1 Samuel 23:3
in 1 Samuel 23But 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?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
KJV
And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
To repel unprovoked assaults on unoffending people who were engaged in their harvest operations, was a humane and benevolent service. But it was doubtful how far it was David's duty to go against a public enemy without the royal commission; and on that account he asked, and obtained, the divine counsel.
This site's exposition
we are afraid here in Judah
on 1 Samuel 23:3-5
David's men balk at the risk of a pitched fight against a Philistine garrison, and David enquires of the Lord a second time. Adam Clarke reads the repeated enquiry as accommodation to his men's weaker faith. The raid succeeds: the cattle are recovered and Keilah is saved.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David's men said unto him, behold, we be afraid here in Judah,....
The danger he was thereby brought into from the malice of the prince he served and the treachery of the city he saved, and his deliverance, by divine direction, from that danger,
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֤י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| דָוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֲנַ֥חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| פֹ֛ה | foh | here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| בִּֽיהוּדָ֖ה | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| יְרֵאִ֑ים | yereim | [are] fearful | H3373 → | |
| וְאַף֙ | veaf | and indeed? | H637 → | 134 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נֵלֵ֣ךְ | nelekh | we will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| קְעִלָ֔ה | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַֽעַרְכ֖וֹת | maarkhot | [the] battle lines of | H4634 → | 19 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃ ס | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
דָוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֲנַ֥חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
פֹ֛הhere
fohH6311 →82 times
בִּֽיהוּדָ֖הin Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
יְרֵאִ֑ים[are] fearful
yereimH3373 →
וְאַף֙and indeed?
veafH637 →134 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נֵלֵ֣ךְwe will go
nelekhH1980 →1546 times
קְעִלָ֔הKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מַֽעַרְכ֖וֹת[the] battle lines of
maarkhotH4634 →19 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃ ס[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 12:5“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
- Hebrews 12:3–4
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
- Psalms 42:7
Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me.
- 1 Peter 4:12
Through
Psalms 11:1In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
it leads to
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- 1 Samuel 23:14
And 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.
- Psalms 25:2
in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
- Psalms 56:11
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.