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1 Samuel 26:1

in 1 Samuel 26

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?

KJV

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?

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This verse in 1 Samuel 26

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The incident related in this chapter of the meeting between Saul and David bears a strong general resemblance to that recorded in 1 Sam. 24, and is of a nature unlikely to have occurred more than once. Existing discrepancies are explained by the supposition that one narrative relates fully some incidents on which the other is silent. On the whole the most probable conclusion is that the two narratives relate to one and the same event.

This site's exposition

the hill of Hachilah

on 1 Samuel 26:1-2

The Ziphites bring Saul the same report in nearly the same words they used at 23:19, naming the same hill of Hachilah where they had already betrayed David once. Saul again musters three thousand chosen men, the same number he led into the wilderness of Engedi in the previous chapter. The repetition marks David's exile as a settled pattern: no hiding place stays hidden long, and no relenting of Saul's outlasts the next report.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

17 ), and would not have given David this fresh trouble, if the Ziphites had not put him on. See what need we have to pray to God that, since we have so much of the tinder of corruption in our own hearts, the sparks of temptation may be kept far from us, lest, if they come together, we be set on fire of hell.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Ziphites came - This is the second time that these enemies of David endeavored to throw him into the hands of Saul. See 1Sa 23:19.

The words behind it

14 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.

  • וַיָּבֹ֤אוּand they went

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • הַזִּפִים֙the Ziphites

    hazifimH2130 →

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • הַגִּבְעָ֖תָה<the> Gibeah towards

    hagivatahH1390 →45 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • הֲל֨וֹא¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • דָוִ֤ד[is] David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • מִסְתַּתֵּר֙hiding himself

    mistaterH5641 →80 times

  • בְּגִבְעַ֣תon [the] hill of

    begivatH1389 →68 times

  • הַחֲכִילָ֔ה<the> Hakilah

    hachakhilahH2444 →3 times

  • עַ֖לon

    ʾalH5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַיְשִׁימֹֽן׃<the> Jeshimon

    hayshimonH3452 →13 times

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

Related verses

9 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 23:19Then 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?7 worksPsalms 54:1Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might!7 worksHebrews 11:38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.3 worksJoshua 15:55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,2 worksJoshua 15:24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,2 works1 Samuel 26:3Saul 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,2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 19:19When Saul was told that David was at Naioth in Ramah,2 works1 Chronicles 2:42The sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel: Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph, and Mareshah his second son, who was the father of Hebron.2 works1 Chronicles 28:4Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah He chose my father’s household, and from my father’s sons He was pleased to make me king over all Israel.2 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

    Joshua 15:24

    Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 23:19

      Then 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?

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Samuel 23:14

      And 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.

    • 1 Samuel 23:24

      So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon in the Arabah south of Jeshimon,

  • Through

    1 Samuel 23:19

    Then 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 26:3

      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,

    • Psalms 54:1–7

      Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might!

  • Through

    Joshua 15:55

    Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 23:25

      and Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard of this,…

    • Joshua 15:24

      Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,

    • 1 Samuel 25:2

      Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 26 →

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

Read on in 1 Samuel 26 →