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1 Samuel 26:5

in 1 Samuel 26

Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp, with the troops camped around him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.

KJV

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 26

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

David arose - As David and his men knew the country, they had many advantages over Saul and his men; and no doubt could often watch them without being discovered. Saul lay in the trench - The word במעגל bammaegal, which we translate in the trench, and in the margin in the midst of his carriages, is rendered by some in a ring of carriages, and by others in the circle, i.e., which was formed by his troops. Luther himself translates it wagenburg, a fortress formed of wagons or carriages.

This site's exposition

David abode in the wilderness

on 1 Samuel 26:3-5

David sends spies rather than act on a report alone, then goes himself to see the ground before he decides anything. He finds Saul asleep inside the ring of wagons that formed the camp's night defense, Abner the captain lying at his side, and the whole army pitched around them. The picture sets up the chapter's question: two men lie within reach of each other, and only one of them will ask what he may lawfully do about it.

This site's exposition

lying inside the inner circle of the camp

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown describe the usual camp of that country, a circle of baggage and troops with the chief lying at its center. Saul lay at the point hardest to reach. Adam Clarke notes that David and his men knew the wilderness and could watch the camp unseen.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And David arose and came to the place where Saul was. When the Jews were persecuting Him, the Lord did not leave the province, did not withhold the benefits dispensed, but always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where everyone gathered, and healed …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

10 David said furthermore, As the L ORD liveth, the L ORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. 11 The L ORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the L ORD 's anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:88%@v10-11

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him--Among the nomad people of the East, the encampments are usually made in a circular form. The circumference is lined by the baggage and the men, while the chief's station is in the center, whether he occupy a tent or not.

The words behind it

28 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.

  • וַיָּ֣קָםand he arose

    vaiyakomH6965 →628 times

  • דָּוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וַיָּבֹא֮and he went

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • אֶֽל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַמָּקוֹם֮the place

    hamakomH4725 →401 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • חָנָה־he had encamped

    chanah-H2583 →143 times

  • שָׁ֣םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • שָׁאוּל֒Saul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וַיַּ֣רְאand he saw

    vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times

  • דָּוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַמָּקוֹם֙the place

    hamakomH4725 →401 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • שָֽׁכַב־he lay

    shakhav-H7901 →212 times

  • שָׁ֣םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • שָׁא֔וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וְאַבְנֵ֥רand Abner

    veavnerH74 →63 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • נֵ֖רNer

    nerH5369 →17 times

  • שַׂר־[the] commander of

    sar-H8269 →421 times

  • צְבָא֑וֹarmy his

    tzevaoH6635 →485 times

  • וְשָׁאוּל֙and Saul

    veshaulH7586 →402 times

  • שֹׁכֵ֣ב[was] lying

    shokhevH7901 →212 times

  • בַּמַּעְגָּ֔לin the camp

    bama'galH4570 →16 times

  • וְהָעָ֖םand the people

    vehaamH5971 →1873 times

  • חֹנִ֥ים[was] encamped

    chonimH2583 →143 times

  • סְבִיבֹתָֽיו׃around him

    sevivotovH5439 →336 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 17:55As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”5 works1 Samuel 17:20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.4 works1 Samuel 14:50–51His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of his army was Abner, the son of Saul’s uncle Ner.3 works2 Samuel 3:7–8Meanwhile, Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”2 works2 Samuel 2:8–12Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,2 works2 Samuel 3:33–38And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Chronicles 9:39Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.2 works1 Samuel 9:1Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.2 works2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.2 works

The walk

6 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

    1 Samuel 17:55

    As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,”…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 16:21–22

      When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul admired him greatly, and David became his armor-bearer.

    • 1 Samuel 17:58

      “Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 17:20

    So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out…

    it leads to

    • Luke 19:43

      For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.

    • Ephesians 6:1–2

      Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

    • 1 Samuel 26:7

      That night David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner…

    • 1 Samuel 17:28

      Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…

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; 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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 26 →