1 Samuel 23:16

16 Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh. He told David that God would make him strong.

1 Samuel 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:16

And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose
And came from Gibeah, which, according to Bunting ^F15, was twenty two miles from the place where David was:

and went to David into the wood:
having had intelligence where he was, this being a proper place to have an interview with him privately:

and strengthened his hand in God;
and his heart too, his hand of faith to lay hold on God, as his covenant God and lean and rely upon him; he strengthened him in his power and in his providence, and in his promises to him; the Targum is,

``he strengthened him in the Word of the Lord;''

not only in his word and promise, but in Christ the essential Word of God, who should spring from him according to the flesh.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Travels p. 334. (text not clear could be 834 or some other number)

1 Samuel 23:16 In-Context

14 Sometimes David stayed in places of safety in the desert. At other times he stayed in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul looked for him. But God didn't hand David over to him

15 David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph. There he learned that Saul had come out to kill him.

16 Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh. He told David that God would make him strong.

17 "Don't be afraid," he said. "My father Saul won't lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel. And I will be next in command. Even my father Saul knows this."

18 The two of them made a covenant in the sight of the Lord. Then Jonathan went home. But David remained at Horesh.