1 Samuel 23:4
in 1 Samuel 23Once 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then David inquired of Jehovah yet again. And Jehovah answered him, and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand.
KJV
Then David enquired of the Lord yet again. And the Lord answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseDavid inquired of the Lord yet again - This was to satisfy his men, who made the strong objections mentioned in the preceding verse.
This site's exposition
we be 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 rather than overrule them David enquires of the Lord a second time on the same question. Adam Clarke reads the repeated enquiry as accommodation to his men's weaker faith rather than any doubt of David's own. The second answer is as plain as the first, and the raid succeeds: the cattle are recovered and Keilah is saved.
This site's exposition
Go at once to Keilah
The second answer adds a promise the first lacked, that the LORD will deliver the Philistines into David's hand. Henry says it would hearten the greatest coward. The same words return at verse 7 in Saul's mouth, and verse 14 answers him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This was enough to animate the greatest coward he had in his regiment. He went accordingly against the Philistines, routed them, and rescued Keilah, (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then David inquired of the Lord yet again,....
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 Nineteenth Century1 voice
A 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.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיּ֨וֹסֶף | vaiyosef | and he repeated | H3254 → | 212 times |
| ע֤וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| דָּוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לִשְׁאֹ֣ל | lishol | to enquire | H7592 → | 171 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֔ה ס | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֖הוּ | vaiyaanehu | and he answered him | H6030 → | 331 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ק֚וּם | kum | arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| רֵ֣ד | red | go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| קְעִילָ֔ה | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| נֹתֵ֛ן | noten | [am] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃ | beyadekha | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיּ֨וֹסֶףand he repeated
vaiyosefH3254 →212 times
ע֤וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
דָּוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
לִשְׁאֹ֣לto enquire
lisholH7592 →171 times
בַּֽיהוָ֔ה סby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֖הוּand he answered him
vaiyaanehuH6030 →331 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ק֚וּםarise
kumH6965 →628 times
רֵ֣דgo down
redH3381 →381 times
קְעִילָ֔הKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נֹתֵ֛ן[am] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃in hand your
beyadekhaH3027 →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
2 Kings 3:18This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.
it leads to
- Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- 2 Kings 20:10
“It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps,” answered Hezekiah, “but not for it to go back ten steps.”
- Luke 1:37
Through
1 Samuel 28:6He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
it leads to
- Numbers 12:6
He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- 1 Samuel 14:37
So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.
- Lamentations 2:9
Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and even her prophets find…
- Numbers 12:6
Through
Judges 6:39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the…
it leads to
- Genesis 18:32
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
- Genesis 18:32
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; 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.