Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- 1 Samuel 23:1-23 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
Context
David Delivers the City of Keilah
23:1 They told David , “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors .”
23:2 So David asked the Lord , “Should I go and strike down these Philistines ?” The Lord said to David , “Go , strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah .”
23:3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah ! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines ?”
23:4 So David asked the Lord once again . But again the Lord replied , “Arise , go down to Keilah , for I will give the Philistines into your hand .”
23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines . He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah .
David Eludes Saul Again
23:6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah , he had brought with him an ephod .
23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah , Saul said , “God has delivered him into my hand , for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates .”
23:8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men .
23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest , “Bring the ephod !”
23:10 Then David said , “O Lord God of Israel , your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.
23:11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand ? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard ? O Lord God of Israel , please inform your servant !” Then the Lord said , “He will come down .”
23:12 David asked , “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand ?” The Lord said , “They will deliver you over.”
23:13 So David and his men , who numbered about six hundred , set out and left Keilah ; they moved around from one place to another . When told that David had escaped from Keilah , Saul called a halt to his expedition .
23:14 David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph . Saul looked for him all the time , but God did not deliver David into his hand .
23:15 David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life ; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph .
23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh . He encouraged him through God .
23:17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid ! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you . You will rule over Israel , and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this .”
23:18 When the two of them had made a covenant before the Lord , David stayed on at Horesh , but Jonathan went to his house .
23:19 Then the Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said , “Isn’t David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah , south of Jeshimon ?
23:20 Now at your own discretion , O king , come down . Delivering him into the king’s hand will be our responsibility.”
23:21 Saul replied , “May you be blessed by the Lord , for you have had compassion on me.
23:22 Go and make further arrangements. Determine precisely where he is and who has seen him there , for I am told that he is extremely cunning .
23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information . Then I will go with you. If he is in the land , I will find him among all the thousands of Judah .”
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
David |
Keilah |
SAMUEL, BOOKS OF |
Saul |
Malice |
URIM AND THUMMIM |
Armies |
Ingratitude |
Jonathan |
Horesh |
High priest |
Ziph |
Abiathar |
ARMY |
Foreknowledge of God |
PALESTINE, 2 |
OMNISCIENCE |
FOREKNOW; FOREKNOWLEDGE |
Friendship |
Prayer |
more
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Sa 23:7 Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributi...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Sa 23:8 Heb “So Saul mustered all his army for battle to go down to Keilah to besiege against David and his men.”
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: 1Sa 23:14 Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)