1 Samuel 23:27
in 1 Samuel 23Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have made a raid upon the land.
KJV
But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThere came a messenger - See the providence of God exerted for the salvation of David’s life! David and his men are almost surrounded by Saul and his army, and on the point of being taken, when a messenger arrives and informs Saul that the Philistines had invaded the land! But behold the workings of Providence!
This site's exposition
the Philistines have invaded the land
on 1 Samuel 23:27-29
The rescue comes from outside the story entirely, a Philistine raid elsewhere in the land arriving at the one moment it could matter, and Adam Clarke calls it plainly the workings of providence: deliverance without a battle, a sign, or an answer from the ephod. The place keeps the memory of it in its name, the rock of divisions, because there Saul's pursuit was split off from David by circumstance rather than by choice or defeat. David goes up from there to the strongholds of En-gedi, where the seventeenth-century scholar John Lightfoot placed the writing of Psalm 63, a tradition both Gill and Henry record.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
This is what happened to Paul. For the potency of the light suddenly surprised his feeble eyes and injured them. But the greatness of the voice brought low his strength and entered his ears and opened them. For they had been closed up by Jewish …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was that, since Saul neglected the public safety, he might take care of it, notwithstanding the ill treatment that was given him; for he must render good for evil, and therein be a type of him who not only ventured his life, but laid down his life, for those that were his enemies.
But there came a messenger unto Saul,....
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמַלְאָ֣ךְ | umalakh | and a messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| בָּ֔א | ba' | he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַהֲרָ֣ה | maharah | make haste ! | H4116 → | 68 times |
| וְלֵ֔כָה | velekhah | and come ! | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פָשְׁט֥וּ | fashetu | they have made a raid | H6584 → | 43 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וּמַלְאָ֣ךְand a messenger
umalakhH4397 →213 times
בָּ֔אhe came
ba'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מַהֲרָ֣הmake haste !
maharahH4116 →68 times
וְלֵ֔כָהand come !
velekhahH1980 →1546 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
פָשְׁט֥וּthey have made a raid
fashetuH6584 →43 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Genesis 22:14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
it leads to
- Genesis 22:13
Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of…
- Exodus 17:15
And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
- Judges 6:24
So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- Genesis 22:8
Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together.
- Genesis 16:13–14
So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
- Genesis 22:13
Through
Deuteronomy 32:36For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
it leads to
- Psalms 135:14
For the LORD will vindicate His people and will have compassion on His servants.
- Psalms 135:14
Through
Psalms 116:3The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:4–6
The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.
- Psalms 38:6
I am bent and brought low; all day long I go about mourning.
- Psalms 18:4–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Ephrem the Syrian, Homily - On Our Lord, 32; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.