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1 Samuel 22:6

in 1 Samuel 22

Soon Saul learned that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with his spear in hand and all his servants standing around him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him: now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.

KJV

When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)

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This verse in 1 Samuel 22

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Saul abode in Gibeah - Saul and his men were in pursuit of David, and had here, as is the general custom in the East, encamped on a height, for so Ramah should be translated, as in the margin. His spear, the ensign of power (see on 1Sa 18:11 (note)), was at hand, that is stuck in the ground where he rested, which was the mark to the soldiers that there was their general’s tent.

This site's exposition

having his spear in his hand

on 1 Samuel 22:6-8

Saul sits under a tree in Gibeah with his spear in hand, the mark by which his servants know where the king has made camp. He appeals to his own tribe by name, asking whether the son of Jesse will give them fields and vineyards as he has, and accuses the whole court of conspiring against him though no such league was ever made. Henry calls the charge doubly false, since whatever covenant stood between David and Jonathan carried Saul no harm at all.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

But Saul, while he remained in Gibeah, etc. The people, persecutors from the Jews, when they remained at that time in Gibeah, that is, on the hill of prophecy, not evidently of understanding, but of reading only, and were delighted in the shadowy eloquence of …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

A spear was the early scepter. Hear now, ye Benjamites--This was an appeal to stimulate the patriotism or jealousy of his own tribe, from which he insinuated it was the design of David to transfer the kingdom to another.
Under a tree in Ramah - Rather, “under the tamarisk-tree on the high place,” where he always held such meetings. It was a kind of parliament in the open air, and all his tribesmen gathered round him. (Compare Jdg 4:5.)

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשְׁמַ֣עand he heard

    vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • כִּ֚יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • נוֹדַ֣עhe was known

    noda'H3045 →945 times

  • דָּוִ֔דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וַאֲנָשִׁ֖יםand [the] men

    vaanashimH582 →566 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אִתּ֑וֹ[were] with him

    ʾitoH854 →929 times

  • וְשָׁאוּל֩and Saul

    veshaulH7586 →402 times

  • יוֹשֵׁ֨ב[was] sitting

    yoshevH3427 →1079 times

  • בַּגִּבְעָ֜הat <the> Gibeah

    bagivahH1390 →45 times

  • תַּֽחַת־under

    tachat-H8478 →505 times

  • הָאֶ֤שֶׁלthe tamarisk tree

    haeshelH815 →

  • בָּֽרָמָה֙at the high place

    baramahH7413 →

  • וַחֲנִית֣וֹand spear his

    vachanitoH2595 →47 times

  • בְיָד֔וֹ[was] in hand his

    veyadoH3027 →1618 times

  • וְכָל־and all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • עֲבָדָ֖יוservants his

    ʾavadavH5650 →799 times

  • נִצָּבִ֥ים[were] standing

    nitzavimH5324 →75 times

  • עָלָֽיו׃with him

    ʾalavH5921 →5755 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 31:13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.3 works1 Samuel 20:33Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him; so Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.2 works1 Samuel 18:10The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,2 works1 Samuel 19:9But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,2 worksJudges 4:5And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.2 worksGenesis 21:33And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Genesis 21:33

    And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.

    it leads to

    • 1 Timothy 1:17

      Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

    • Isaiah 40:28

      Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching…

    • Psalms 90:2

      Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

    • Romans 16:26

      but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—

  • Through

    1 Samuel 19:9

    But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 16:14

      After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 18:10

    The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,

    it leads to

    • 2 Thessalonians 2:11

      For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,

    • 1 Kings 18:29

      Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.

    • 1 Samuel 19:9

      But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 22 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; 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.

Read on in 1 Samuel 22 →