Atlas Biblica

    1 Samuel · 29 verses

    1 Samuel 23

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    The chapter

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    Saul hears a promise to hand David over and calls it compassion—a wonderfully crooked exchange, made stranger still by the fact that David has already slipped out of the town Saul thought was his trap.

    Keilah opens its gates, and David leaves by themvv. 1–13

    The Philistines descend on Keilah’s threshing floors, so David asks the LORD whether he should attack. His men are afraid, and quite reasonably point out that danger in Judah is one thing, while danger at Keilah comes with Philistine armies attached. The second answer is just as firm as the first, and David saves the people of Keilah while carrying off the livestock of their attackers. Abiathar has brought the ephod, which proves useful when Saul decides that a town with gates and bars has done the trapping for him. David asks whether Keilah will surrender him; the answer is yes. Thus the six hundred depart, and Saul, having been told that his quarry has escaped, declines to go forth.

    Jonathan strengthens David, while the Ziphites strengthen Saulvv. 14–23

    David moves among wilderness strongholds and the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph, while Saul searches day after day and is not permitted to catch him. At Horesh, Jonathan comes out to him and strengthens his hand in God, speaking plainly about the future: David will be king, and Jonathan will be second-in-command. They make a covenant, Jonathan goes home, and David remains. Then the Ziphites arrive at Gibeah with directions precise enough to satisfy a very determined king. Saul thanks them for their compassion, then asks them to investigate every hiding place and return with certainty, since David is extremely cunning and the land is apparently not short of hiding places.

    The pursuit is interrupted by the Philistinesvv. 24–29

    The Ziphites go ahead to Ziph, while David and his men are in the Wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. Saul follows, and the two parties approach one another on opposite sides of the mountain. David is hurrying away; Saul is closing in; the shape of the escape is becoming uncomfortably narrow. Then a messenger arrives with news of a Philistine raid. Saul breaks off the pursuit at once to meet it, and the place receives its name, Sela-hammahlekoth—the name supplied by an interruption with impeccable timing. David goes up from there and lives in the strongholds of En-gedi.

    The text

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    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. 1 Sam 23:1Now it was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and looting the threshing floors.”

    2. 1 Sam 23:2So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

    3. 1 Sam 23:3But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”

    4. 1 Sam 23:4Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”

    5. 1 Sam 23:5Then David and his men went to Keilah, fought against the Philistines, and carried off their livestock, striking them with a mighty blow. So David saved the people of Keilah.

    6. 1 Sam 23:6(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

    7. 1 Sam 23:7When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”

    8. 1 Sam 23:8Then Saul summoned all his troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men.

    9. 1 Sam 23:9When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”

    10. 1 Sam 23:10And David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, Your servant has heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah and destroy the city on my account.

    11. 1 Sam 23:11Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” “He will,” said the LORD.

    12. 1 Sam 23:12So David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” “They will,” said the LORD.

    13. 1 Sam 23:13Then David and his men, about six hundred strong, set out and departed from Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he declined to go forth.

    14. 1 Sam 23:14And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.

    15. 1 Sam 23:15While David was in Horesh in the Wilderness of Ziph, he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.

    16. 1 Sam 23:16And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God,

    17. 1 Sam 23:17saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”

    18. 1 Sam 23:18So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

    19. 1 Sam 23:19Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?

    20. 1 Sam 23:20Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”

    21. 1 Sam 23:21“May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have had compassion on me.

    22. 1 Sam 23:22Please go and prepare further. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning.

    23. 1 Sam 23:23Observe and find out all the places where he hides. Then come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will search him out among all the clans of Judah.”

    24. 1 Sam 23:24So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,

    25. 1 Sam 23:25and Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard of this, he pursued David there.

    26. 1 Sam 23:26Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them.

    27. 1 Sam 23:27Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”

    28. 1 Sam 23:28So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why that place is called Sela-hammahlekoth.

    29. 1 Sam 23:29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 187 passages were voted onto 25 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 16Isaiah 35:3–4Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
    • 16Hebrews 12:12–13Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
    • 16Job 4:3–4Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
    • 162 Timothy 2:1You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
    • 16Ephesians 6:10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
    • 16Luke 22:32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
    • 161 Samuel 30:6And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
    • 16Luke 22:43Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.
    • 16Nehemiah 2:18I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me, and what the king had said to me. “Let us start rebuilding,” they replied, and they set their hands to this good work.
    • 16Proverbs 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
    • 16Deuteronomy 3:28But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
    • 16Ecclesiastes 4:9–12Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.
    • 21 Samuel 23:4Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
    • 22 Samuel 5:23So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
    • 22 Samuel 5:19So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go up,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
    • 191 Samuel 26:1Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

    Onward

    Keep reading

    Next chapter1 Samuel 2422 verses.Named herePhilistiaEverything the graph connects to this name.Book1 SamuelAll 31 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.