1 Samuel 30:8
in 1 Samuel 30and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David inquired of Jehovah, saying, If I pursue after this troop, shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and shalt without fail recover all.
KJV
And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 30
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe answered - Before, God answered more slowly and gradually, chap. xxiii, 11, 12, but now he answers speedily, and fully at once, because the business required haste. So gracious is our God, that he considers even the degree of our necessities, and accommodates himself to them.
This site's exposition
bring me hither the ephod
on 1 Samuel 30:7-8
David calls for the ephod and enquires at the LORD before he moves, the pattern that runs through both books at 23:2, 23:4, 23:9 and on into the next reign. Two chapters back Saul went to Endor because the LORD answered him not when he enquired; here Abiathar brings the ephod and the answer comes at once, pursue and thou shalt surely overtake them. Wesley reads the swiftness of the answer as God meeting a need that could not wait, against the slower word Saul once had at Keilah's gates.
This site's exposition
and David inquired of the LORD
Matthew Henry suspects David had let his inquiring lapse while he lived among the Philistines, and so the ephod is the first thing he calls for. The answer goes past both questions. The LORD promises that David will rescue the captives as well.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Perhaps he was ashamed to own his religion so far among the uncircumcised; but now he begins to apprehend that this trouble is brought upon him to correct him for that oversight, and therefore the first thing he does is to call for the ephod.
And David inquired of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
WE ought to be deeply grateful to God for the Inspired history of the life of His servant, David. It was a great life, a vigorous life, a life spent in many positions and conditions. I almost rejoice that it was not a faultless life, for its failings and errors are instructive. It is the life of a man after God's own heart but still, the life of one who went astray, like a lost sheep and was recovered by the great Shepherd's Divine Grace. By this fact he comes all the nearer to us poor, faulty men and women.
WE ought to be deeply grateful to God for the Inspired history of the life of His servant, David. It was a great life, a vigorous life, a life spent in many positions and conditions. I almost rejoice that it was not a faultless life, for its failings and errors are instructive. It is the life of a man after God's own heart but still, the life of one who went astray, like a lost sheep and was recovered by the great Shepherd's Divine Grace. By this fact he comes all the nearer to us poor, faulty men and women. I would venture to apply to David the description which has been applied to the world's own poet— "A man so various, that He seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome." Each one may find something like himself in the long, eventful and checkered life of the son of Jesse. Among other things we learn this, that where there is faith there is sure to be trial, for David, though he trusted God so heartily, had good need of all the faith he possessed. In his early days he was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains by Saul and was constantly in jeopardy of his life. He had so choice a treasure of faith about him that Satan was forever trying to plunder him of it. Still, the worst trials that David suffered arose not out of his faith, but out of his lack of it. That which he did to avoid trouble brought him into deeper distress than ordinary Providences ever caused him. He left the country where he was so ill at ease, which was, nevertheless, Your land, O Emmanuel, and he went away into the land of the Philistines, there expecting to escape from further turmoil.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁאַ֨ל | vaiyishal | and he enquired | H7592 → | 171 times |
| דָּוִ֤ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בַּֽיהוָה֙ | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶרְדֹּ֛ף | ʾerdof | will I pursue? | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֥י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַגְּדוּד־ | hagedud- | the marauding band | H1416 → | 33 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הַֽאַשִּׂגֶ֑נּוּ | haassigenu | ¿ will I overtake it | H5381 → | 50 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| רְדֹ֔ף | redof | pursue | H7291 → | 143 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַשֵּׂ֥ג | haseg | certainly <to overtake> | H5381 → | 50 times |
| תַּשִּׂ֖יג | tasig | you will overtake [it] | H5381 → | 50 times |
| וְהַצֵּ֥ל | vehatzel | and certainly <to rescue> | H5337 → | 212 times |
| תַּצִּֽיל׃ | tatzil | you will rescue [them] | H5337 → | 212 times |
וַיִּשְׁאַ֨לand he enquired
vaiyishalH7592 →171 times
דָּוִ֤דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בַּֽיהוָה֙by Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אֶרְדֹּ֛ףwill I pursue?
ʾerdofH7291 →143 times
אַחֲרֵ֥יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַגְּדוּד־the marauding band
hagedud-H1416 →33 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הַֽאַשִּׂגֶ֑נּוּ¿ will I overtake it
haassigenuH5381 →50 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
רְדֹ֔ףpursue
redofH7291 →143 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הַשֵּׂ֥גcertainly <to overtake>
hasegH5381 →50 times
תַּשִּׂ֖יגyou will overtake [it]
tasigH5381 →50 times
וְהַצֵּ֥לand certainly <to rescue>
vehatzelH5337 →212 times
תַּצִּֽיל׃you will rescue [them]
tatzilH5337 →212 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
Psalms 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Psalms 138:7
If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
- John 12:26
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Through
1 Samuel 23:2So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 5:23
So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 23:4
Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 2 Samuel 5:23
Through
1 Samuel 30:18So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
it leads to
- Genesis 14:16
He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.
- Genesis 14:16
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1606: “Ziklag—or David Encouraging Himself In God” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.