1 Samuel 23:26

26 Saul and his men were on one side of the hill, separated from David and his men, who were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul and his men, who were closing in on them and were about to capture them.

1 Samuel 23:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:26

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his
men on that side of the mountain
Saul with his army came to the very mountain where David and his men were, the one was on one side of it, and the other on the other side; there was only one mountain between them:

and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul;
he fled on one side of the mountain, while Saul was pursuing him on the other, and hastening to get round unto him:

for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take
them;
he took methods by dividing his troops, and sending them different ways, to surround David and his men, and had very near effected it.

1 Samuel 23:26 In-Context

24 So they left and returned to Ziph ahead of Saul. David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in a desolate valley in the southern part of the Judean wilderness.

25 Saul and his men set out to look for David, but he heard about it and went to a rocky hill in the wilderness of Maon and stayed there. When Saul heard about this, he went after David.

26 Saul and his men were on one side of the hill, separated from David and his men, who were on the other side. They were hurrying to get away from Saul and his men, who were closing in on them and were about to capture them.

27 Just then a messenger arrived and said to Saul, "Come back at once! The Philistines are invading the country!"

28 So Saul stopped pursuing David and went to fight the Philistines. That is why that place is called Separation Hill.