: he may be thought to have
penned the "seventh" psalm at this time, or on this occasion; at
least there are some passages in it, which seem to refer to his present
circumstances, Psalm 7:1.
1 Samuel 24:12 12 Let the Lord judge between
you and me, and let the Lord
avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.
YLT
12`Jehovah doth judge between
me and thee, and Jehovah hath avenged me of thee, and my hand is not on thee;
The Lord judge between me and thee,.... And make it appear
who is in the right, and who in the wrong:
and the Lord avenge me of thee; if he continued thus to
persecute him:
but mine hand shall not be upon thee; to kill thee,
though it may be in my power again to do it, as it has been; but this I am
determined upon, let me suffer what I will, I will not lay hands on thee to do
thee any hurt, but leave thee with God to requite all the evil done to me by
thee.
1 Samuel 24:13 13 As the proverb of the
ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be
against you.
YLT
13as saith the simile of the
ancients, From the wicked goeth out wickedness, and my hand is not on thee.
As saith the proverb of the ancients,.... It is an
old saying, has been long in use, and may be applied to the present case; or
the "proverb of the ancient one"; of the oldest man, the first man
Adam, and of all others after him, so Kimchi; or of the Ancient One of the
world, the Ancient of days, the Lord himself; so in the TalmudF4T.
Bab. Maccot, fol. 10. 2. :
wickedness proceedeth from the wicked; as is a man,
so are his actions; if he is a wicked man, he will do wicked things; a corrupt
tree brings forth evil fruits, an evil man out of the evil treasure of his
heart brings forth evil things; and as if David should say, if I had been the
wicked man as I am represented, I should have committed wickedness; I should
have made no conscience of taking away thy life when it was in my power; but my
heart would not suffer me to do it:
but, or "and"
my hand shall not be upon thee; as it has not been upon
thee, because of the fear of God in me, so neither shall it be hereafter: or
the sense of the proverb may be, the wickedness that comes from a wicked man,
that will kill him, or be the cause of his ruin, or he will be slain by wicked
men such as himself; and this may be thy case, O king, unless thou repentest:
but be that as it may, which I leave with the righteous Judge, this I am
determined on, "mine hand shall not be upon thee"; to take away thy
life.
1 Samuel 24:14 14 After whom has the king of
Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?
YLT
14`After whom hath the king
of Israel come out? after whom art thou pursuing? -- after a dead dog! after
one flea!
After whom is the king of Israel come out?.... From his
court and palace, with an army of men, and at the head of them:
after whom dost thou pursue? with such eagerness and
fury:
after a dead dog; as David was in the opinion, and according
to the representation of his enemies, a dog, vile, mean, worthless, of no
account; a dead dog, whose name was made to stink through the calumnies cast
upon him; and if a dead dog, then as he was an useless person, and could do no
good, so neither could he do any hurt, not so much as bark, much less bite; and
therefore it was unworthy of so great a prince, a lessening, a degrading of
himself, as well as a vain and impertinent thing, to pursue after such an one,
that was not worthy of his notice, and could do him neither good nor harm:
after a flea? a little contemptible animal, not easily
caught, as it is observed by some, and when caught good for nothing. David, by
this simile, fitly represents not only his weakness and impotence, his being
worthless, and of no account, and beneath the notice of such a prince as Saul;
but the circumstances he was in, being obliged to move from place to place, as
a flea leaps from one place to another, and is not easily taken, and when it
is, of no worth and value; signifying, that as it was not worth his pains to
seek after him, so it would be to no purpose, he should not be able to take
him.
1 Samuel 24:15 15 Therefore let the Lord be judge, and
judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your
hand.”
YLT
15And Jehovah hath been for
judge, and hath judged between me and thee, yea, he seeth and pleadeth my
cause, and doth deliver me out of thy hand.'
The Lord therefore be Judge, and judge between me and thee,....
Signifying he did not desire to be judge in his own cause, but leave it with
God to determine it for him in his providence:
and see, and plead my cause; look with pity upon him,
take his cause in his hand, plead it, and do him justice:
and deliver me out of thine hand: which was a prayer of
faith, believing he would do it in due time, see Psalm 7:6.
1 Samuel 24:16 16 So it was, when David had
finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your
voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
YLT
16And it cometh to pass, when
David completeth to speak these words unto Saul, that Saul saith, `Is this thy
voice, my son David?' and Saul lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these
words unto Saul,.... And wonderful it is that Saul, so full of wrath and fury,
and so eager of David's life, should stand still and hear him out, and not fall
upon him; this must be owing to the restraining providence of God, and to the
surprise Saul was in at the sight of David coming out of the cave, whom he
expected not; and especially what awed and quieted him was the sight of the
skirt of his robe in his hand, which was a sure token he had his life in his
hand, and spared it, which made him listen attentively to all he said:
that Saul said, is this thy voice, my son David? he changes
his language; before, when he spoke of David, it was only the so of Jesse now
my son David, as he was by marriage to his daughter, and as appeared by his
filial affection to him; and though he was at such a distance from him, that he
was not able to discern his countenance, yet he knew his voice, at least
supposed it to be his, as his question implies, and which he might conclude fro
in the whole of his discourse:
and Saul lifted up his voice and wept; being
affected with the kindness of David to him, and with his deliverance from the
danger he was in, and yet without true repentance of his sins; for there may be
many tears shed where there is no real repentance, as in the case of Esau.
1 Samuel 24:17 17 Then he said to David:
“You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good,
whereas I have rewarded you with evil.
YLT
17And he saith unto David,
`More righteous thou [art] than I; for thou hast done me good, and I have done
thee evil;
And he said to David, thou art more righteous than I,.... By which
it appears he thought himself righteous, though David was more so; the
righteousness of David was so glaring, that his enemy himself being judge acknowledges
it, but will not confess his own wickedness, having no true sense of sin, nor
real sorrow for it:
for thou hast rewarded me good; in times past, and now;
heretofore in killing Goliath, fighting his battles for him against the
Philistines, driving the evil spirit from him, by playing on the harp before
him, and now by sparing his life, only cutting off the skirt of his garment,
when he could with equal ease have cut off his head:
whereas I have rewarded thee evil: in seeking to take away
his life at various times, by casting a javelin at him more than once, sending
messengers to kill him, and hunting after him from place to place, to take him
and slay him.
1 Samuel 24:18 18 And you have shown this
day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me
into your hand, you did not kill me.
YLT
18and thou hast declared
to-day how that thou hast done good with me, how that Jehovah shut me up into
thy hand, and thou didst not slay me,
And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with
me,.... The cutting off of the skirt of his robe only, when his life
was in his hand, was a clear proof and full demonstration of his dealing well
with him, and might sufficiently convince him he had no ill design upon him:
forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou
killedst me not; this was a plain proof and evidence of his kindness to him,
which he owns, and also the providence of God in this affair, which had
delivered him into the hands of David; by which he might see the Lord was for
David, and against him, and might have deterred him from seeking David's hurt
hereafter; but it did not.
1 Samuel 24:19 19 For if a man finds his
enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you
with good for what you have done to me this day.
YLT
19and that a man doth find
his enemy, and hath sent him away in a good manner; and Jehovah doth repay thee
good for that which thou didst to me this day.
For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away?.... Or
"in a good way"F5בדרך טובה "in via bona", Pagninus, Montanus. , in
peace and safety, without doing him any hurt; this is not usual among men, and
yet this was the present case; David had found his enemy Saul, which Saul
tacitly owns, and yet had let him go well away from him, without hurting him:
wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto
me this day; he does not promise to reward him himself, but prays the Lord to
reward him; and had he been sincere in it, he could not have done better for
him. Some connect the former clause with this, after this manner, "if a
man find his enemy, and let him go away, the Lord will reward him, the Lord
reward thee", &c. so the Syriac and Arabic versions.
1 Samuel 24:20 20 And now I know indeed that
you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established
in your hand.
YLT
20`And, now, lo, I have known
that thou dost certainly reign, and the kingdom of Israel hath stood in thy
hand;
And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king,.... Not
merely by the common report, that he was anointed by Samuel, to which yet he
might give credit; but by the providence of God prospering and preserving him,
and by his princely spirit and behaviour, and by calling to mind what Samuel
had said to him, that his kingdom should be given to a neighbour of his better
than he, and so David was by his own confession, 1 Samuel 24:17; and
the cutting off the skirt of his garment might put him in remembrance of the
rending of the skirt of Samuel's mantle, upon which he told Saul his kingdom
should be rent from him; though some think that was Saul's skirt, and so now he
knew thereby, when David cut off his skirt, that the kingdom would be his; and
it is a tradition of the JewsF6Midrash Tillim apud Abarbinel. in
loc. , that Samuel said to him at that time, that he that cut off the skirt of
his garment should reign after him:
and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand; and not be
rent from him; and yet notwithstanding after this he sought to destroy him.
1 Samuel 24:21 21 Therefore swear now to me
by the Lord
that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not
destroy my name from my father’s house.”
YLT
21and, now, swear to me by
Jehovah -- thou dost not cut off my seed after me, nor dost thou destroy my
name from the house of my father.'
Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord,.... By the
Word of the Lord, as the, Targum:
that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me; as was
usually done in despotic governments in the eastern countries, and is at this
day, when one is advanced to the throne of another, by whom issue is left, who
may be rivals and competitors with him:
and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house; by cutting
off his seed, the same thing in different words repeated, for the confirmation
of it; children bear the names of their fathers, and by them their memory is
perpetuated, and cutting off them is destroying the name of their parents.
1 Samuel 24:22 22 So David swore to Saul.
And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
YLT
22And David sweareth to Saul,
and Saul goeth unto his house, and David and his men have gone up unto the
fortress.
And David sware unto Saul,.... That he would not
cut, off his posterity; which oath he religiously observed, in sparing
Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 21:7, and
in punishing the murderers of Ishbosheth, 2 Samuel 4:12; and
as for the seven sons of Saul, delivered up to the Gibeonites, 2 Samuel 21:6, it
may be questioned whether they were his genuine legitimate offspring; and if
they were, it was by the appointment and command of God, and according to his
will and pleasure they were executed, who is not bound by the oaths of men, and
to whom they must be submitted, 2 Samuel 21:1,
and Saul went home; to his palace in Gibeah:
but David and his men got them up unto the hold; in Engedi, 1 Samuel 23:29; not
trusting to Saul, whose inconstancy, perfidy, cruel hatred, and malice, David
full well knew; and therefore thought it not safe to return to his own house,
nor to dwell in the open country, but in the wilderness, and among the rocks,
and in the caves there, such as were in the wilderness of Engedi; and here, and
at this time, he penned the fifty seventh psalm, see Psalm 57:1.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》