Jump to:
I Samuel
Chapter
23
{See
also Psalms 16 for David's Thoughts before this Military Campaign}
1~~
Then they reported to David {nagad - an intelligence report},
saying,
"Behold, the Philistines keep on besieging {the city of} Keilah,
and
they intend to plunder the grain storage bins.
{Note: Keilah was a storage city for grain. The Philistines were of Greek origin and were warriors not farmers. So they stole the reserves of their neighbors but leaving them enough to plant again next year! See also Psalm 16 for David's prayer before this battle.}
2~~Therefore
David enquired of Jehovah/God, saying,
"Shall
I {David} 'leave bivouac and march the troops' {yalak}
and
'attack with the purpose of annihilation ' {nakah}
these
Philistines?
And
Jehovah/God said unto David,
'leave
bivouac and march the troops' {yalak}
and
you have slaughtered/annihilated
{nakah - prophetic present - God's knows this with a certainty}
these
Philistines and you have delivered Keilah.
{Note: Normally David has great intelligence reports. Here the reports are mixed so he needs God's direct assistance in determining what to do next. God's omniscience knows the results before hand and relays this information to David.}
{Human
Viewpoint of David's Green Troops}
3~~And
David's men said unto him,
"Behold,
we here in Judah are frightened.
How
much more {will we be afraid} then if we come to Keilah
against
the armies of the Philistines?
{Note: David's men had been in the relative security of caves of Adullam. David had them leave the caves and come into Judea. This scared the men and they are saying if we have to go deeper into Judea and fight against a larger army of Philistines . . . that scared these untested troops.}
4~~Then
David was caused to enquire of Jehovah/God, once again.
And
Jehovah/God answered him and said,
"Get
up and go down to Keilah {which is in the plains}.
For
I will 'gift' {nathan} the Philistines into your hand."
5~~So
David and his men went to Keilah,
and
'fought with and devoured' the Philistines,
and
carried away their cattle
{the Philistines did not get the wheat supplies of the Jews, instead
they lost their own 'supply train' and many also lost their lives!},
and smote them with a great slaughter.
So
David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah
{and David's army is also now combat hardened!}.
{Note: Psalm 16 was authored by David Before this Battle.}
6~~And
it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech
escaped
to David . . . to Keilah,
that
he came down with an ephod in his hand.
{'ephowd - the garment of the high priest - see Exodus 28 for more
on the ephod.}
{Note: The priest city of Nob was massacred and Abiathar was the only survivor. David having the ephod indicated that he was the true ruler of the Land - according to God - and all believers would recognize this fact. His troops increase from 400 to 600 by verse 13.}
{Verses
7-8: What Happened After Saul Slaughtered People of Nob}
7~~And
{G2/Intelligence reports came}
kept
on reporting {nagad - hophal stem} to Saul
that
David was come to Keilah.
And
Saul said, "Elohiym/Godhead has forsaken him {David}
{and
delivered him} into my hand {Saul said this, yes, but in
reversionism, this is really not a true statement}.
For
he is shut in
{cagar - Niphal stem - Saul sees the city of Keilah as David Tomb},
by
entering into a town that has double-gates and double-bars
{means the city can not be opened until morning and during
the night Saul's superior forces can surround David}."
8~~And
Saul mobilized
{idiomatic use of shama` - Piel stem - means to 'hear listen and
obey' and that is what Saul's men did - meaning they mobilized}
all
the people together to war,
to
go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
9~~And
David understood {yada'}
that
Saul secretly plotted 'the evil' {ra'} against him
{David knew Saul plotted his destruction}.
And
he said to Abiathar the priest,
'Put
the ephod on and report
{nagash - Hiphil imperative - means to draw near with the cloak -
and RBT says it means that Abiathar is to be wearing the cloak}.'.
10~~Then
said David, "O Jehovah/God . . .
'Elohiym/Godhead
of Israel
{facing the new high priest Abiathar but looking to heaven},
your
servant {David} has heard again and again
{shama` shama` - very strong to hear, listen and obey}
that
Saul seeks to come to Keilah {not confirmed that Saul has
moved out, just is his plan at this time},
to
besiege and destroy the city . . . on account of me {David}.11~~
Will
the leaders { ba`al} of Keilah
betray/surrender
me {David} up into his {Saul's} hand?
Will
Saul come down, as your servant has heard?
O
Jehovah/God . . . 'Elohiym/Godhead of Israel,
I
beseech You, tell your servant."
And
Jehovah/God said, "He {Saul} will come down
{answering the second question, but not the first yet}."
12~~Then
said {repeating the question} David,
"Will
the leaders { ba`al} of Keilah
betray/surrender
me {David} and my men
into
the hand of Saul?"
And
Jehovah/God said,
"They
will betray/surrender you."
{Saul's
Trap Fails}
13~~Then
David and his men,
which
were about six hundred {two hundred new recruits},
'moved
out'/'separated {from reversionism}
and
departed {to the unknown} out of Keilah,
and
went here and there wherever they could find a place.
And
it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah;
and
he {Saul} declined to chase {David}.
14^^And
David kept on dwelling in prosperity {yashab}
in
the desert in strong holds,
and
kept on dwelling in prosperity {yashab}
in
a mountain {strong hold} in the desert of Ziph.
And
Saul kept on intensely searching for him every day,
but
'Elohiym/Godhead delivered him not into his hand.
15^^And
David kept on seeing
that
Saul was come out to intensively search
'to
kill him' {idiom: literally 'for his soul' (nephesh)}
and
David was in the desert of Ziph
in
a forest/'wooded area' {choresh}.
{Category
III - Friendship Type Love - David and Jonathan}
16~~And
Jonathan {name has become a synonym for 'friend'},
Saul's
son, kept on 'getting up with enthusiasm'
{quwn - a verb of vigor of soul and enthusiasm},
and
kept on going {yalak - the verb of action - he moved out to
help David - a true friend}
to
David into the wooded area {choresh},
and
intensively encouraged him {David} in 'Elohiym/Godhead
{idiom: literally "strengthened his hand in 'Elohiym/Godhead"}.
{Content
of the Encouragement over a Few Days}
17~~And
he {Jonathan} kept on saying unto him {David},
"
'Fear not'/'do not be afraid'
{fear is a special cluster of mental attitude sins}.
the
hand of Saul my father
{Saul's men (fingers) reaching out for David}.
He
shall not 'search out and destroy' you
{the confidence of a SuperGrace believer with divine viewpoint -
Jonathan knows doctrine and His Will toward David - Jonathan is
the crown prince but knows Samuel has anointed David the next
king of Israel}
and
you will be king over Israel
{a SuperGrace believer never fights the plan of God - even it by
doing so he loses something (Jonathan's king-ship)}.
I
{Jonathan} shall occupy the second place to you
{Jonathan says he will be David's Chief of Staff - David's loyal
subordinate - Principal: no one is inferior because he is subordinate!
That is 'human viewpoint'!}
and
that also Saul my father keeps knowing
{that David will be the next king per God's will}."
{Note: If Jonathan had lived, David would have had a very loyal Chief of Staff, but Jonathan sides with his reversionistic father Saul - and shares his father's fate - death in battle.}
{Confirmation
of Jonathan's Appointment as Chief of Staff}
18~~And
they two cut/made a contract
{confirmation of their agreement - but Jonathan will die before this
is fulfilled see II Samuel 1:23 for his death at Gilboa}
before
Jehovah/God and David dwelled in prosperity in the forest,
and
Jonathan went to his castle.
{Another
Group of Betraying Reversionists - Trying to Get Ahead using Treachery}
19~~Then
kept on coming up the Ziphites
{Ziph is a city built on a 'Table Mountain' (with a flat plateau)}
to
Saul to Gibeah {Saul's home town},
saying
{the betrayal},
"Is
not David himself hiding with us
in
'strong holds'/'natural fortifications'
in
the forest, in the hill of Hachilah,
which
is on the south of Jeshimon?"
{this
is high dessert county west of the Dead Sea - terrain is similar
to Tucson Az}
{Note: The Ziphites live on a mountain with a mountain view of the surrounding area. They watch the activities of David and now are betraying David to Saul. The Ziphites are from the tribe of Judah - the same as David so David in error assumes their loyalty.}
20~~"And,
now therefore,
according
to all the desire of your soul
O
king {Saul} to come down {lower hills in high dessert country},
come
down {an invitation to catch David}
and
our part . . . to surrender him into the king's hand."
21^^And
Saul kept saying
{gushing over the traitors - reversionists relish in other
reversionists},
"Being
blessed . . . of Jehovah/God
{one of the last things to go in a reversionist is his vocabulary -
a reversionist uses the Lord instead of God using Saul for good}.
For
you have had pity on me
{all reversionists feel sorry for themselves from time to time - self-
pity can become the basis of pseudo-relationships}."
{Verses
22-23: Saul's Orders to the Traitorous Ziphites}
22~~"Go
now
{an order - the traitors make themselves slaves of Saul},
confirm,
and
'make a reconnaissance'.
'Send
out a patrol'/reconnoiter
the
place where his tracks are located
and
who has seen him there.
For
it is told me that he {David} is extremely cunning
{Saul is the one who really is cunning - so Saul is transferring his
own standards of being sly. Cunning. and tricky upon David here}.
{Saul
has Great Confidence of the Treachery of the Ziphites - takes one to
know one this time}
23~~"Reconnoiter
therefore,
and
make an intelligence report
of
all the hideouts
where
he {David} conceals himself.
Then
return to be - being prepared -
and
I {Saul} will go with you.
And
it shall come to pass,
if
he be in the land,
that
I {Saul} will search him out
among
all the thousands of Judah."
{Note: Now Saul has great confidence of the treachery of the Ziphites, again super-imposing his own character traits on them! This will allow David to escape.}
24^~And
they {the Ziphites} arose {left King Saul},
and
departed to Ziph
ahead
of Saul {and his 'flying column'/army of course}.
But
David and his men were
in
the desert of Maon {3 or 4 miles south of Ziph},
in
the plain on the south of Jeshimon
{we would call this 'the bad lands', brush, broken limestone, and
sand}.
{Note: David also had a view of the land. He saw the suspicious activities and he moved out into the desert.}
25~~Saul
also and his men departed
to
'search and destroy' him {David}.
And
they told {patrols file an intelligence report} David.
Therefore
he {David} came down into a rock,
and
abode in the desert of Maon {where he can watch Saul}.
And
when Saul heard that {Saul's patrol report intelligence also},
he
kept on pursuing after David
{really chasing after David's patrols here}
on
the wilderness of Maon {bottom part of the hill}.
{Note: The military plan per RBT was that Saul had sent men right after David, but sent a flying column of cavalry around the mountain to cut off David (who moved slower with his men, women, children and animals). In the next verse, we see Saul is winning the race.}
{The
Race to the Pass is On - David is Losing the Race}
26~~And
Saul went on this side of the mountain
{on the east base low on the mountain},
and
David and his men went over that side of the mountain
{on west side - high on the mountain around the peak of the
mountain}.
And
David {men, women and children}
was
hurrying from the face/presence of Saul
while
Saul and his men {no women or children}
kept
encircling David and his army
to
capture them.
{Note: David is on the north side of this mountain. There are two hills with a south pass between them. So Saul's men are trying to travel fast to cut off David's forces and David realizes that he and his people will be trapped if they get there first. So, his group heads over the mountain trying to get out of the potential trap. If he loses the race or even ties, then Saul's forces are likely to annihilate them. Here is where RBT says David prayed the prayer of deliverance of Psalm 54.}
{Divine
Intervention Via the Philistines}
27~~But
there came a messenger unto Saul, saying,
"Hurry
up, hurry up, and come.
For
the Philistines have invaded the land."
{Note: Saul is winning the race to the pass, but a courier arrives with bad news.}
28~~Wherefore
Saul immediately turned
from
pursuing after David,
and
went against the Philistines.
Therefore
they called that place
'the
mountain/rock of escape' {Cela` ham-machl@qowth}.
29~~And
David went up from there,
and
dwelt in natural fortifications
{of
the caves on high cliffs} at Engedi.
{Note: David turned and went West - across the desert because no one is pursuing him. He went to the caves of Engedi (near the Dead Sea) for safety.}
|
|
|
|
