1 Samuel 23:15

15 David kept out of the way in the wilderness of Ziph, secluded at Horesh, since it was plain that Saul was determined to hunt him down.

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 So David and his men got out of there. There were about six hundred of them. They left Keilah and kept moving, going here, there, wherever - always on the move. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he called off the raid.
14 David continued to live in desert hideouts and the backcountry wilderness hills of Ziph. Saul was out looking for him day after day, but God never turned David over to him
15 David kept out of the way in the wilderness of Ziph, secluded at Horesh, since it was plain that Saul was determined to hunt him down.
16 Jonathan, Saul's son, visited David at Horesh and encouraged him in God.
17 He said, "Don't despair. My father, Saul, can't lay a hand on you. You will be Israel's king and I'll be right at your side to help. And my father knows it."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.