1 Samuel 23:17

17 "Don't be afraid," he told David, "my father Saul won't find you. You will rule Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this."

1 Samuel 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:17

And he said unto him, fear not
Distrust not the power, providence, and promises of God, nor dread the wrath of Saul, or fear falling into his hands:

for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee;
to lay hold on him, seize him, and do him any hurt:

and thou shalt be king over Israel;
meaning after the death of his father; which he knew either by some special revelation made to him; or rather by being informed he had been anointed by Samuel, and which he had either from Samuel or from David himself; and this he most firmly believed, though David was now in so low a condition:

and I shall be next unto thee;
not succeed him in the kingdom; but if living when he came to the throne, he should be the second man in civil affairs, as he now was, and that he should be content with:

and that also Saul my father knoweth;
having knowledge of the anointing of David by Samuel; or he might, and did conclude this from various circumstances, that David was his neighbour Samuel had told him of, God had given his kingdom to, ( 1 Samuel 15:28 ) .

1 Samuel 23:17 In-Context

15 David was afraid because Saul had come to kill him at Horesh in the desert of Ziph.

16 Saul's son Jonathan came to David at Horesh. He strengthened David's [faith] in the LORD.

17 "Don't be afraid," he told David, "my father Saul won't find you. You will rule Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this."

18 Both of them made a pledge in the LORD's presence. David stayed in Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

19 Then the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah. They said, "David is hiding with us in fortified camps at Horesh on the hills of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon.