1 Samuel 24:2

2 Therefore Saul took three thousand chosen men of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men, yea upon the most broken rocks, the which be thorough-ways to wild goats alone (which be thoroughfares only for wild goats).

1 Samuel 24:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:2

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,
&c.] Out of his army, with which he had been pursuing the Philistines:

and went to seek David, and his men, upon the rocks of the wild goats;
which were in the wilderness of Engedi; those rocks were exceeding high and terrible to look at, full of precipices, and so prominent, that to travellers they seemed as if they would fall into the adjacent valleys, that it even struck terror into them to look at them ^F24; called the rocks of wild goats, because these creatures, called from hence "rupicaprae", or rock goats, see ( Job 39:1 ) ; delighted to be there; and are, as Pliny ^F25 says, of such prodigious swiftness, that they will leap from mountain to mountain, and back again at pleasure; these mountains David and his men chose for safety, and the height and craggedness of them did not deter Saul and his men from seeking him there.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F24 Adrichom Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 47. & Brocard. in ib.
F25 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53.

1 Samuel 24:2 In-Context

1 And when Saul turned again, after that he pursued [the] Philistines, they told to him, and said, Lo! David is in the desert of Engedi (Lo! David is in the wilderness of Engedi).

2 Therefore Saul took three thousand chosen men of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men, yea upon the most broken rocks, the which be thorough-ways to wild goats alone (which be thoroughfares only for wild goats).

3 And he came to the folds of sheep, that offered themselves to the way-goer. And there was a cave, into which Saul entered, that he would purge his womb; forsooth David and his men were hid in the inner part of the den. (And he came to the sheepfolds, or the pens, that offered themselves to the way-goer. And there was a cave, into which Saul entered, where he could empty his bowels; and David and his men were hid in the inner part of that cave.)

4 And the servants of David said to him, Lo! the day of which the Lord spake to thee, (and said,) I shall betake to thee thine enemy, that thou do to him as it pleaseth in thine eyes. Therefore David rose up, and cutted the hem off the mantle of Saul privily. (And David's servants said to him, Lo! this is the day of which the Lord spoke to thee, and said, I shall deliver thy enemy to thee, so that thou can do to him as it pleaseth thee. And David rose up, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul's mantle.)

5 After these things, David smote his heart, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of the mantle of Saul. (But after doing this, David's heart struck him, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of Saul's mantle.)