1 Samuel 24:3

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.)

1 Samuel 24:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:3

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where [was] a cave,
&c.] For the sheep to be led into at noon, to shelter them from the heat: such was the cave of Polyphemus, observed by Bochart ^F26, in which sheep and goats lay down and slept; (See Gill on Zephaniah 2:6);

and Saul went in to cover his feet;
the Targum is, to do his necessaries; and so Josephus ^F1; and the Jewish commentators generally understand it of easing nature; and as the eastern people used to wear long and loose garments, these, when they performed such an action, they used in modesty to gather them close about them, that no part of the body, their feet, and especially the parts of nature which should be concealed, might be seen; but the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "and there he lay" or "slept"; which suggest, that his going into the cave was in order to take some sleep and rest, when it was usual to cover the feet, both to prevent taking cold, and the private parts of the body being exposed to view; and this accounts better for Saul not hearing David's men in the cave, and for his being insensible of David's cuttings off the skirt of his garment, and best agrees with the use of the phrase in ( Judges 3:24 ) ; the only place besides this in which it is used; (See Gill on Judges 3:24);

and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave;
unseen and unobserved by Saul, even six hundred of them; nor need this seem strange, since in those parts of the world there were caves exceeding large, made so either by nature or art. Vansleb ^F2 speaks of a cave in Egypt so extraordinary large, that, without hyperbole, a thousand horses might there draw up in battle array, and of another larger than that; and Strabo says ^F3, that towards Arabia and Iturea are mountains difficult to be passed, and in which are deep caves, one of which would hold four thousand men: and as the mouths of these caves were generally narrow, and the further parts of them large, and also dark, persons at the entrance of them could be seen, when those in the more remote parts could not; and this cave is said to be extremely dark ^F4; which accounts for Saul's being seen when he came into the cave, whereas David and his men could not be seen by him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 45. col. 467, 468.
F1 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 13. sect. 4.
F2 Relation of a Voyage, p. 227.
F3 Geograph. l. 16. p. 520.
F4 Le Bruyn's Voyage to the Levant, ch. 51. p. 199.

1 Samuel 24:3 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.)