1 Samuel 23:7
in 1 Samuel 23When Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, he said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has trapped himself by entering a town with gates and bars.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
KJV
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAn ungrateful wretch he was, and for ever unworthy to have any service or kindness done him. Well might David complain of his enemies that they rewarded him evil for good, and that for his love they ere his adversaries, Ps. xxxv. Christ was used thus basely, John x.
This site's exposition
God hath delivered him into mine hand
on 1 Samuel 23:7-8
Saul invokes the Lord's name over a plan to besiege the very city David has just saved, one chapter after ordering the slaughter of the Lord's priests at Nob. He calls out the whole levy of the district under cover of the Philistine threat David has already put down, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the muster as pretext for a manhunt rather than a real defense of the border. The verse states Saul's theology and lets the reader measure it against his actions.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Saul commanded all the people, etc. For as the state of the Church increased, there were not lacking at various times adversaries, who, with the Lord permitting, would test its patience and wisdom by attacking it with the gravest trials, seeking to capture both …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
David, though a strong believer, needed the help of his friends for the perfecting of what was lacking in his faith; and herein Jonathan was helpful to him, by reminding him of the promise of God, the holy oil wherewith he was anointed, the presence of God with him hitherto, and the many experiences he had had of God's goodness to him.
And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah--Saul imagined himself now certain of his victim, who would be hemmed within a fortified town. The wish was father to the thought.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֻּגַּ֣ד | vaiyugad | and it was told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְשָׁא֔וּל | leshaul | to Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָ֥א | va' | he had gone | H935 → | 2568 times |
| דָוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| קְעִילָ֑ה | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֗וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| נִכַּ֨ר | nikar | he has alienated | H5234 → | |
| אֹת֤וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּיָדִ֔י | beyadi | in hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִסְגַּ֣ר | nisgar | he has shut himself up | H5462 → | 91 times |
| לָב֔וֹא | lavo' | by going | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְּעִ֖יר | beir | in a city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| דְּלָתַ֥יִם | delatayim | doors | H1817 → | 88 times |
| וּבְרִֽיחַ׃ | uveriach | and bar[s] | H1280 → |
וַיֻּגַּ֣דand it was told
vaiyugadH5046 →370 times
לְשָׁא֔וּלto Saul
leshaulH7586 →402 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בָ֥אhe had gone
va'H935 →2568 times
דָוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
קְעִילָ֑הKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֗וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
נִכַּ֨רhe has alienated
nikarH5234 →
אֹת֤וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
בְּיָדִ֔יin hand my
beyadiH3027 →1618 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִסְגַּ֣רhe has shut himself up
nisgarH5462 →91 times
לָב֔וֹאby going
lavo'H935 →2568 times
בְּעִ֖ירin a city of
beirH5892 →1090 times
דְּלָתַ֥יִםdoors
delatayimH1817 →88 times
וּבְרִֽיחַ׃and bar[s]
uveriachH1280 →
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
Job 20:5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
it leads to
- Psalms 37:35–36
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Job 18:5–6
Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
- Psalms 73:18–20
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Psalms 37:35–36
Through
1 Samuel 23:14And 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.
it leads to
- Psalms 54:3–4
For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life— men with no regard for God. Selah
- Psalms 32:7
You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
- Joshua 15:24
Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
- Joshua 15:55
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
- Psalms 54:3–4
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 Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.