1 Samuel 23:16

16 Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

1 Samuel 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:16

And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose
And came from Gibeah, which, according to Bunting ^F15, was twenty two miles from the place where David was:

and went to David into the wood:
having had intelligence where he was, this being a proper place to have an interview with him privately:

and strengthened his hand in God;
and his heart too, his hand of faith to lay hold on God, as his covenant God and lean and rely upon him; he strengthened him in his power and in his providence, and in his promises to him; the Targum is,

``he strengthened him in the Word of the Lord;''

not only in his word and promise, but in Christ the essential Word of God, who should spring from him according to the flesh.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F15 Travels p. 334. (text not clear could be 834 or some other number)

1 Samuel 23:16 In-Context

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand

15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.

16 Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that."

18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.