1 Samuel 23:11

11 And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant." The Lord said, "He will come down."

1 Samuel 23:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:11

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hands? will
Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard?
&c.] That is, if David continued there, which is the supposition all proceeds upon. The questions are not orderly put, as may easily be observed, the last should have been first; which shows some perturbation of mind David was in upon hearing the design of Saul against him:

O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant;
give an answer by Urim and Thummim, as he did:

and the Lord said, he will come down;
if David abode there; that was in his thoughts, in his purpose and design, which the Lord, being omniscient, full well knew, who knows all future contingencies: hence the Jews ^F14 gather, that two things are not to be asked together; and if they are asked, only answer is made to one, and the answer is only made to that which it was proper to ask first; and that which is asked out of order should be asked again, which was the case here, as follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 73. 1, 2.

1 Samuel 23:11 In-Context

9 When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, "Bring the ephod here."

10 David said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account.

11 And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant." The Lord said, "He will come down."

12 Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?" The Lord said, "They will surrender you."

13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.

Footnotes

• [a]. Q Ms Compare Gk: MT [Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will]