1 Samuel 19:16

16 When the messengers entered David's house, they found just an idol on the bed with goats' hair on its head.

1 Samuel 19:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 19:16

And when the messengers were come in
To David's house, and into the room where he was supposed to lie:

behold, [there was] an image in the bed to their great surprise;
they expected to see David, but instead of him the teraphim, as in ( 1 Samuel 19:13 ) ; if they had been in the room before, and thought they had seen David in the bed, they might be the more surprised to find that it was only an image they saw:

with a pillow of goats' [hair] for his bolster;
(See Gill on 1 Samuel 19:13).

1 Samuel 19:16 In-Context

14 Saul sent messengers to take David prisoner, but Michal said, "He is sick."
15 Saul sent them back to see David, saying, "Bring him to me on his bed so I can kill him."
16 When the messengers entered David's house, they found just an idol on the bed with goats' hair on its head.
17 Saul said to Michal, "Why did you trick me this way? You let my enemy go so he could run away!" Michal answered Saul, "David told me if I did not help him escape, he would kill me."
18 After David had escaped from Saul, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.