1 Samuel 23:14
in 1 Samuel 23And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
KJV
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ziph is placed between Hebron and En-gedi (marginal references). (The “wood” 1Sa 23:15 is by Conder taken as a proper name, “Cheresh,” and identified with Khoreisa.)
This site's exposition
but God delivered him not into his hand
on 1 Samuel 23:14-15
The two conditional answers of the ephod prove true here without David ever testing them: Saul seeks him every day, and God delivered him not into his hand, exactly as the oracle implied he need not stay to find out. The wilderness of Ziph, a mountain district between Hebron and En-gedi, becomes the next hiding ground, and verse 15 has David watching his own pursuer come out to take his life. John Gill compares the daily persistence of the search to Goliath's forty daily defiances in chapter 17, one persecution measured out in days like the other.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Yet Saul sought him every day, etc. From the beginning of time until the end, the wicked strive to remove Christ from the hearts of the pious, but He himself defends the pious so that they might never be overcome by the wicked, as He …
David, however, stayed in the desert, etc. Christ, having dismissed those who receive faith only in word, rather takes up residence in the hearts of those who, in the aridity of the present age, thirst for God, the living fountain, awaiting the moment they may …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds,....
They had reason to think themselves happy that they had an opportunity of serving one who was the ornament of their tribe and was likely to be much more so, who was so far from plundering the country, or giving it any disturbance with his troops, that he was ready to protect it and to them all the good offices that there was occasion for.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wilderness of Ziph - Ziph was a city in the southern part of Judea, not far from Carmel.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Wherever they could go. In a place where it is proper to go, in a place where they would be saved.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֨שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| דָּוִ֤ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּר֙ | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| בַּמְּצָד֔וֹת | bametzadot | in the strongholds | H4679 → | 11 times |
| וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּהָ֖ר | bahar | in the hill country | H2022 → | 546 times |
| בְּמִדְבַּר־ | bemidbar- | in [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| זִ֑יף | zif | Ziph | H2128 → | 10 times |
| וַיְבַקְשֵׁ֤הוּ | vayvakshehu | and he sought him | H1245 → | 225 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִ֔ים | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נְתָנ֥וֹ | netano | he gave him | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֵּ֨שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
דָּוִ֤דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בַּמִּדְבָּר֙in the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
בַּמְּצָד֔וֹתin the strongholds
bametzadotH4679 →11 times
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
בָּהָ֖רin the hill country
baharH2022 →546 times
בְּמִדְבַּר־in [the] wilderness of
bemidbar-H4057 →270 times
זִ֑יףZiph
zifH2128 →10 times
וַיְבַקְשֵׁ֤הוּand he sought him
vayvakshehuH1245 →225 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִ֔יםthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נְתָנ֥וֹhe gave him
netanoH5414 →2011 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 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
Romans 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
it leads to
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- 1 John 4:4
You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…
- Psalms 118:6
Through
Psalms 32:7You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
- Psalms 119:114
You are my hiding place and my shield; I put my hope in Your word.
- Psalms 27:5
For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Psalms 91:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.