1 Samuel 24:1
in 1 Samuel 24After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.
KJV
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En–gedi.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSaul was returned - It is very probable that it was only a small marauding party that had made an excursion in the Israelitish borders, and this invasion was soon suppressed.
This site's exposition
returned from following the Philistines
on 1 Samuel 24:1-2
Saul turns from a Philistine war he has just fought to hunt one man, and commits three thousand chosen men to the search, the same size force he once led against the whole Philistine army at 13:2. Wesley notes the rocks of the wild goats are steep and dangerous even to an ordinary traveler, so the king's anger over David outweighs his own safety. En-gedi's cliffs along the Dead Sea shore give the outlaw band exactly the kind of ground three thousand soldiers cannot easily search.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And when Saul had returned, etc. Saul, having stopped pursuing the Philistines, is suddenly recalled with a sinister mind to hunt down and kill David; he turns his weapons from the just conflict against the enemies to the unjust one in which he strikes a …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But it is not enough for Saul that David is thus cooped up; he cannot be easy while he is alive. Providence brings Saul alone into the same cave wherein David and his men had hidden themselves,
And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines,.... Having, as it should seem, got the victory over them, and driven them out of his country, and pursued them to their own: that it was told him, saying, behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi; in the strong holds of it, the high rocks and mountains in it, 1Sa 23:29.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And David went up from there and dwelt in the stronghold of En gedi.
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. 4 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
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ | kaasher | just when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁ֣ב | shav | he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| מֵאַחֲרֵ֖י | meacharei | from after | H310 → | 715 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַיַּגִּ֤דוּ | vaiyagidu | and people told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| דָוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בְּמִדְבַּ֖ר | bemidbar | [is] in [the] wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| עֵ֥ין | ʾein | En | H5872 → | 12 times |
| גֶּֽדִי׃ ס | gedi | Gedi | H5872 → | 12 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙just when
kaasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁ֣בhe returned
shavH7725 →1056 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
מֵאַחֲרֵ֖יfrom after
meachareiH310 →715 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
וַיַּגִּ֤דוּand people told
vaiyagiduH5046 →370 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
דָוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בְּמִדְבַּ֖ר[is] in [the] wilderness of
bemidbarH4057 →270 times
עֵ֥יןEn
ʾeinH5872 →12 times
גֶּֽדִי׃ סGedi
gediH5872 →12 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
Proverbs 25:5Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:8
A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:12
Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.
- Psalms 101:7–8
No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who tells lies shall stand in my presence.
- Proverbs 20:28
Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.
- Isaiah 16:5
in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.
- Proverbs 20:8
Through
1 Samuel 23:19Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 26:1
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”
- 1 Samuel 26:3
Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon, but David was living in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had followed him there,
- 1 Samuel 26:1
Through
Ezekiel 22:9Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.
it leads to
- Hosea 4:14
I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people…
- Hosea 4:14
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
3 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…
- PlaceDead Sea shoreEn-gediThe oasis stronghold by the Dead Sea where David cut Saul's robe in the cave and let the king walk out alive.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.