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1 Samuel 24:22

in 1 Samuel 24

So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the stronghold.

KJV

And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 24

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Saul went home - Confounded at a sense of his own baseness, and overwhelmed with a sense of David’s generosity. David and his men gat them up unto the hold - Went up to Mizpeh, according to the Syriac and Arabic. David could not trust Saul with his life; the utmost he could expect from him was that he should cease from persecuting him; but even this was too much to expect from a man of such a character as Saul. He was no longer under the Divine guidance; an evil spirit had full dominion over his soul.

This site's exposition

Swear now therefore unto me

on 1 Samuel 24:21-22

Saul asks for one thing only, an oath that David will not cut off his descendants once the throne is his, the same request Jonathan had already made of David at 20:15. David swears it and Saul goes home, but the scene does not close in reconciliation: David and his men go back up to the stronghold rather than to Saul's court. Clarke reads the parting plainly, David could not trust Saul with his life, for an evil spirit still had dominion over him, and chapter 26 will run this same cave scene almost beat for beat.

This site's exposition

went up to the stronghold

Barnes notes that Saul returned home to Gibeah without inviting David. Henry compares Jesus, who would not entrust Himself to those who believed in Him at John 2:24. Clarke reports that the Syriac and Arabic versions name the stronghold David and his men went up to as Mizpeh.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

So Saul went to his house, etc. The people of the Jews who were able to repent from their faithlessness through the teaching of the apostles went to work on the care of their inner salvation. On the other hand, the Lord himself and his …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It is dangerous venturing upon the mercy of a reconciled enemy. We read of those who believed in Christ, and yet he did not commit himself to them because he knew all men. Those that like David are innocent as doves must thus like him be wise as serpents.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

David Spares Saul in the Cave. 1 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 Engedi.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-3

And David sware unto Saul,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Saul does not appear to have invited David to return to Gibeah, or to have given him any security of doing so with safety. David, with his intuitive sagacity, perceived that the softening of Saul’s feelings was only momentary, and that the situation remained unchanged.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשָּׁבַ֥עand he swore an oath

    vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times

  • דָּוִ֖דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לְשָׁא֑וּלto Saul

    leshaulH7586 →402 times

  • וַיֵּ֤לֶךְand he went

    vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times

  • שָׁאוּל֙Saul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בֵּית֔וֹhouse his

    beitoH1004 →2046 times

  • וְדָוִד֙and David

    vedavidH1732 →999 times

  • וַֽאֲנָשָׁ֔יוand men his

    vaanashavH582 →566 times

  • עָל֖וּthey went up

    ʾaluH5927 →890 times

  • עַל־to

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַמְּצוּדָֽה׃ פthe stronghold

    hametzudahH4686 →21 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 23:29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.5 worksMatthew 10:16–17Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.3 worksJohn 2:24But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.3 worksProverbs 26:24–25A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.2 works1 Chronicles 12:8Some Gadites defected to David at his stronghold in the desert. They were mighty men of valor, trained for battle, experts with the shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were as swift as gazelles on the mountains:2 works2 Samuel 19:39So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned home.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 23:14At that time David was in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was at Bethlehem.2 works1 Samuel 26:25Saul said to him, “May you be blessed, David my son. You will accomplish great things and will surely prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    John 2:24

    But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew them all.

    it leads to

    • John 6:64

      However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)

    • Matthew 9:4

      But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?

    • Hebrews 4:13

      Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

    • Acts 1:24

      And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

    • 1 Chronicles 28:9

      As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought.…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 23:29

    And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 20:2

      Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

    • Joshua 15:62

      Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages.

    • Song of Solomon 1:14

      My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.

About 1 Samuel

David Shows Saul How He Spared His Life — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Shows Saul How He Spared His Life — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 24 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 24 →