1 Samuel 23:25

25 Sha'ul and his men went searching for him. David was told, so he came down to the rock and stayed in the Ma'on Desert. When Sha'ul heard that, he pursued David in the Ma'on Desert.

1 Samuel 23:25 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:25

And Saul also and his men went to seek [him]
Whether the Ziphites returned to him with better intelligence, or sent him word where David was, is not said, however Saul with his army came out in search of him:

and they told David;
or it was told him, that Saul was come in quest of him:

wherefore he came down into a rock;
either into a cave in it, or he came down from the hill Hachilah to a plain or valley, in order to go up to a rock, the same with the mountain in ( 1 Samuel 23:26 ) :

and abode in the wilderness of Maon;
in which was the rock or mountain he came to:

and when Saul heard [that], he pursued after David in the wilderness
of Maon;
for upon the intelligence of the Ziphites, he came out to seek for him in the wilderness of Ziph, but hearing that he was removed to the wilderness of Maon, he pursued him there.

1 Samuel 23:25 In-Context

23 So look closely, find out where all his hiding-places are, and come back when you're sure. Then I will go with you, and if he is there in that territory, I'll search till I find him among all the thousands of Y'hudah."

24 They set out and went to Zif before Sha'ul. But David and his men had gone on to the Ma'on Desert, in the 'Aravah south of Yeshimon.

25 Sha'ul and his men went searching for him. David was told, so he came down to the rock and stayed in the Ma'on Desert. When Sha'ul heard that, he pursued David in the Ma'on Desert.

26 Sha'ul went along one side of the mountain, while David and his men went along the other. David was hurrying to get away from Sha'ul, while Sha'ul and his men were trying to surround David and his men in order to capture them.

27 But then a messenger came to Sha'ul, saying, "Hurry, come, because the P'lishtim are invading the country!"