And [when] thou hast stayed three days
From court, either at Bethlehem, which seems most probable, or in
some other place incognito; however, not in the field he proposed
to hide himself in, where he could not continue so long for want
of food:
[then] thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place
where thou
didst hide thyself;
which makes it clear that he did not continue there during that
time, but went elsewhere; from whence he was to come in haste at
the expiration of three days, to the place he first hid himself
in, and which was fixed upon to meet at:
when the business was [in hand];
when the affair was discoursed of, about getting knowledge how
Saul was affected to David, and of informing him of it; or "on
the day of work" F24; or business, on a working day, as
the Septuagint; and so the Targum, on a common day; when, as the
Vulgate Latin, it was lawful to work on it; and such was the day
when Jonathan and David conversed together about the above
affair; it being the day before the new moon, or first day of the
month, on which day they used not to work: Some render it, "thou
shalt three times go down" F25 to that place; and the sense
is, that he should come on the morrow, and if he found not
Jonathan there, he might conclude that as yet he knew nothing of
his father's mind, and therefore should come the day following
that; and if he found him not then, to come on the third day,
that so he might be on the spot, let him come on which day he
would:
and shalt remain by the stone Ezel;
which, because it signifies "going", the Jewish commentators
generally understand it as a sign to direct travellers which way
to go; but one would think this should be an improper place for
David to be near, since it must be where two or more ways met,
and so a public frequented place; others think therefore it had
its name from David and Jonathan often going thither, to
discourse with each other; the Septuagint calls it Ergab; and so
the place where Jonathan, the son of Saul, exercised himself by
shooting darts, is called by Jerom F26; it is said by Josephus
F1 to be an hundred fifty furlongs
(about nineteen miles), from Jerusalem, and from Jordan sixty,
(about eight miles).