1 Samuel 23:15

15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the desert of Ziph, in a wood.

1 Samuel 23:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:15

And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life
Either he saw him with his bodily eyes from the top of the mountain where he was, ( 1 Samuel 23:14 ) ; or he perceived, he understood by information given him by his friends, it may be by Jonathan, or by spies he sent to observe his motions:

and David [was] in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood;
where he and his men could hide themselves among the trees in it; sometimes he was in a mountain in this wilderness, and sometimes in a wood, where he thought himself the safest; thus was this great man obliged to shift about for his safety.

1 Samuel 23:15 In-Context

13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose, and departing from Ceila, wandered up and down, uncertain where they should stay: and it was told Saul that David was fled from Ceila, and had escaped: wherefore he forbore to go out.

14 But David abode in the desert in strong holds, and he remained in a mountain of the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him always: but the Lord delivered him not into his hands

15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the desert of Ziph, in a wood.

16 And Jonathan, the son of Saul, arose, and went to David, into the wood, and strengthened his hands in God: and he said to him:

17 Fear not: for the hand of my father, Saul, shall not find thee, and thou shalt reign over Israel, and I shall be next to thee; yea and my father knoweth this.