1 Samuel 26:20

20 "Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the LORD; for the king of Israel has come out to search for ¹a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

1 Samuel 26:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 26:20

Now therefore let not my blood fall to the earth before the
face of the Lord
For should it be spilled, God, who is omniscient, will see it, and take notice of it; and being righteous, and to whom vengeance belongs, he will avenge it: some render it, "my blood shall not fall to the earth before the face of the Lord" ^F18; I am continually under his eye and care, and he will protect and defend me; and in vain is it for thee to pursue after me; I shall never fall into thine hands, though I may be obliged to quit my country, and go into an idolatrous nation, against my will:

for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea;
which leaps from place to place and is not easily taken: or this may denote what a mean, poor, weak, insignificant person David was; and how much it was below Saul to come out with an army of chosen men in pursuit of him; so the Targum,

``the king of Israel is come out to seek one that is weak or feeble:''

as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains;
as kings for their delight used to do, as Abarbinel observes; but this being a business of pleasure, and this a bird of worth, some other is thought to be here intended. Indeed the is represented as worth no more than an "obolus", or five farthings, though fifty drachmas or drachms were ordered to be paid for one ^F19; the Septuagint renders the word an "owl": the word is "kore", and from the etymology of it one would think it was the raven or crow. Jarchi on ( Jeremiah 17:11 ) takes it to be the cuckoo, though here the partridge as others; Bochart ^F20 will have it to be the woodcock, snipe, or snite ^F21. Some choose to read the words,

``as the kore or partridge on the mountains hunts;''

which, it is said, hunts and seeks after the nests of other birds, and sits on their eggs ^F22: see ( Jeremiah 17:11 ) ; so Saul hunted after David, though he could not take him; several naturalists ^F23 observe, that the partridge is very difficult to be taken by the hunter.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (wmd lpy la) "non effundetur", Martyr. and to this sense are Syr. Ar. vers.
F19 Laert. l. 2. in Vita Aristippi.
F20 Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 1. c. 12. col. 81.
F21 (A snite is like a snipe, yet a different species of lark-like bird. Oxford English Dictionary. Editor)
F22 T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 140. 2. Jarchi & Abarbinel in loc.
F23 Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 8. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 33. Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 3. c. 16.

1 Samuel 26:20 In-Context

18 He also said, "Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

19 "Now therefore, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men , cursed are they before the LORD , for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of the LORD , saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'

20 "Now then, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of the LORD ; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

21 Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error."

22 David replied, "Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 24:14