1 Samuel 28:23
in 1 Samuel 28Saul refused, saying, “I will not eat.” But his servants joined the woman in urging him, and he heeded their voice. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
KJV
But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 28
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The bed - Rather, “the bench” or divan, such as in the East still runs along the wall, furnished with cushions, for those who sit at meals Est 1:6; Eze 23:41.
This site's exposition
put my life in my hand
on 1 Samuel 28:21-25
The woman who kept the craft Saul's own law had outlawed is the one who feeds him when no one from his own camp is present to do it, and he refuses to eat until his servants join her in persuading him. She kills the fatted calf and bakes it unleavened only for want of time to let bread rise, not for any ceremony, and Matthew Henry recalls that Josephus praised her courtesy toward a stranger who could do nothing for her in return. The chapter ends as it began, in darkness, with Saul and his two men going away that night the way they had come.
This site's exposition
sat on the bed
The bed Saul sits on is the bench or divan that ran along the wall of an eastern house, as Albert Barnes explains. Adam Clarke adds that such couches were where people sat to eat. Saul's rising from the ground is his consent to the meal.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Had he laboured only under a defect of animal spirits, food might have helped him; but, alas! his case was out of the reach of such succours. What are dainty meats to a wounded conscience? As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that sings songs to a heavy heart, so disagreeable and unwelcome.
2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. 3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
), and of no other than such a rational and courteous compulsion are we to understand that in the parable, Compel them to come in, Luke xiv. How forcible are right words, when men are pressed by them to that which is for their own interest!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But he refused, and said, I will not eat,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will not eat - It is no wonder that not only his strength, but also his appetite, had departed from him. And sat upon the bed - Beds or couches were the common places on which the ancients sat to take their repasts.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְמָאֵ֗ן | vaymaen | and he refused | H3985 → | |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹכַ֔ל | ʾokhal | I will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וַיִּפְרְצוּ־ | vaiyifretzu- | and they urged | H6555 → | 49 times |
| ב֤וֹ | vo | <in> <the> him | ||
| עֲבָדָיו֙ | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֖ע | vaiyishma' | and he listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| לְקֹלָ֑ם | lekolam | to voice their | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיָּ֙קָם֙ | vaiyakom | and he arose | H6965 → | 628 times |
| מֵֽהָאָ֔רֶץ | mehaaretz | from the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמִּטָּֽה׃ | hamitah | the bed | H4296 → | 29 times |
וַיְמָאֵ֗ןand he refused
vaymaenH3985 →
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֹכַ֔לI will eat
ʾokhalH398 →810 times
וַיִּפְרְצוּ־and they urged
vaiyifretzu-H6555 →49 times
ב֤וֹ<in> <the> him
vo
עֲבָדָיו֙servants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
וַיִּשְׁמַ֖עand he listened
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
לְקֹלָ֑םto voice their
lekolamH6963 →506 times
וַיָּ֙קָם֙and he arose
vaiyakomH6965 →628 times
מֵֽהָאָ֔רֶץfrom the ground
mehaaretzH776 →2504 times
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁבand he sat
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמִּטָּֽה׃the bed
hamitahH4296 →29 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
Acts 16:15And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
it leads to
- Genesis 19:3
But Lot insisted so strongly that they followed him into his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 11:14
He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
- Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Acts 16:33
At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
- Luke 24:29
But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.
- Genesis 19:3
Through
Proverbs 25:20Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
it leads to
- Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Ecclesiastes 3:4
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- Romans 12:15
Through
2 Kings 5:13Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you,…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 6:21
And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- 2 Kings 6:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.