17 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto Michal, H4324 Why hast thou deceived me so, H7411 and sent away H7971 mine enemy, H341 that he is escaped? H4422 And Michal H4324 answered H559 Saul, H7586 He said H559 unto me, Let me go; H7971 why should I kill H4191 thee?
And Abner H74 said H559 again H3254 to Asahel, H6214 Turn thee aside H5493 from following H310 me: wherefore should I smite H5221 thee to the ground? H776 how then should I hold up H5375 my face H6440 to Joab H3097 thy brother? H251
But the midwives H3205 feared H3372 God, H430 and did H6213 not as the king H4428 of Egypt H4714 commanded H1696 them, but saved H2421 the men children H3206 alive. H2421 And the king H4428 of Egypt H4714 called H7121 for the midwives, H3205 and said H559 unto them, Why H4069 have ye done H6213 this thing, H1697 and have saved H2421 the men children H3206 alive? H2421 And the midwives H3205 said H559 unto Pharaoh, H6547 Because the Hebrew H5680 women H802 are not as the Egyptian women; H4713 for they are lively, H2422 and are delivered H3205 ere H2962 the midwives H3205 come in H935 unto them.
And the king H4428 said H559 unto the footmen H7323 that stood H5324 about him, Turn, H5437 and slay H4191 the priests H3548 of the LORD; H3068 because their hand H3027 also is with David, H1732 and because they knew H3045 when he fled, H1272 and did not shew H1540 H241 it to me. But the servants H5650 of the king H4428 would H14 not put forth H7971 their hand H3027 to fall H6293 upon the priests H3548 of the LORD. H3068
And when the woman H802 saw H7200 Samuel, H8050 she cried H2199 with a loud H1419 voice: H6963 and the woman H802 spake H559 to Saul, H7586 saying, H559 Why hast thou deceived H7411 me? for thou art Saul. H7586
And when Absalom's H53 servants H5650 came H935 to the woman H802 to the house, H1004 they said, H559 Where is Ahimaaz H290 and Jonathan? H3083 And the woman H802 said H559 unto them, They be gone over H5674 the brook H4323 of water. H4325 And when they had sought H1245 and could not find H4672 them, they returned H7725 to Jerusalem. H3389
And Ahab H256 said H559 to Elijah, H452 Hast thou found H4672 me, O mine enemy? H341 And he answered, H559 I have found H4672 thee: because thou hast sold H4376 thyself to work H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD. H3068
Then G5119 Herod, G2264 when he saw G1492 that G3754 he was mocked G1702 of G5259 the wise men, G3097 was exceeding G3029 wroth, G2373 and G2532 sent forth, G649 and slew G337 all G3956 the children G3816 that were in G1722 Bethlehem, G965 and G2532 in G1722 all G3956 the coasts G3725 thereof, G846 from G575 two years old G1332 and G2532 under, G2736 according G2596 to the time G5550 which G3739 he had diligently enquired G198 of G3844 the wise men. G3097
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 19
Commentary on 1 Samuel 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
1Sa 19:1-7. Jonathan Discloses His Father's Purpose to Kill David.
1. Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David—The murderous design he had secretly cherished he now reveals to a few of his intimate friends. Jonathan was among the number. He prudently said nothing at the time, but secretly apprised David of his danger; and waiting till the morning, when his father's excited temper would be cooled, he stationed his friend in a place of concealment, where, overhearing the conversation, he might learn how matters really stood and take immediate flight, if necessary.
4-7. Jonathan spake good of David—He told his father he was committing a great sin to plot against the life of a man who had rendered the most invaluable services to his country and whose loyalty had been uniformly steady and devoted. The strong remonstrances of Jonathan produced an effect on the impulsive mind of his father. As he was still susceptible of good and honest impressions, he bound himself by an oath to relinquish his hostile purpose; and thus, through the intervention of the noble-minded prince, a temporary reconciliation was effected, in consequence of which David was again employed in the public service.
1Sa 19:8-17. Saul's Malicious Rage Breaks Out against David.
8-10. David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter—A brilliant victory was gained over the public enemy. But these fresh laurels of David reawakened in the moody breast of Saul the former spirit of envy and melancholy. On David's return to court, the temper of Saul became more fiendish than ever; the melodious strains of the harp had lost all their power to charm; and in a paroxysm of uncontrollable frenzy he aimed a javelin at the person of David—the missile having been thrown with such force that it pierced the chamber wall. David providentially escaped; but the king, having now thrown off the mask and being bent on aggressive measures, made his son-in-law's situation everywhere perilous.
11, 12. Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him—The fear of causing a commotion in the town, or favoring his escape in the darkness, seemed to have influenced the king in ordering them to patrol till the morning. This infatuation was overruled by Providence to favor David's escape; for his wife, secretly apprised by Jonathan, who was aware of the design, or by spying persons in court livery watching the gate, let him down through a window (see on Jos 2:15).
13, 14. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed—"an image," literally, "the teraphim," and laid, not in the bed, but literally on the "divan"; and "the pillows," that is, the cushion, which usually lay at the back of the divan and was stuffed with "goat's hair," she took from its bolster or heading at the upper part of the divan. This she placed lower down, and covered with a mantle, as if to foster a proper warmth in a patient; at the same time spreading the goat's hair skin, so as to resemble human hair in a dishevelled state. The pretext was that David lay there sick. The first messengers of Saul, keeping at a respectable distance, were deceived; but the imposition was detected on a closer inspection.
15. Bring him to me in the bed—a portable couch or mattress.
1Sa 19:18-23. David Flees to Samuel.
18-23. David fled, … and came to Samuel to Ramah—Samuel was living in great retirement, superintending the school of the prophets, established in the little hamlet of Naioth, in the neighborhood of Ramah. It was a retreat congenial to the mind of David; but Saul, having found out his asylum, sent three successive bodies of men to apprehend him. The character of the place and the influence of the sacred exercises produced such an effect on them that they were incapable of discharging their commission, and were led, by a resistless impulse, to join in singing the praises of God. Saul, in a fit of rage and disappointment, determined to go himself. But, before reaching the spot, his mental susceptibilities were roused even more than his messengers, and he was found, before long, swelling the ranks of the young prophets. This singular change can be ascribed only to the power of Him who can turn the hearts of men even as the rivers of water.
1Sa 19:24. Saul Prophesies.
24. lay down naked—that is, divested of his armor and outer robes—in a state of trance. Thus God, in making the wrath of man to praise Him, preserved the lives of all the prophets, frustrated all the purposes of Saul, and preserved the life of His servant.