Abiathar had evidently remained in the forest of Hereth when David took his men to attack the Philistines in Keilah (cf. 22:20-23). Now the priest joined David at Keilah (v. 6). The presence of the ephod made it possible for David to continue to obtain guidance from the Lord in answer to his prayers.
Saul piously claimed that God had delivered David into his hands (v. 7). Obviously God had not done this since David was the Lord's anointed, and it was not His will that Saul should hunt him down, much less kill him. Keilah evidently had only one gate by which people could enter and exit the town. Saul felt confident that he could control the gate and so trap David.
Saul summoned soldiers to accompany him to Keilah (v. 7), but there is no mention that he prayed for divine guidance as David had done (vv. 2, 4). David prayed again and requested answers to two questions (vv. 10-11). He opened and closed his prayer with an appeal to the "LORD God of Israel,"the ultimate ruler of His people. He also described himself as the Lord's "servant"twice. David voiced concern for his men (v. 12) as well as for himself (v. 11). God gave the answer to David's second question first, and then He answered his first question.
The willingness of the people of Keilah to hand their savior over to Saul demonstrates base ingratitude for David's deliverance of them. It also reveals how fearful they were of Saul who had recently destroyed another town, Nob, for harboring David (22:19).
David left Keilah after he learned that he was vulnerable if he stayed there (v. 13). He did not take revenge on the citizens of Keilah for telling Saul where he was. Saul had taken revenge on the citizens of Nob for not telling him where David was. The number of David's supporters had grown from 400 (22:2) to 600. More people were siding with David and were turning from Saul. Saul abandoned his plans to attack Keilah, and David moved on to the wilderness near Ziph.
