The First Book of Samuel, otherwise called the First Book of the Kings
1 Samuel 23
Chapter XXIII · Vol. II, pp. 664–665
1 The Philistines fight against Keilah; David, inquiring of the Lord by Abiathar, smiteth them, and saveth Keilah. 9 God showing him the coming of Saul, and the treachery of the Keilites, he escapeth from Keilah. 13 In Ziph Jonathan cometh and comforteth him. 19 The Ziphites discover him to Saul. 25 At Maon he is rescued from Saul by the invasion of the Philistines. 29 He dwelleth at Engedi.
1 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against aKeilah,1 and they rob the thrashing-floors.
a Jos.15.44.
1 Keilah, now called Kela, was situated 8 miles west of Hebron, near the borders of the plain of Philistia. The position is strong, and the site is now marked by the ruins of an old castle.—P.
2 Therefore David binquired of the 2LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.
b Nu.27.21. Ju.1.1. 1 Ch.14.10. Ezr.8.21. Je.10.23. Pr.3.5,6. Ps.32.8.
2 We know not how he inquired, but probably it was through Abiathar, now lineal high-priest. C.——The adventure here mentioned was truly noble and patriotic. Had not David loved his country, and been above all motives of private and personal revenge, he would have rejoiced in this invasion of Judah, as producing a strong diversion in his favour, and embroiling his inveterate enemy. In most cases, a man with David's wrongs would have joined with the enemies of his country, and avenged himself on the author of his calamities; but he thinks of nothing but of succouring Keilah, and using his power and influence in behalf of his brethren. This is a rare instance of disinterested heroism.—Clarke.
3 And David's men said unto him, Behold, cwe be afraid here in Judah, how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
c ver.15,23,26.
4 Then David dinquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
d ver.2. Ju.6.39. 2 Sa.5.19,23. with ch.8.26. By the Lord's readily answering David, and not Saul, he marked the one as his elected king, and the other as rejected.
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech efled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod3 in his hand.
7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, fGod hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
9 And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him, and he said to Abiathar the priest, gBring hither the ephod.4
g Nu.27.21. ch.30.7; ver.2,4.
4 The courage of David in saving Keilah seems very unlike his timidity before Achish, and his complete dependence in the reply of the Lord very different from the weakness, or rather want of faith formerly ascribed to him. Yet to what does all this amount? Not even to any ground of suspicion against the history, but merely to an evidence of the weakness and inconsistency of man. Let him who has never acted inconsistently with his better feelings or convictions, cast the first stone at David.—C.
10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to hdestroy the city for my sake.
11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And ithe LORD said, He will come down.5
A.M. 2946. B.C. 1058.
i Mat.7.7. Ps.50.15; with ver.14.
5 Saul did not come to Keilah: was not the reply to David, therefore, untrue? By no means. Every question and every answer must be explained, not merely by what is spoken, but by what is implied or understood. In this case, the thing implied is, 'If I abide here,' and the reply is given to that, as well as to the words spoken. This mode of speech is unavoidable, and consequently common to all languages.—C.
12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver6 me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.7
6 Heb. shut up.
7 See note on ver. 11.—C.
13 Then David and his men, kwhich were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.
k ch.22.1,2; 25.13; 27.2; 30.9.
14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained lin a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph:8 and mSaul sought him every day; nbut God delivered him not into his hand.9
l Jos.15.21,55. Ps.11.1. Ob.3.
8 Ziph was an ancient town, situated on a conical hill, about 4 miles south-east of Hebron. The country round it was called the 'wilderness (i.e. midbar, pastoral region) of Ziph.'—P.
m ch.27.1. Pr.1.16; 4.16. Is.59.7.
n Ro.8.31. Ps.32.7. Pr.21.30. Is.46.3,4. 2 Co.1.10.
9 While David, no doubt, employed all the watchfulness of an experienced warrior, his safety is not from himself—God refuses to deliver him to his enemy. See Ps.cxxi.—C.
15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.
16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into the wood, and ostrengthened his hand in God.1
o ver.17. Ep.6.10. 2 Ti.2.1. He.12.12,13.
1 David's faith, as appears from several previous instances, required to be strengthened. The means employed for this purpose are the encouraging words of Jonathan, efficaciously applied by the Spirit, Pr.27.17.—C.
17 And he said unto him, Fear not; for the hand of Saul my father pshall not find thee: and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also qSaul my father knoweth.
18 And rthey two made a covenant before the LORD. And David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
r ch.20.16,17; 18.3.
19 Then scame up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah,2 which is on the south3 of 4Jeshimon?5
20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part6 shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.
6 Heb. it becometh us.
22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his uhaunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilely.
23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I xwill search him out throughout all the thousands7 of Judah.
x Pr.1.16; 4.16. Ro.3.15,16.
7 That means the districts so called from the number of inhabitants they contained at the first settlement and census; like the word hundred in England.—I.
24 And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the ywilderness of Maon,8 in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.
y Jos.15.55. ch.25.2.
8 Maon, a city of Judah, which gave name to a considerable tract of pasture-land, called the wilderness of Maon. The city stood on an eminence, and the hills in its vicinity are full of large caves, where David and his men hid themselves. C.——Maon is about 7 miles south-east of Hebron, and 3 miles beyond Ziph. It stood on the summit and sides of a conical hill, about 200 feet high. The hill is now strewn with ruins, among which are the remains of a square fortress. It still bears its ancient name.—P.
25 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon; and when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.
26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men zcompassed David and his men round about to take them.
A.M. 2946. B.C. 1058.
z 2 Ch.20.12. 2 Co.1.8. Ps.50.15; 91.15.
27 Buta there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded9 the land.1
a Ge.22.14. De.32.36. Re.12.16. Ps.116.3,4. Lu.4.29,30.
9 Heb. spread themselves upon, &c.
1 Let no one ever despair of deliverance because he does not see the means—all means are in the hands of God; and if he will, one enemy shall deliver his servant from another.—C.
28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammahlekoth.2
2 That is, The rock of divisions.
29 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at bEn-gedi.3
b Ge.14.7. 2 Ch.20.2. Ca.1.14. Jos.15.62. Eze.47.10. ch.24.1,2.
3 Engedi ('the fountain of the kid') stood about the middle of the western shore of the Dead Sea. The city was anciently called Hazezon-tamar, Ge. 14. 7, and was inhabited by Amorites in the days of Abraham. The fountain (still called Ain-jidy) from which the city took its name, bursts from the rugged mountain side, at an elevation of about 400 feet above the lake. Near it are the ruins of several buildings; but the site of the city was on the level ground on the shore, which is still strewn with ruins. The whole declivity from the fountain down to the city was terraced for vineyards. The site is now utterly desolate; the vines are all gone; and the palms for which it was once celebrated have almost disappeared. The wilderness of Engedi embraced the wild and rugged mountain regions extending from the ancient city up towards Hebron, Tekoa, and Bethlehem. It was, and still is, the home of the wild-goats; and in every ravine are immense caverns, in some of which David and his men lurked in former days, as robbers and outlaws do now.—P.
Notes
Reflections.—No wonder that God's enemies invade his land when his people are persecuted in it. God wisely directs his favourite servants where he has work for them: and never are men so likely to prosper as when they consult the Lord in all their ways. If he direct us, no ill usage from the distressed, or discouragement from our friends, must make us withhold our help. The worst designs are often covered with fair pretexts, and the appearances of providence are imagined tokens of God's approbation; while even good men are hated for their most useful services, and evil-minded wretches are ready to betray their most cordial and noted benefactors. But God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to disappoint the secret purposes of their enemies. And what a mercy is it to have a pious, self-denying, and constant friend to visit and comfort us in our distress! But what must Jesus be when Jonathan is so kind and faithful! And what must heaven be, where we shall meet with all the kind angels and kind spirits of just men made perfect; and with the infinitely kinder Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Let my spiritual friendship with these be renewed day by day! Behold how men's malice renders them miserable; and how ready brethren of the same tribe are to betray us! but God in his providence interposes for the relief of his people when their danger is at the greatest. Fear not then, my soul—only believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.