1 Samuel 23:26

26 Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men,

1 Samuel 23:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:26

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his
men on that side of the mountain
Saul with his army came to the very mountain where David and his men were, the one was on one side of it, and the other on the other side; there was only one mountain between them:

and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul;
he fled on one side of the mountain, while Saul was pursuing him on the other, and hastening to get round unto him:

for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take
them;
he took methods by dividing his troops, and sending them different ways, to surround David and his men, and had very near effected it.

1 Samuel 23:26 In-Context

24 So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul. Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon.

25 When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness.

26 Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men,

27 an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again.

28 So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape.