1 Samuel 23:1-6. The rescue of Keilah 1. _Then they told David_ Simply, AND THEY TOLD. There is no mark of time. The appeal to David shews that he was growing to be regarded as the champion of Israel. _Keilah_ A fortified city (_v_, 7), named in Joshua 15:44 as one of a group of cities in the _She... [ Continue Reading ]
_inquired of the Lord_ Through the high-priest Abiathar. See on 1 Samuel 23:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_here in Judah_ Keilah belonged to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:44): so that _Judah_must here be used in a limited sense of the highlands of Judah. _the armies of the Philistines_ David's men exaggerate the marauding bands of Philistines into a regular army.... [ Continue Reading ]
_fled to David to Keilah_ Since (_a_) it is implied by 1 Samuel 22:20 that Abiathar joined David before the expedition to Keilah: and (_b_) the inquiry in 1 Samuel 23:2_; 1 Samuel 23:4_implies the presence of the high-priest with the Ephod: it seems best either to strike out "to Keilah," or to follo... [ Continue Reading ]
The treachery of the Keilites 7. _hath delivered him_ Lit. _hath rejected him and delivered him_. So blind was Saul as to imagine that it was not himself but David whom God had rejected. The Sept. reads "sold." _a town_, &c. A city. It may have been one of the old Canaanite fortresses (see on Josh... [ Continue Reading ]
_secretly practised_ Lit. WAS FORGING. Omit "secretly." _Bring hither the ephod_ For the high-priest did not always wear it. See note on 1 Samuel 14:18, and cp. 1 Samuel 30:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the men of Keilah_ Lit. "the lords," or "masters," i.e. the governing body of citizens, as distinguished from the mass of inhabitants (1 Samuel 23:5). The same word is used in Joshua 24:11; Judges 9:2 ff; Judges 20:5; 2 Samuel 21:12. _will Saul come down_ The logical order of the questions is inve... [ Continue Reading ]
_They will deliver thee up_ With the cowardice and ingratitude of thorough selfishness. Cp. Judges 15:10-13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And David abode in the wilderness_ David's next resort was "the wilderness of Judah," the wild uncultivated tract lying between the mountains of Judah and the Dead Sea. His chief abode was "the mountain (perhaps the hill of Hachilah, 1 Samuel 23:19) in the wilderness of Ziph," a district S. E. of H... [ Continue Reading ]
_in a wood_ The word _chôresh_translated "wood" in 1 Samuel 23:15_; 1 Samuel 23:18_does not occur again in Samuel. Lieut. Conder argues from the dry unwatered character of the district that no wood of trees can ever have flourished there, and conjectures that _Chôresh_was a proper name with a differ... [ Continue Reading ]
Jonathan's last meeting with David 16. _strengthened his hand in God_ Revived his courage by pointing him to the true ground of confidence. Cp. ch. 1 Samuel 30:6; Job 4:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Saul my father knoweth_ Both that thou art destined to be king (see on 1 Samuel 18:9), and that I am ready to resign my claims in thy favour. This is the climax of Jonathan's unselfish generosity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to his house_ Home to Gibeah, where Saul was (1 Samuel 23:19). It was the final parting of the friends.... [ Continue Reading ]
The treachery of the Ziphites 19. _Then came up the Ziphites_ The title of Psalms 54. refers it to this occasion, or that recorded in 1 Samuel 26:1, and the contents agree with the situation. See especially 1 Samuel 23:3. On the relation between this narrative and that in ch. 26. see Note VII. p.... [ Continue Reading ]
_where his haunt is_ Lit. "where his FOOT is." Observe his tracks as you would those of a wild beast.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the thousands of Judah_ i.e. the families. See on 1 Samuel 10:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the wilderness of Maon_ The district round the conical hill about seven miles south of Hebron still known as _Tell Maîn_. It is mentioned in Joshua 15:55 among the cities of Judah in the mountains. It was the home of Nabal (ch. 1 Samuel 25:2). _in the plain on the south of Jeshimon_ IN THE STEP... [ Continue Reading ]
_into a rock_ TO THE ROCK, or, CLIFF, which was afterwards called "the rock of divisions" (1 Samuel 23:28). The Sept. reads "which is in the wilderness of Maon" in place of "and abode in the wilderness of Maon," perhaps rightly.... [ Continue Reading ]
_compassed … round about_ i.e. encompassed, surrounded. Cp. Psalms 5:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_there came a messenger_, &c. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. Cp. 2 Kings 19:7; 2 Kings 19:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Sela-hammahlekôth_ Either (1) "Rock of escapes;" or more probably (2) "Rock of divisions," because there Saul had to relinquish the pursuit of David. Lieut. Conder thinks he has discovered the scene of David's escape. Between the ridge of _El Kôlah_and the neighbourhood of Maon there is a great go... [ Continue Reading ]
_at En-gedi_ En-gedi (_fountain of the kid_), now _Ain-Jidy_, is situated about half way along the western shore of the Dead Sea. The precipitous cliffs recede from the water's edge, and enclose a sloping plain watered by the stream which gushes copiously from the limestone rock. Here in the days of... [ Continue Reading ]
David spares Saul's life in the cave at En-gedi This narrative and that in ch. 26 are regarded by some commentators as different accounts of the same event. See Note VII. p. 243, and the notes on ch. 26. Psalms 57, 142 are referred by their titles to the time when David fled from Saul in the cave;... [ Continue Reading ]