1 Samuel 24:2

2 Saül prit trois mille hommes d'élite sur tout Israël, et il alla chercher David et ses gens jusque sur les rochers des boucs sauvages.

1 Samuel 24:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:2

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,
&c.] Out of his army, with which he had been pursuing the Philistines:

and went to seek David, and his men, upon the rocks of the wild goats;
which were in the wilderness of Engedi; those rocks were exceeding high and terrible to look at, full of precipices, and so prominent, that to travellers they seemed as if they would fall into the adjacent valleys, that it even struck terror into them to look at them ^F24; called the rocks of wild goats, because these creatures, called from hence "rupicaprae", or rock goats, see ( Job 39:1 ) ; delighted to be there; and are, as Pliny ^F25 says, of such prodigious swiftness, that they will leap from mountain to mountain, and back again at pleasure; these mountains David and his men chose for safety, and the height and craggedness of them did not deter Saul and his men from seeking him there.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Adrichom Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 47. & Brocard. in ib.
F25 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53.

1 Samuel 24:2 In-Context

1 Lorsque Saül fut revenu de la poursuite des Philistins, on vint lui dire: Voici, David est dans le désert d'En-Guédi.

2 Saül prit trois mille hommes d'élite sur tout Israël, et il alla chercher David et ses gens jusque sur les rochers des boucs sauvages.

3 Il arriva à des parcs de brebis, qui étaient près du chemin; et là se trouvait une caverne, où il entra pour se couvrir les pieds. David et ses gens étaient au fond de la caverne.

4 Les gens de David lui dirent: Voici le jour où l'Eternel te dit: Je livre ton ennemi entre tes mains; traite-le comme bon te semblera. David se leva, et coupa doucement le pan du manteau de Saül.

5 Après cela le coeur lui battit, parce qu'il avait coupé le pan du manteau de Saül.