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Texts -- 1 Samuel 19:4-24 (NET)

Context
19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf to his father Saul . He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David , for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary , his actions have been very beneficial for you. 19:5 He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory . When you saw it, you were happy . So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason ?” 19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice and took an oath , “As surely as the Lord lives , he will not be put to death .” 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things . Jonathan brought David to Saul , and he served him as he had done formerly . 19:8 Now once again there was war . So David went out to fight the Philistines . He defeated them thoroughly and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul . He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand , while David was playing the lyre. 19:10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear , but he escaped from Saul’s presence and the spear drove into the wall . David escaped quickly that night . 19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning . Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself tonight , tomorrow you will be dead !” 19:12 So Michal lowered David through the window , and he ran away and escaped . 19:13 Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed . She put a quilt made of goat’s hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment . 19:14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David , she said , “He’s sick .” 19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David , saying , “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 19:16 When the messengers came , they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat’s hair at its head . 19:17 Saul said to Michal , “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away ? Now he has escaped !” Michal replied to Saul , “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’” 19:18 Now David had run away and escaped . He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth . 19:19 It was reported to Saul saying , “David is at Naioth in Ramah .” 19:20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David . When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers , and they also prophesied . 19:21 When it was reported to Saul , he sent more messengers , but they prophesied too . So Saul sent messengers a third time , but they also prophesied . 19:22 Finally Saul himself went to Ramah . When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu , he asked , “Where are Samuel and David ?” They said , “At Naioth in Ramah .” 19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah . The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah . 19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel . He lay there naked all that day and night . (For that reason it is asked , “Is Saul also among the prophets ?”)

Pericope

NET
  • 1Sa 19:1-24 -- Saul Repeatedly Attempts to Take David's Life

Bible Dictionary

  • David

    [ebd] beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25. As to his personal ...
    [isbe] DAVID - da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon): I. NAME AND GENEALOGY II. EARLY YEARS 1. Shepherd 2. Slinger 3. Harpist 4. Poet 5. Psalmist 6. Tribesman III....
    [nave] DAVID 1. King of Israel. Genealogy of, Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Sam. 16:11; 17:12; 1 Chr. 2:3-15; Matt. 1:1-6; Luke 3:31-38. A shepherd, 1 Sam. 16:11. Kills a lion and a bear, 1 Sam. 17:34-36. Anointed king, while a youth, by the ...

  • Michal

    [ebd] rivulet, or who as God?, the younger of Saul's two daughters by his wife Ahinoam (1 Sam. 14:49, 50). "Attracted by the graces of his person and the gallantry of his conduct, she fell in love with David and became his wife" (...
    [isbe] MICHAL - mi'-kal (mikhal, contracted from mikha'el, "Michael" (which see); Melchol): Saul's younger daughter (1 Sam 14:49), who, falling in love with David after his victory over Goliath (1 Sam 18:20), was at last, on the pa...
    [smith] (who is like God?), the younger of Saul?s two daughters, (1 Samuel 14:49) who married David. The price fixed on Michal?s hand was no less than the slaughter of a hundred Philistines. David by a brilliant feat doubled the t...
    [nave] MICHAL, daughter of Saul. Given to David as a reward for slaying Goliath, 1 Sam. 18:22-28. Rescues David from death, 1 Sam. 19:9-17. Saul forcibly separates them and she is given in marriage to Phalti, 1 Sam. 25:44. David ...

  • Saul

    [ebd] asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, "asked for"), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. T...
    [isbe] SAUL - sol (sha'ul; Saoul): (1) The first king of Israel. I. EARLY HISTORY 1. Name and Meaning 2. Genealogy 3. Home and Station 4. Sources for Life 5. Election as King 6. Reasons for It II. REIGN AND FALL 1. His First Action...
    [nave] SAUL 1. Called also Shaul. King of Edom, Gen. 36:37, 38; 1 Chr. 1:48, 49. 2. King of Israel. A Benjamite, son of Kish, 1 Sam. 9:1, 2. Sons of, 1 Chr. 8:33. His personal appearance, 1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23. Made king of Israel,...

  • Rulers

    [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...

  • Malice

    [nave] MALICE. Gen. 3:15; Lev. 19:14, 17, 18; Deut. 27:17, 18; Deut. 32:32, 33; 2 Kin. 6:21, 22; Job 31:29, 30; Psa. 4:2; Psa. 7:14-16 Job 15:35. Psa. 10:7-10, 14; Psa. 21:11; Psa. 22:7, 8; Psa. 35:15, 16, 19-21; Psa. 38:16, 19; P...

  • Character

    [nave] CHARACTER. of Saints Attentive to Christ's voice, John 10:3, 4; blameless and harmless, Phil. 2:15; bold, Prov. 28:1; contrite, Isa. 57:15; 66:2; devout, Acts 8:2; 22:12; faithful, Rev. 17:14; fearing God, Mal. 3:16; Acts ...

  • SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

    [isbe] SAMUEL, BOOKS OF - || I. PLACE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL IN THE HEBREW CANON II. CONTENTS OF THE BOOKS AND PERIOD OF TIME COVERED BY THE HISTORY III. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS 1. Life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1 through 15) 2. Reign and D...

  • Jealousy

    [nave] JEALOUSY. Prov. 6:34; 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6. Law concerning, when husband is jealous of his wife, Num. 5:12-31. Image of, Ezek. 8:3, 4. Forbidden, Rom. 13:13. Attributed to God, Ex. 20:5; 34:13, 14; Num. 25:11; Deut...

  • Naioth

    [ebd] dwellings, the name given to the prophetical college established by Samuel near Ramah. It consisted of a cluster of separate dwellings, and hence its name. David took refuge here when he fled from Saul (1 Sam. 19:18, 19, 22,...
    [isbe] NAIOTH - na'-yoth, ni'-oth (nayoth; Codex Vaticanus Auath; Codex Alexandrinus Nauioth): This is the name given to a place in Ramah to which David went with Samuel when he fled and escaped from Saul (1 Sam 19:18, etc.). The t...
    [smith] (habitations), or more fully, "Naioth in Ramah," a place of Mount Ephraim, the birthplace of Samuel and Saul, and in which Samuel and David took refuge together after the latter had made his escape from the jealous fury of Sa...
    [nave] NAIOTH, a place in Ramah, 1 Sam. 19:18, 19, 22; 20:1.

  • PROPHET

    [ebd] (Heb. nabi, from a root meaning "to bubble forth, as from a fountain," hence "to utter", comp. Ps. 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of Samuel another word, ro'eh, "s...
    [smith] The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is nabi , derived from a verb signifying "to bubble forth" like a fountain; hence the word means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God. The English word comes from the G...

  • Samuel

    [isbe] SAMUEL - sam'-u-el (shemu'el; Samouel): The word "Samuel" signifies "name of God," or "his name is El" (God). Other interpretations of the name that have been offered are almost certainly mistaken. The play upon the name in ...
    [nave] SAMUEL Miraculous birth of, 1 Sam. 1:7-20. Consecrated to God before his birth, 1 Sam. 1:11, 22, 24-28. His mother's song of thanksgiving, 1 Sam. 2:1-10. Ministered in the house of God, 1 Sam. 2:11, 18, 19. Blessed of Go...

  • Schools of the Prophets

    [ebd] (1 Sam. 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3, 5, 7, 12, 15) were instituted for the purpose of training young men for the prophetical and priestly offices. (See PROPHET; SAMUEL.)

  • TERAPHIM

    [ebd] givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal his wife prepared one of t...
    [smith] This word occurs only in the plural, and denotes images connected with magical rites. The derivation of the name is obscure. In one case -- (1 Samuel 19:13,16) --a single statue seems to be intended by the plural. The tera...

  • Ramathaim-zophim

    [ebd] the two heights of the Zophites or of the watchers (only in 1 Sam. 1:1), "in the land of Zuph" (9:5). Ramathaim is another name for Ramah (4). One of the Levitical families descended from Kohath, that of Zuph or Zophai (1 Ch...

  • Lies and Deceits

    [nave] LIES AND DECEITS Ex. 23:1; Lev. 6:2-7; Lev. 19:11, 12, 16 Ex. 20:16. Job 13:4; Job 21:34; Job 27:4; Job 31:5, 6, 33; Job 36:4; Psa. 5:6, 9; Psa. 10:7; Psa. 12:2, 3; Psa. 28:3; Psa. 31:18; Psa. 34:13 1 Pet. 3:10. Psa. 36:3; P...

  • Music

    [ebd] Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments (Gen. 4:21). The Hebrews were much given to the cultivation of music. Their whole history and literature afford abundant evidence of this. After the Deluge, the first mention of ...

  • TONGUES, GIFT OF

    [smith] I. glotta , or glossa , the word employed throughout the New Testament for the gift now under consideration, is used-- (1) for the bodily organ of speech; (2) for a foreign word imported and half-naturalized in Greek; (3) in ...

  • BED

    [ebd] (Heb. mittah), for rest at night (Ex. 8:3; 1 Sam. 19:13, 15, 16, etc.); during sickness (Gen. 47:31; 48:2; 49:33, etc.); as a sofa for rest (1 Sam. 28:23; Amos 3:12). Another Hebrew word (er'es) so rendered denotes a canopie...
    [smith] The Jewish bed consisted of the mattress, a mere mat, or one or more quilts; the covering, a finer quilt, or sometimes the outer garment worn by day, (1 Samuel 19:13) which the law provided should not be kept in pledge aft...

  • Jonathan

    [nave] JONATHAN 1. A Levite of Bethlehem, who becomes a priest for Micah; accepts idolatry; joins the Danites, Judg. 17:7-13; 18:1-30. 2. Son of Saul, 1 Sam. 14:49. Victory of, over the Philistine garrison of Geba, 1 Sam. 13:3, 4...

  • BOLSTER

    [ebd] The Hebrew word kebir, rendered "pillow" in 1 Sam. 19:13, 16, but in Revised Version marg. "quilt" or "network," probably means some counterpane or veil intended to protect the head of the sleeper. A different Hebrew word (m...
    [isbe] BOLSTER - bol'-ster: Found in the King James Version only in 1 Sam 19:13,16, "Behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goat's hair at the head thereof" (the King James Version "for his bolster"), and 26:7,11,1...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The first of six periods of oppression by Israel's enemies began while Othniel, Caleb's younger brother, was still alive and strong (cf. Josh. 15:17; Judg. 1:13). The writer identified each of these periods with the phrase "t...
  • Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:101. Hannah's condition 1:1-82. Hannah's vow 1:9-183. Hannah's obedience 1:19-284. Hannah's song 2:1-10B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2...
  • We should probably not interpret the reference to God changing Saul's heart (v. 9) to mean that at this time Saul experienced personal salvation. This always takes place when a person believes God's promise, and there is no i...
  • Earlier the writer narrated Saul's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him (chs. 10-11). Now he followed the same pattern by recording David's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him ...
  • Saul now abandoned pretense (18:22) and ordered Jonathan and his servants to put David to death (cf. v. 11). He "went public"with his attacks against David feeling driven, like Pharaoh, to more desperate measures. This create...
  • This section records Saul's fourth attempt to kill David. The writer set his account of these attempts in chiastic form.ASaul directly tried to kill David. 18:10-16BSaul indirectly tried using the Philistines. 18:17-20B'Saul ...
  • God's preservation of His anointed servant David stands out in this section as it does in the first one in this chapter (vv. 1-7). In both cases it was one of Saul's own children that came to David's rescue. Jonathan protecte...
  • How natural it was for David to seek refuge with the faithful prophet Samuel who resided less than an hour's walk from Saul's headquarters. Naioth was evidently a compound within Ramah where Samuel headed a school of prophets...
  • David was wondering if he had done something wrong that had provoked Saul's hatred (v. 1). Walking with God is sometimes confusing. We need to learn, as David did, that when we try to follow God faithfully some people will op...
  • Saul concluded at first that David had not come to the new moon sacrificial meal because he was unclean (cf. Lev. 7:20-21; 15:16). His continued absence required an explanation, which Saul looked to David's friend to provide....
  • Ahimelech the Hittite may have been a foreign mercenary (cf. Uriah the Hittite, 2 Sam. 11:3). The writer may have mentioned him to show the extent of David's appeal. Abishai was David's nephew, one of the sons of his sister Z...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
  • Naaman (Aram. gracious) was commander of the Aramean army under Ben-Hadad II (cf. 1 Kings 15:18, 20). Leprosy in the ancient world degenerated the bodies of its victims and eventually proved fatal. At this time no one could c...
  • The occasion for this psalm was evidently the event the writer of 1 Samuel recorded in 19:8-14, namely Saul's attempt to kill David in his bed at home.David asked God to defend him from the attacks of bloodthirsty men and to ...
  • 2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
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