1 Samuel 23:16-26

16 Y'honatan Sha'ul's son set out and went to David at Horesh to encourage him in God.

17 He said to him, "Don't be afraid, because my father's forces will not find you; you will be king over Isra'el, and I will be second to you. Sha'ul my father knows this, too."

18 Then the two of them made a covenant in the presence of ADONAI, after which David stayed at Horesh and Y'honatan returned home.

19 The people of Zif came to Sha'ul in Giv'ah and said, "David is hiding himself with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on Hakhilah Hill, south of Yeshimon

20 So now, king, since you've wanted so much to come down, come down! Our part will be to turn him over to you."

21 Sha'ul said, "May ADONAI bless you for showing me compassion

22 Please go and make still more certain exactly where he is and who has seen him there, because I've been told that he's very tricky.

23 So look closely, find out where all his hiding-places are, and come back when you're sure. Then I will go with you, and if he is there in that territory, I'll search till I find him among all the thousands of Y'hudah."

24 They set out and went to Zif before Sha'ul. But David and his men had gone on to the Ma'on Desert, in the 'Aravah south of Yeshimon.

25 Sha'ul and his men went searching for him. David was told, so he came down to the rock and stayed in the Ma'on Desert. When Sha'ul heard that, he pursued David in the Ma'on Desert.

26 Sha'ul went along one side of the mountain, while David and his men went along the other. David was hurrying to get away from Sha'ul, while Sha'ul and his men were trying to surround David and his men in order to capture them.

1 Samuel 23:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 23

This chapter gives an account of David's relieving Keilah, when it had like to have fallen into the hands of the Philistines, 1Sa 23:1-6; and of Saul's design to surprise him there, which David having notice of, and inquiring of the Lord, departed from thence; which when Saul heard of, he forbore to come forth, 1Sa 23:7-13; and of David's being in the wilderness of Ziph, where, in a wood there, he had an interview with Jonathan, 1Sa 23:14-18; and of the Ziphites offering to deliver him up to Saul, for which he commends them, and gives them instructions how they should behave to him in that affair, 1Sa 23:19-23; and of his seeking him in the wilderness of Maon, where David and his men were in great danger of being taken; which was prevented by the news of the Philistines invading the land coming to Saul just at the nick of time, 1Sa 23:24-29.