1 Samuel 23:11

11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech Thee, tell Thy servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down."

1 Samuel 23:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:11

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hands? will
Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard?
&c.] That is, if David continued there, which is the supposition all proceeds upon. The questions are not orderly put, as may easily be observed, the last should have been first; which shows some perturbation of mind David was in upon hearing the design of Saul against him:

O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant;
give an answer by Urim and Thummim, as he did:

and the Lord said, he will come down;
if David abode there; that was in his thoughts, in his purpose and design, which the Lord, being omniscient, full well knew, who knows all future contingencies: hence the Jews F14 gather, that two things are not to be asked together; and if they are asked, only answer is made to one, and the answer is only made to that which it was proper to ask first; and that which is asked out of order should be asked again, which was the case here, as follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 73. 1, 2.

1 Samuel 23:11 In-Context

9 And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring hither the ephod."
10 Then said David, "O LORD God of Israel, Thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.
11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech Thee, tell Thy servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down."
12 Then said David, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will deliver thee up."
13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; and he forbore to go forth.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.