1 And it came to pass, when Saul H7586 was returned H7725 from following H310 the Philistines, H6430 that it was told H5046 him, saying, H559 Behold, David H1732 is in the wilderness H4057 of Engedi. H5872
2 Then Saul H7586 took H3947 three H7969 thousand H505 chosen H977 men H376 out of all Israel, H3478 and went H3212 to seek H1245 David H1732 and his men H582 upon H6440 the rocks H6697 of the wild goats. H3277
3 And he came H935 to the sheepcotes H1448 H6629 by the way, H1870 where was a cave; H4631 and Saul H7586 went in H935 to cover H5526 his feet: H7272 and David H1732 and his men H582 remained H3427 in the sides H3411 of the cave. H4631
4 And the men H582 of David H1732 said H559 unto him, Behold the day H3117 of which the LORD H3068 said H559 unto thee, Behold, I will deliver H5414 thine enemy H341 into thine hand, H3027 that thou mayest do H6213 to him as it shall seem good H3190 unto thee. H5869 Then David H1732 arose, H6965 and cut off H3772 the skirt H3671 of Saul's H7586 robe H4598 privily. H3909
5 And it came to pass afterward, H310 that David's H1732 heart H3820 smote H5221 him, because he had cut off H3772 Saul's H7586 skirt. H3671
6 And he said H559 unto his men, H582 The LORD H3068 forbid H2486 that I should do H6213 this thing H1697 unto my master, H113 the LORD'S H3068 anointed, H4899 to stretch forth H7971 mine hand H3027 against him, seeing he is the anointed H4899 of the LORD. H3068
7 So David H1732 stayed H8156 his servants H582 with these words, H1697 and suffered H5414 them not to rise H6965 against Saul. H7586 But Saul H7586 rose up H6965 out of the cave, H4631 and went H3212 on his way. H1870
8 David H1732 also arose H6965 afterward, and went out H3318 of the cave, H4631 and cried H7121 after H310 Saul, H7586 saying, H559 My lord H113 the king. H4428 And when Saul H7586 looked H5027 behind H310 him, David H1732 stooped H6915 with his face H639 to the earth, H776 and bowed H7812 himself.
9 And David H1732 said H559 to Saul, H7586 Wherefore hearest H8085 thou men's H120 words, H1697 saying, H559 Behold, David H1732 seeketh H1245 thy hurt? H7451
10 Behold, this day H3117 thine eyes H5869 have seen H7200 how that the LORD H3068 had delivered H5414 thee to day H3117 into mine hand H3027 in the cave: H4631 and some bade H559 me kill H2026 thee: but mine eye spared H2347 thee; and I said, H559 I will not put forth H7971 mine hand H3027 against my lord; H113 for he is the LORD'S H3068 anointed. H4899
11 Moreover, my father, H1 see, H7200 yea, see H7200 the skirt H3671 of thy robe H4598 in my hand: H3027 for in that I cut off H3772 the skirt H3671 of thy robe, H4598 and killed H2026 thee not, know H3045 thou and see H7200 that there is neither evil H7451 nor transgression H6588 in mine hand, H3027 and I have not sinned H2398 against thee; yet thou huntest H6658 my soul H5315 to take H3947 it.
12 The LORD H3068 judge H8199 between me and thee, and the LORD H3068 avenge H5358 me of thee: but mine hand H3027 shall not be upon thee.
13 As saith H559 the proverb H4912 of the ancients, H6931 Wickedness H7562 proceedeth H3318 from the wicked: H7563 but mine hand H3027 shall not be upon thee.
14 After H310 whom is the king H4428 of Israel H3478 come out? H3318 after H310 whom dost thou pursue? H7291 after H310 a dead H4191 dog, H3611 after H310 a H259 flea. H6550
15 The LORD H3068 therefore be judge, H1781 and judge H8199 between me and thee, and see, H7200 and plead H7378 my cause, H7379 and deliver H8199 me out of thine hand. H3027
16 And it came to pass, when David H1732 had made an end H3615 of speaking H1696 these words H1697 unto Saul, H7586 that Saul H7586 said, H559 Is this thy voice, H6963 my son H1121 David? H1732 And Saul H7586 lifted up H5375 his voice, H6963 and wept. H1058
17 And he said H559 to David, H1732 Thou art more righteous H6662 than I: for thou hast rewarded H1580 me good, H2896 whereas I have rewarded H1580 thee evil. H7451
18 And thou hast shewed H5046 this day H3117 how that thou hast dealt H6213 well H2896 with me: forasmuch as when the LORD H3068 had delivered H5462 me into thine hand, H3027 thou killedst H2026 me not.
19 For if a man H376 find H4672 his enemy, H341 will he let him go H7971 well H2896 away? H1870 wherefore the LORD H3068 reward H7999 thee good H2896 for that thou hast done H6213 unto me this day. H3117
20 And now, behold, I know well H3045 that thou shalt surely H4427 be king, H4427 and that the kingdom H4467 of Israel H3478 shall be established H6965 in thine hand. H3027
21 Swear H7650 now therefore unto me by the LORD, H3068 that thou wilt not H518 cut off H3772 my seed H2233 after H310 me, and that thou wilt not destroy H8045 my name H8034 out of my father's H1 house. H1004
22 And David H1732 sware H7650 unto Saul. H7586 And Saul H7586 went H3212 home; H1004 but David H1732 and his men H582 gat them up H5927 unto the hold. H4686
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 24
Commentary on 1 Samuel 24 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 24
1Sa 24:1-7. David in a Cave at Engedi Cuts Off Saul's Skirt, but Spares His Life.
2. Saul … went … to seek David … upon the rocks of the wild goats—Nothing but the blind infatuation of fiendish rage could have led the king to pursue his outlawed son-in-law among those craggy and perpendicular precipices, where were inaccessible hiding places. The large force he took with him seemed to give him every prospect of success. But the overruling providence of God frustrated all his vigilance.
3. he came to the sheepcotes—most probably in the upper ridge of Wady Chareitun. There a large cave—I am quite disposed to say the cave—lies hardly five minutes to the east of the village ruin, on the south side of the wady. It is high upon the side of the calcareous rock, and it has undergone no change since David's time. The same narrow natural vaulting at the entrance; the same huge natural chamber in the rock, probably the place where Saul lay down to rest in the heat of the day; the same side vaults, too, where David and his men were concealed. There, accustomed to the obscurity of the cavern, they saw Saul enter, while, blinded by the glare of the light outside, he saw nothing of him whom he so bitterly persecuted.
4-7. the men of David said … Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand—God had never made any promise of delivering Saul into David's hand; but, from the general and repeated promises of the kingdom to him, they concluded that the king's death was to be effected by taking advantage of some such opportunity as the present. David steadily opposed the urgent instigations of his followers to put an end to his and their troubles by the death of their persecutor (a revengeful heart would have followed their advice, but David rather wished to overcome evil with good, and heap coals of fire upon his head); he, however, cut off a fragment from the skirt of the royal robe. It is easy to imagine how this dialogue could be carried on and David's approach to the king's person could have been effected without arousing suspicion. The bustle and noise of Saul's military men and their beasts, the number of cells or divisions in these immense caverns (and some of them far interior) being enveloped in darkness, while every movement could be seen at the cave's mouth—the probability that the garment David cut from might have been a loose or upper cloak lying on the ground, and that Saul might have been asleep—these facts and presumptions will be sufficient to account for the incidents detailed.
1Sa 24:8-15. He Urges Thereby His Innocency.
8-15. David also arose … and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul—The closeness of the precipitous cliffs, though divided by deep wadies, and the transparent purity of the air enable a person standing on one rock to hear distinctly the words uttered by a speaker standing on another (Jud 9:7). The expostulation of David, followed by the visible tokens he furnished of his cherishing no evil design against either the person or the government of the king, even when he had the monarch in his power, smote the heart of Saul in a moment and disarmed him of his fell purpose of revenge. He owned the justice of what David said, acknowledged his own guilt, and begged kindness to his house. He seems to have been naturally susceptible of strong, and, as in this instance, of good and grateful impressions. The improvement of his temper, indeed, was but transient—his language that of a man overwhelmed by the force of impetuous emotions and constrained to admire the conduct, and esteem the character, of one whom he hated and dreaded. But God overruled it for ensuring the present escape of David. Consider his language and behavior. This language—"a dead dog," "a flea," terms by which, like Eastern people, he strongly expressed a sense of his lowliness and the entire committal of his cause to Him who alone is the judge of human actions, and to whom vengeance belongs, his steady repulse of the vindictive counsels of his followers; the relentings of heart which he felt even for the apparent indignity he had done to the person of the Lord's anointed; and the respectful homage he paid the jealous tyrant who had set a price on his head—evince the magnanimity of a great and good man, and strikingly illustrate the spirit and energy of his prayer "when he was in the cave" (Ps 142:1).