Outline of Chapter 24:

       v.      23:29     David Hides from Saul in the Wilderness of Engedi

       vv.    1–2        Saul Pursues David in the Wilderness of Engedi

       vv.    3–7        David Cuts the End of Saul’s Robe Surreptitiously in the Cave

       vv.    8–15      David Reasons with Saul

       vv.   16–21      Saul Expresses Personal Regrets for Pursing David and Elicits a Promise from David

       v.      22        David and Saul go their Separate Ways

Charts and Maps:

       v.      4           To Which Verse of Scripture do David’s Men Refer?

       v.      7           1Samuel 24:4–7

I ntroduction: Let’s say that God has promised you fortune and power and let’s say that the only person in your way was a corrupt leader holding the office that God had promised you. What would you do? Most would try to take that man down in any way possible. To them, this would be a no-brainer. God had promised you that office, they are in it, so now you simply need to remove that person and assume their power. David does not do that. In fact, when Saul is put in a completely helpless position before him, David refuses to touch the Lord’s anointed. David will not touch Saul because he has no authorization to do so. Saul is anointed by God to rule over Israel. Therefore, David has no right to remove him from this position.

A brief summary of this chapter: David spares Saul’s life when he finds him defecating in a cave. Saul suffers remorse over his actions. Now, for a little more detail: Saul had pursued David and was about to catch him when he heard of a Philistine attack against Israel. So he takes his soldiers to fight the Philistines while David relocates his men in the strongholds of Engedi. Later, apparently after having dealt with the Philistines menace, Saul took 3000 of his men to find David again (David, recall, has 600 men). When Saul comes to a cave, he goes into the cave to defecate (or to sleep), but it turns out that David is in there with his men. David’s men tell him that Saul has been delivered into his hand and it is obvious that God has given Saul over to David to be killed. David disagrees, telling his men that Saul is God’s anointed, and therefore, they cannot simply kill him. What David does, however, partially to appease his men, is to cut off the end of Saul’s royal robe with a sharp knife. After Saul exits the cave and walks far enough away, David calls out to him and holds up the piece of robe. Saul realizes that David could have easily killed him. David tells him he did not because he is God’s anointed; and says this proves his innocence. Saul publically confesses that he is wrong, that David is righteous, and he is not; and that David will ascend to his throne. Then he asks for David to promise not to kill him or his sons, a promise that David gives (and had already given to Jonathan).

Note: Because of the similarities between 1Sam. 24 and 26, many scholars have claimed that this is the same incident recorded from two different perspectives; or coming down via two separate traditions. In fact, Gnana Robinson generously informs us that this is the conclusion of most scholars. However, there are sufficient differences between the two incidents and a reason why David was tested again with a similar test, even though he passed the first test of this chapter (with one minor problem). Without going into detail, suffice it to say at this time that these are two separate incidents.

David Hides from Saul in the Wilderness of Engedi

As mentioned in the previous chapter, 1Sam. 23:29 is actually 1Sam. 24:1 in the Hebrew. It also fits better in chapter 24, which is why I am including it here.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so goes up David from there and he lives in strongholds of Engedi.

Peshitta                                 And David went up from there and dwelt in Mizroth, which is in Gibaoth. [This is the final verse of 1Sam. 23 in the Peshitta].

The Septuagint                      And David rose up from there and lived in the narrow passes of Engaddi. [This is the first verse of 1Sam. 24 in the LXX].

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David left and went to live in the hideouts at En-Gedi.

NLT                                        David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         From there David went to stay in the fortified camps of En Gedi.

JPS (Tanakh)                        David went from there and stayed in the wildernesses of En-gedi. [This is the first verse of 1Sam. 24 in the Tanakh].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

Young's Updated LT              And David goes up from there, and abides in fortresses at En-gedi.

What is the gist of this verse? David leaves his place in the wilderness of Maon and travels to the summits of Engedi.

Translation: Then David went up from there... In the previous chapter, Saul and his army had almost caught up to David and they were called away because of an invasion of the Philistines. David and his army were in the wilderness of Maon and they were on a mountain with Saul’s army approach from both sides.

Translation: ...and lived in the strongholds [or, summits] of Engedi. This obviously gives us the location of David’s next hideout. What we have here is actually a mountain range west of the middle section of the Dead Sea. Engedi refers to a spring and several connected streams which come from beneath the limestone cliffs off the central western shore of the Dead Sea. These streams reach a temperature of 80° F and the area is almost due east of Hebron (another city often associated with Abraham, Caleb, and David—particularly in the first few chapters of 2Samuel). The mountains of Engedi form a backwards L-shaped range with the city of Engedi being at the northernmost section. This city and/or area is mentioned rarely in Scripture. It was given over to the tribe of Judah in Joshua 15:62. It is mentioned here in relation to David. Then we won’t hear anything about this city until the time of Jehoshaphat (and but one reference—2Chron. 20:2). There are also briefs mentions of Engedi in SOS 1:14 and Ezek. 47:10. The latter will be a Millennial reference. According to ZPEB, there has never been a very large population in that area, due to the overwhelming heat of the Dead Sea valley (and certainly due to the lack of any sort of life in the Dead Sea). They estimate the population to be around 1000 during New Testament times.

Keil and Delitzsch give us a nice description of this general area: While Saul had gone against the Philistines, David left this dangerous place, and went to the mountain heights of Engedi, i.e., the present Ain-jidy (goat-fountain), in the middle of the western coast of the Dead Sea (see Joshua 15:62), which he could reach from Maon in six or seven hours. The soil of the neighbourhood consists entirely of limestone; but the rocks contain a considerable admixture of chalk and flint. Round about there rise bare conical mountains, and even ridges of from two to four hundred feet in height, which mostly run down to the sea. The steep mountains are intersected by wadys running down in deep ravines to the sea. “On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might then serve as lurking-places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day” (Rob. Pal. p. 203).

Edersheim gives us an even better description of Engedi: En-gedi, “the fountain of the goat,” leaping down a considerable height in a thin cascade, converts that desert into the most lovely oasis. In this plain, or rather slope, about one mile and a half from north to south, at the foot of abrupt limestone mountains, sheltered from every storm, in climate the most glorious conceivable, the city of En-gedi has stood, or, as it used to be called, Hazazon Tamar (the Cutting of the Palm-trees), perhaps the oldest place in the world (2Chron. 20:2). Through this town (Gen. 16:7) the hordes of Chedorlaomer had passed; unchanged it had witnessed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which must have been clearly visible from the heights above, where the eye can sweep the whole district far up the Jordan valley, and across the Dead Sea to the mountains of Moab. Quite close to the waters of that sea, on which the edoom of judgment has ever since rested, a scene of tropical beauty and wealth stretched, such as it is scarely possible to describe. Bounded by two perennial streams, between which the En-gedi itself makes its way, it must of old have been a little paradise; the plain covered with palm-trees, the slopes up the mountains with the choicest vineyards of Judæa, scented with camphire (Sol. Song 1:14). But all above was “wilderness,” bare round limestone hills rising from two hundred to four hundred feet, burrowed by numberless caves, to which the entrance is sometimes almost inaccessible. These were “the rocks of the wild goats,” and here was the cave—perhaps that of Wady Charitun, which is said to have once given shelter to no less than thirty thousand men—where David sought safety from the pursuit of the king of Israel.

Saul Pursues David in the Wilderness of Engedi

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he is when returned Saul from after Philistines and so they made known to him to say, “Behold, David [is] in a wilderness of Engedi.”

Peshitta                                 And it came to pass when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines that hit was told him, saying, “Behold, David is in Mizroth, which is in Gibaoth.”

Septuagint                             And it came to pass when Saul returned to pursuing after the Philistines, that is was reported to him, saying, “David [is] in the wilderness of Engaddi.”

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       When Saul got back from fighting off the Philistines, he heard that David was in the desert around En-Gedi.

NLT                                        After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         When Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, he was told “Now David is in the desert near En Gedi.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now it came about when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.”

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass when Saul has turned back from [pursuing] after the Philistines, that they declare to him, saying, “Lo, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”

What is the gist of this verse? Saul completed his mission against the Philistines. When he returned (probably to his home town of Gibeah), he was told that David was in the wilderness of Engedi.

Translation: And is was just as Saul returned from [pursuing] after the Philistines... Saul was almost ready to envelop David with his superior forces, when he was told that the Philistines had invaded Israel. We don’t know where into Israel they had come, but Saul was required to leave immediately in order to protect Israel, so just missed running into David. Here, we are told that Saul had been pursuing the Philistines, which means that with his already assembled forces, he was not only able to repel the Philistines, but he pursued them, probably into Philistine territory.

Translation: ...that they made know to him that [lit., saying], “Listen, David [is] in the wilderness of Engedi.” Saul’s staff now had sent out feelers throughout Israel. Doeg the Edomite, a foreigner, had received, apparently, some preferential treatment, as he helped lead Saul to David. The rest of his men were influenced enough to make certain that if David could be tracked, that they did so. Here, to verb to tell, to make known is in the masculine plural, meaning that Saul didn’t just get one hot tip. Several men told him where David was (note the plural verb). Recall that David has been fairly active as of late, repelling Philistines and saving cities and groups of people, so it is almost common knowledge as to where he is.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so takes Saul a trio of a thousand a man chosen from all Israel. And so he goes from a seeking of David and his men upon faces of a cliffs of the wild goat.

Peshitta                                 Then Saul took 3000 chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the mountains of the wild goats.

Septuagint                             And he took with him 3000 men chosen out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of Saddæem.

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                        Saul led three thousand of Israel's best soldiers out to look for David and his men near Wild Goat Rocks at En-Gedi.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Then Saul took 3,000 of the best-trained men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

Young's Updated LT              And Saul takes three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and goes to seek David and his men, on the front of the rocks of the wild goats, ...

What is the gist of this verse? Saul took a moderately streamlined force of men from Israel to pursue David. At this point in time, David was in front of the cliffs of the wild goats.

Translation: Saul then took 3000 chosen men from all Israel... Saul probably had access to a great many more men. He instead chose to take a relatively small force which could move more quickly. Obviously, compared to David’s men, this was a large number of men. However, Saul wanted to (1) clearly outnumber David and yet (2) not have too large of a force to move efficiently.

Translation: ...and he went to seek [lit., on account of a seeking of] David and his men... I am a bit confused as to the use of the min preposition here as over against the lâmed preposition. The latter seems to make the most sense by far. The min preposition makes it appear as Saul is ceasing from seeking David.

Translation: ...in front of the cliffs of the mountain goat. We do not know for certain where this place is. It is likely a particular set of cliffs in the wilderness of Engedi.

Keil and Delitzsch: The expression “rocks of the wild goats” is probably not a proper name for some particular rocks, but a general term applied to the rocks of that locality on account of the number of wild goats and chamois that were to be found in all that region, as mountain goats are still (Rob. Pal. ii. p. 204. This sort of helps to set our scene, with Saul and his rage, as Jamieson tells us: Nothing but the blind infatuation of fiendish rage could have led the king to pursue his outlawed son-in-law among those craggy and perpendicular precipices, where were inaccessible hiding places. The large force he took with him seemed to give him every prospect of success. But the overruling providence of God frustrated all his vigilance.

David Cuts the End of Saul's Robe Surreptitiously in the Cave

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he comes in unto an enclosure of the flock upon the way and there [is] a cave. And so goes in Saul to a covering of his feet (and David and his men in a sides of the cave are sitting).

Peshitta                                 And he came to the sheepfolds on the way where there was a cave; and Saul went into the cave and lay down there; and David and his men were staying on the slope of the cave.

Septuagint                             And he came to the flocks of sheep that were by the way, and there was a cave there; and Saul went in to make preparation, and David and his men were sitting in the inner part of the cave.

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       There were some sheep pens along the side of the road, and one of them was built around the entrance to a cave. Saul went into the cave to relieve himself. David and his men were hiding at the back of the cave.

REB                                       There beside the road were some sheepfolds, and nearby was a cave, in the inner recesses of which David and his men were concealed, Saul came to the cave and went in to relieve himself.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         He came to some sheep pens along the road where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself while David and his men were sitting further back in the cave.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And he came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve [lit., cover his feet] himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.

Young's Updated LT              ...and he comes in unto folds of the flock, on the way, and there is a cave, and Saul goes in to cover his feet; and David and his men in the sides of the cave are abiding.

What is the gist of this verse? Saul chooses to take a dump (or a nap) where David just happens to be hiding with his own men.

Translation: So he came to a sheep enclosure... This merely sets the scene. There is a sheepfold or a livestock holding area which is fenced in, open above; and that is what Saul comes to here. We cannot tell from the narrative whether we are in a valley, or whether we are still on the steep hills and cliffs right here. There must have been some flat land around, as well as a trail, since we have a sheepfold here.

What some suggest is, the cave was a good place to bring the sheep to get them out of the hot sun in the midday; I don’t know about this, as it seems it would be easy for them to wander and get lost.

Translation: ...and along the way there [was] a cave. Nearby, or perhaps even within this pen, is a cave. Saul has been on the road for awhile and he needs to defecate. He cannot simply go off into a field, because he is unprotected there. And no one wants an armed guard just standing there while you are doing your business. The cave was perfect, as Saul’s soldiers could stand outside as guards, to protect him while he is at his most vulnerable.

Keil and Delitzsch: V. de Velde (R. ii. p. 74) supposes the place, where the sheep-folds by the roadside were, to have been the Wady Chareitun, on the south-west of the Frank mountain, and to the north-east of Tekoah, a very desolate and inaccessible valley. “Rocky, precipitous walls, which rise up one above another for many hundred feet, form the sides of this defile. Stone upon stone, and cliff above cliff, without any sign of being habitable, or of being capable of affording even a halting-place to anything but wild goats.” Near the ruins of the village of Chareitun, hardly five minutes' walk to the east, there is a large cave or chamber in the rock, with a very narrow entrance entirely concealed by stones, and with many side vaults in which the deepest darkness reigns, at least to any one who has just entered the limestone vaults from the dazzling light of day. It may be argued in favour of the conjecture that this is the cave which Saul entered, and at the back of which David and his men were concealed, that this cave is on the road from Bethlehem to Ain-jidy, and one of the largest caves in that district, if not the largest of all, and that, according to Pococke (Beschr. des Morgenl. ii. p. 61), the Franks call it a labyrinth, the Arabs Elmaama, i.e., hiding-place, whilst the latter relate how at one time thirty thousand people hid themselves in it “to escape an evil wind,” in all probability the simoom. The only difficulty connected with this supposition is the distance from Ain-jidy, namely about four or five German miles (fifteen or twenty English), and the nearness of Tekoah, according to which it belongs to the desert of Tekoah rather than to that of Engedi. Whether this is the cave or not, the descriptions here give us a good feel for the kind of area where Saul and David were.

Clarke quotes Dr. Pococke: Dr. Pococke observes: “Beyond the valley (of Tekoa) there is a very large grotto, which the Arabs call El Maamah, a hiding place; the high rocks on each side of the valley are almost perpendicular, and the way to the grotto is by a terrace formed in the rock, which is very narrow. There are two entrances into it; we went by the farthest, which leads by a narrow passage into a large grotto, the rock being supported by great natural pillars; the top of it rises in several parts like domes; the grotto is perfectly dry. There is a tradition that the people of the country, to the number of thirty thousand, retired into this grotto to avoid a bad air. This place is so strong that one would imagine it to be one of the strong holds of En-gedi, to which David and his men fled from Saul; and possibly it may be that very cave in which he cut off Saul’s skirt, for David and his men might with great ease lie hid there and not be seen by him.”

Translation: So Saul went in to cover his feet,... This is a euphemism which means that Saul is defecating. In order to do this, his robe has to hang down over his feet (we find the same expression in Judges 3:24). Therefore, Saul is in an extremely vulnerably position. This is why Saul chose to go into a cave; this gave him privacy and protection (or so he thought). As mentioned, this could also refer to Saul going into the cave to sleep. This also puts him in a vulnerable position and makes David’s next action more reasonable. The only problem with this interpretation is, as Keil and Delitzsch suggest, why have a euphemism for it? Why not simply say, Saul is going into the cave to lie down or to sleep?

Clarke makes a big deal out of Saul going into this cave, but not suspecting that David may have been there. The Rabbis of old have also questioned this. The Rabbinical tradition is that a spider put up his web at the front of the cave, so Saul assumed that it was safe to go in because of this spider. You may be thinking, with 600 men, there are going to be a lot of footprints and disturbances along this trail. No, not exactly. First of all, David does not want to be easily tracked, so he and his men are not going to accidentally leave an easy trail behind which can be tracked. Second of all, there is a sheepfold there; that means that sheep have been in this general vicinity. Therefore, when Saul sees that someone has been in this general area, he will assume that it is sheep. The problem, albeit minor, is solved simply by paying attention to the context.

Translation: ...while [lit., and] David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave. What Saul does not know (nor do his troops), is that David chose this very same cave to hide in. Obviously, we are talking a very large cave with hidden recesses. David and apparently 400 men are with him in this cave.

Gill tells us that David and his 600 men are...unseen and unobserved by Saul, even six hundred of them; nor need this seem strange, since in those parts of the world there were caves exceeding large, made so either by nature or art. Vansleb ^(b) speaks of a cave in Egypt so extraordinary large, that, without hyperbole, a thousand horses might there draw up in battle array, and of another larger than that; and Strabo says ^(c), that towards Arabia and Iturea are mountains difficult to be passed, and in which are deep caves, one of which would hold four thousand men: and as the mouths of these caves were generally narrow, and the further parts of them large, and also dark, persons at the entrance of them could be seen, when those in the more remote parts could not; and this cave is said to be extremely dark ^(d); which accounts for Saul's being seen when he came into the cave, whereas David and his men could not be seen by him.

The situation is simple, really. David and his men are in the recesses of the cave. There is always a guard or two posted out in front and inside near the cave’s entrance; so there is no difficulty in spotting Saul and his 3000 men, or observing Saul’s entrance into the cave. Also, we do not have 600 men inside the cave shuffling around; most of them are in the recesses of the cave to begin with.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so say men of David unto him, “Behold the day which had said Y^ehowah unto you, ‘Behold I am giving your enemies in your hand and you have done to him as which is good in your [two] eyes.’ ” And so arises David and so he cuts off an extremity of a robe which [is] to Saul in the surreptitiousness.

Peshitta                                 And the men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hands, that you may do to him as seems good in your sight.’ ” then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe stealthily.

Septuagint                             And the men of David said to him, “Behold, this pis[ the day of which the Lord spoke to you, that He would deliver your enemy into your hands. And you will do to him as [is] good in your sight.” So David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s garment secretly.

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       They whispered to David, “The Lord told you he was going to let you defeat your enemies and do whatever you want with them. This must be the day the Lord was talking about.” David sneaked over and cut off a small piece of Saul's robe, but Saul didn't notice a thing.

NLT                                        “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today is the day the Lord was talking about when he said, ‘I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept forward and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         David's men told him, “Today is the day the Lord referred to when he said, ‘I'm going to hand your enemy over to you. You will do to him whatever you think is right.’ ” David quietly got up and cut off the border of Saul's robe.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Updated Emphasized Bible   So David’s men said to him, —

Lo! The day of which Yahweh said to you—

Lo! I am about to deliver up your enemy into your hand;

therefore, you will do to him as is good in your eyes.

And David arose and cut off the corner [MT: wing] of the robe which belonged to Saul sureptitiously.

NASB                                     And the men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you [lit., in your eyes].’ ” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly.

Young's Updated LT              And the men of David say unto him, “Lo, the day of which Jehovah said unto you, ‘Lo, I am giving your enemy into your hand, and you have done to him as it is good in your eyes;’ ” and David rises and cuts off the skirt of the upper robe which is on Saul—gently.

What is the gist of this verse? David and his men now found themselves in the same cave as Saul, who was in a very vulnerable position. David’s soldiers encourage him to take action, as Saul is essentially at his mercy, and they distort God’s Word in this matter. David does cut off a piece of Saul’s robe.

I should tell you at this point, I have read many commentaries on this verse, and not one of them really rang true to me. They all seemed close, but still inaccurate. David’s aides here are going to sound as if they are quoting Scripture; however, David really is not named in an existing Scripture; in fact, all we have are some of David’s psalms at this point. Therefore, the key to this verse is not going to be Samuel’s anointing of David; nor will it be David’s private conversations with Jonathan; but the key will be whatever David has already written to which his men have attributed divine authority. First, let us exegete this verse:

Translation: The men of David then said to him, “Listen, [this is] the day that Y^ehowah spoke [of] to you,... First of all, recall that David’s men are a little raw. These were former criminals, outcasts and debtors. David has begun to whip them into shape; however, they express a certain enthusiasm for action in appropriately. These men are well aware of David’s destiny to become king over Israel. The topic of David vs. Saul had become the hot topic of Israel since David was forced to become estranged from Saul. Many of the men joined up with David partially as a revolutionary act. They have spent the past month or so running from Saul and hiding. When they risked their lives on behalf of others, there was no remuneration, only betrayal. So, now, they are all in the same cave as Saul. Saul does not know that they are there. He has taken off his robe and he is in a further recess defecating, in a completely helpless position. Now, these men make application (or try to) of God’s promise. God promised David the kingdom of Israel—well, now obviously (obviously in their eyes), this is the day that this promise comes to fruition. “God promised you the kingship over Israel? Well, David, sir, today is that day!”

Translation: ...[when He said], ‘Look, I have given your enemies into your hand;... Let’s first of all deal with the masculine plural, Qal active participle enemies. As you see in Rotherham’s footnotes, whether or not this is a plural is questioned. In my version of the Septuagint, it is in the singular. It is easy to see why after the fact, one would want to change this into the singular, as we are only speaking of one man, Saul. However, it is less likely for a later scribe to slip up and change the singular into a plural. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume this is a plural. This may help us to determine to what David’s men were referring.

The NIV Study Bible suggests, at this point, that there was no Scripture in existence that these men were quoting and that they were either making this application from the fact that David had been anointed (something which was apparently known by some—Abigail will know about it in the next chapter—1Sam. 25:30); or they derived this from David’s conversations with Jonathan where Jonathan gave him assurances that Saul would not kill him (1Sam. 20:14–15 23:17). The problem with the second suggestion is that these men are not going to know about David’s private conversations with Jonathan and the general problem with both of these suggestions is that they do not match what the men say to David. “This is the day that Jehovah spoke of to you: ‘Listen, I am about to give your enemies into your hand’ and you will do to him as you choose.” Sure, these men may have the interpretation all wrong, but they are referring here to something which God said to David, and it is pretty specific. Therefore, we cannot agree with the NIV notes.

These men are quoting Scripture. God did promise that He would make David king over Israel. However, that does not appear to be the reference that David’s men are making. We don’t know what psalms David had written exactly, except for a handful of them. Possibly David had already penned and presented The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1).

Psalm 27 is also a good candidate for David’s men to be quoting from). However, given David’s particular stage of spiritual growth, Psalm 27 is better placed after 1Sam. 25 or 26. This could also be a reference back to Psalm 54:7, which reads: Your name rescues me from every trouble. My eyes will gloat over my enemies. We have just covered that, but it seems to not be an exact application (however, remember, these are David’s men who may not correctly apply doctrine). This could also be a reference to Psalm 9:6 13:1–6 21:8 31:15 41:11 61:3 68:1, 21, 23; the problem is, these psalms are dedicated to the choir director or overseer. This could also be a reference to Psalm 18:3, 17, 37, 40, 48; but this psalm seems to be written after the fact (i.e., after Saul had died and David was made king).

Although I believe that these men were referring to Psalm 110:1, it really doesn’t matter to which psalm or words to which they refer, recorded or not, as they are misinterpreting them. David cannot kill God’s anointed, nor is he allowed to avenge himself. David already knows the former, which he will reveal in this chapter; and he will learn the latter in the next chapter. His men, on the other hand, do not know enough doctrine to come in out of the rain, but they knew enough to be dangerous. God had promised David protection, deliverance and the rulership over Israel; these men misinterpreted that to mean that today was the day to kill Saul. They also knew that there was something about David triumphing over his enemies or having his enemies delivered into his hand. So, when Saul is helpless before David, and easy prey, then David’s men assume that God has delivered Saul into David’s hand. Saul was without any sort of protection. “Saul is your enemy and he is defecating over there without so much as a guard. Kill him and take the kingdom that God promised” is their sentiment.

Application: The non-Biblical statement, God helps those who help themselves is inaccurate in many of its applications. Whereas, the opportunist would take advantage of this situation and kill Saul, such action is wrong for a number of different reasons. The biggest problem is that Saul is the king by divine appointment. When God wants Saul removed, God will remove him. There is no authorization for David to murder Saul.

Application: This does not mean that you go and sit on a park bench and wait for God to do everything for you. That is another misapplication. If you need a job, you do not find one by sitting on a park bench, awaiting the perfect employer to walk by and hire you. You go out and you hustle up a job. The deal is, you do not just take one verse or one application and apply it to all circumstances.

Application: You cannot just learn one or two verses and practice the hell of those verses. That is not how God’s Word works. When you just hold to a smattering of verses, you often end up with a corrupt theology. Christian Science is a perfect illustration of this; so are the various holy roller cults (the charismatics). Christian science took the healing that Jesus did and completely misunderstood it. The holy roller cults took one verse, principally and completely misinterpreted and misapplied it (I Cor. 13:1). Properly interpret that verse or remove it from Scripture, and the holy rollers lose speaking with the tongues of angels altogether, a cornerstone of their doctrine.

Application: If you belong to a cult which emphasizes a handful of verses, and if your doctrine can be severely affected by the removal of one or two verses, then you know you are anti-Biblical. Your chief doctrines cannot rest upon just one or two verses. God did not give us a pamphlet; He gave us the entire Bible. Admittedly, this involves some careful balancing of concepts and precepts, but, if we are functioning on positive volition, then God will provide for us the teaching to guide us.

Finally, note how God trusts David with a decision like this; an action the results of which are clearly observed by his men. God did not trust Saul with the same sort of option: And David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand (1Sam. 23:14).

Translation: ...do to him that which is good in your eyes.’ ” What these men wanted David to do was obvious—they wanted David to kill Saul. Now, they are not going to order David to do something like that. These men are subservient to him. But they are certainly going to make their will known with great respect and deference to David. So, what they say is carefully couched in a language of deference to David. “Here is Saul, your enemy, at your mercy. Do what you think is right.” They hope that David’s thinking is aligned with their own.

This event is certainly an opportunity for David—but not an opportunity to get ahead in life, but an opportunity for testing, for approval, and for teaching. Because David makes the correct choice here, we know that his life went better than it would have, had he simply got his revenge. Although, I don’t want to spend too much time speculating, recall the Saul has several sons, he has the support of many of the Israelites, so that his untimely death could result in a bloody civil war, as opposed to the relatively calm transferral of power which we will observe when the Philistines kill Saul and all his sons. Killing Saul would have altered the history of Israel significantly, and not for the better. This is why God trusts David with such an important decision.

Translation: So David arose... The verb qûwm has two connotations: there is the literal understanding that David gets up out of his chair, or he stands up; or he moves from a prone position to a standing position. However, the verb more connotes taking a stand, about to make a decision, about to take a stand. This verb has as much metaphorical meaning as actual. The idea is that David will now respond to what these men are suggesting to him. Now he is going to spring into action.

Translation: ...and he cut of the end of the robe... We don’t know exactly what is going on here. I first envisioned Saul squatting over and David quietly cutting a portion from his robe that he was wearing. However, Saul probably took off his outer robe and was squatting a short distance away. David does not, therefore, come up to Saul, but he comes up to the robe, fully cognizant of where Saul is. Bear in mind, David probably knows this cave quite well and the cave is probably quite large. He has been in that cave for a great deal of time, so his eyes are completely adjusted to the lack of light. Saul has come out of a bright day and could barely see as he entered into this cave. He simply went to a fairly shallow recess in the cave in order to do his business. David is aware of Saul and his position, and Saul does not have a clue. The other option is that Saul has lain down to take a nap, and the robe is covering him. This would make it very reasonable for David to come up to him and cut off the corner of his robe. In either case, David is close enough to kill Saul and Saul is helpless to do anything against him.

Killing Saul would be the easiest thing that David could do, but he chooses not to. Now you know what this reminds me of? This situation appears to be a parallel to our Lord’s temptations. Recall that the Lord was offered the kingdoms of the earth if he would but fall down and worship Satan (Matt. 4). David here has the kingdom of Israel before him—all he has to do is kill God’s anointed. And this would be very easy to justify—Saul, after all, is a believer who is out of control and his thinking is anything but godly. David’s men support such a move. Saul is attempting to track and to kill David. This is self-defense—no doubt about it! So, just about anyone could rationalize David killing Saul right now and taking the kingdom. The average Christian could rationalize this. But David does not. David is not going to kill God’s anointed, and Saul is God’s anointed. If God wants to take Saul out, find; however, David is not going to take Saul out himself. God has nowhere specifically told David to do that. David is going to err on the side of caution, so to speak (although this is not an error in his judgment). So David knows where Saul is; he can also see the robe, and now he will surreptitiously cut a piece of Saul’s robe.

Translation: ...surreptitiously. These last couple words indicate that David did this with great care. While Saul was defecating (or sleeping), David cut the robe, and he did it so that Saul was not aware of what he did.

You may not recognize what David is doing, but he is attempting to meet his advisors halfway. They want him to kill Saul, and they have misapplied Psalm 110:1 in order to urge him to do this. David knows that this is wrong, but he is not really sure what to do in front of these men. So, rather than kill Saul, and probably without even telling them what he is going to do, David sneaks up on Saul with an extremely sharp knife. David’s aides remain absolutely quiet and allow David to act. More than likely, they cannot see what he is doing. Unsure of what to do, David does not kill Saul, but he surreptitiously cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe. Saul will not notice it until he is yelling distance from David.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he is following so and so strikes a heart of David him upon that had cut off an extremity which [was] to Saul.

Peshitta                                 But afterward David regretted that he had cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe.

Septuagint                             And it came to pass after this that David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off the skirt of his garment.

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Afterwards, David was sorry that he had even done that,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         But afterward, David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the border of Saul's robe.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Updated Emphasized Bible   And it came to pass afterwards that David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off the corner [MT: wing] [LXX, Syriac and the Vulgate add: of the robe] which belonged to Saul.

NASB                                     And it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.

Young's Updated LT              And it comes to pass afterwards that the heart of David strikes him, because that he has cut off the skirt which is on Saul,...

What is the gist of this verse? David is soon thereafter bothered by the fact that he cut off a portion of the king’s robe.

Translation: However [lit., and], it was afterwards that [lit., and, then] David’s heart struck him... David did not kill Saul; David only cut a piece of his robe. He had shown Saul that he could have killed him when he was vulnerable. This as a statement that David made, sort of a compromise between what he knew to be right (he could not kill Saul) and what his men wanted him to do: to kill Saul.

Translation: ...because he had cut off the edge [of the robe] which belonged to Saul. David had a conscience problem, because even though he did not kill Saul, he humiliated Saul by what he had done. He insulted the king. David’s action was inconsistent with the respect due the office of the King of Israel. This would be similar to David defecating on Saul’s robe and leaving it there.

Application: You cannot compromise doctrine. There is no nice midway point between what is right and what others want you to do. David tried to hit this midway point so that he both impressed (or placated) his men, but did not result in Saul’s death. He chose humiliating Saul and Saul’s men. Saul would emerge from the tent with a damaged robe. His royalty was tied to that robe. It didn’t give him super powers, but it is what distinguished him from the crowd. This would be like the president addressing the nation in a torn t-shirt. That’s something that you just don’t do. David recognized after the fact that what he had done, while not as wrong as it could have been (i.e., he did not kill Saul), it was something that he should not have done.

Application: David has made a mistake. He will not fall apart; this is not the end of the world for him. He stumbles here and he picks himself up again. That is what the believer does. Don’t panic if you’ve made a misstep or a mistake. It’s part of the plan.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he says to his men, “Far be it to me from Y^ehowah if I do the word the this to my Adonai, to an anointed of Y^ehowah, to put forth my hand in him, for anointed of Y^ehowah he [is].”

Peshitta                                 And David said to the men who were with him, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, because he is the anointed of the Lord.”

Septuagint                             And David said to his men, “The Lord forbids me that I should do this thing to my lord, the anointed of the Lord, to life my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       ...and he told his men, "Stop talking foolishly. We're not going to attack Saul. He's my king, and I pray that the Lord will keep me from doing anything to harm his chosen king." Saul left the cave and started down the road. [The CEV combines vv. 6–7].

NLT                                        “The Lord knows I shouldn’t have done it,” he said to his men. “It is a serious thing to attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, the Lord’s anointed king, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

Young's Updated LT              ...and he says to his men, “Far be it from me, by Jehovah; I do not do this thing to my lord--to the anointed of Jehovah—to put forth my hand against him, for he is the anointed of Jehovah.”

What is the gist of this verse? David confesses his sin to his men; he tried to compromise and it didn’t work. One simply does not raise his hand against God’s anointed.

Translation: Therefore [lit., then] he said to his men, “It’s wrong for me apart from [or, on account of] Y^ehowah if I do this thing to my lord,... First thing is, when you sin, don’t you confess it to God? Why is David confessing this sin to his men? David is the leader of these men. He has just publically (before his men) committed an act which humiliated the king of Israel. I don’t know if I can come up with a decent analogy, but if we did something to a president that we don’t like that shames him—this is what David did to Saul. His men encouraged David to kill Saul, and David, instead, chose to humiliate him. David realizes that he has compromised what he believes in, he has compromised his own integrity, and he did it in front of his soldiers that he leads. David has got to straighten this out. He has got to tell his men that he is wrong and he needs to teach them why he is wrong. Do you see how David’s leadership skills are improving with each day? Do you see why God places him in this situation? Do you see what God did not put David in as king immediately? If you simply read this book of Samuel without giving it much thought, you do not realize that David is going through various and specific growth stages. He is not ready to be king over all Israel yet; but God is getting him ready.

As a teacher who speaks 5+ hours a day, I am going to inevitably say something wrong. I am going to insult a student, I’m going to make a comment which is not appropriate, or I will say something that I just should not have said with a classroom of adolescents listening. So, although I silently confess this to God, I also apologize to the students as a whole or to an individual student—whichever is appropriate. As one who is leading these adolescents both academically and by personal example, I cannot allow myself to say the wrong thing, and then just go on as if nothing happened. I have to acknowledge it. This is the proper way for me to lead or guide these young people.

Now, interestingly enough, whereas David will confess his wrong to his men, he does not make any such confession to Saul. He will not call out to Saul and say, “Here’s the corner of your robe that I just cut off; I shoudn’t have done it, I know that now. Please accept my forgiveness.” My point being is, you do not necessarily confess your sins to those you have sinned against. As a teacher, I may teach that it is wrong to gossip about someone; however, when I sin and gossip about someone, I don’t call them up on the phone and say, “Hey Charlie Brown, I have been gossiping about you. My bad.” And then hang up. David is not afraid to admit that he has done wrong—he does not want to encourage disrespect for the office of king among his men—but he is also not moved to confess this wrong to Saul, as we will see in the upcoming verses.

Application: It is not always necessary to confess your sins to the person that you have sinned against. In fact, in most cases, this is ill-advised. You have sinned against God, so you confess your sins to God. Once in a great while, you might confess your sins to the person you sinned against—however, I cannot think of an instance right now where you would. Perhaps if you have stolen from someone, and you are going to confess, then also be ready to make a generous restitution at that time. Or don’t confess to them directly but reimburse them anonymously. As you see, even though this is narrative, we learn a lot from what David is doing.

Translation: ...to Y^ehowah’s anointed;... The office of king is something which must be respected, just as the position of president of the United States is a position which must be respected. You may oppose the president who is in power and believe that his party is the essence of evil; however, when introduced to the president, there is a certain decorum and respect that should guide your behavior. Saul is God’s anointed; he is the man that God chose. God has not removed Saul from office so he is still God’s chosen man for the job. When God chooses to remove Saul will signal that there is time for a regime change. However, there is nothing in Scripture which would allow David to militarily oppose Saul. There is nothing in Scripture which would allow David to strike Saul or to take action against Saul. David cannot even take some grassroots action against Saul, to drum up opposition to Saul. You will note that David, throughout these chapters, does not take a political approach. He does not take that which Saul does and put a negative spin on it. Now Saul, on the other hand, is a born politician. He has taken many of the innocuous things that David has done—e.g., his friendship with Jonathan—and has twisted it to mean something that it does not. Saul has made it sound as though David and Jonathan are in league against him and that David caused this rift between Saul and his son. That’s politics.

Translation: ...[that is], to put forth my hand against him,... Saul is God’s anointed; therefore David cannot justify in any way taking a stand against Saul. He is wrong even to choose the lesser of two evils—mildly humiliating Saul as opposed to killing him. David does not have the right to do this. What David is telling his men is, it would have been wrong to have killed Saul; and it was even wrong for him to have

Translation: ...because he [is] Y^ehowah’s anointed.” Again, David points out the key to Saul’s office: he is God’s anointed. God chose Saul to lead Israel and God has not removed Saul. God appointed Saul to this high office and only God could remove him. Therefore, David is not about to even attempt to do what God has not done Himself. There are actually several reasons why David should not harm Saul—he will learned one reason in the next chapter: that David, as God’s man, needs to allow God to exact personal revenge for him.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so divided David his men in the words and he has not given them to stand unto Saul and Saul has stood from the cave and so he goes in the way.

Peshitta                                 So David restrained the men who were with him with these words, and he did not permit them to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way.

Septuagint                             So David persuaded his men by [his] words and he did not allow them to rise up and kill Saul; and Saul arose and went his way.

Significant differences           .

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       [intermingled with the previous verse].

NLT                                        So David sharply rebuke his men and did not let them kill Saul.

After Saul had left the cave and gone on his way,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         So David stopped his men by saying this to them and didn't let them attack Saul. Saul left the cave and went out onto the road.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And David persuaded [lit., tore apart] his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left [lit., from] the cave, and went on his way.

Young's Updated LT              And David subdues his men by words, and has not permitted them to rise against Saul; and Saul has risen from the cave, and goes on the way;...

What is the gist of this verse? David convinced his men not to strike Saul, despite his vulnerability. Saul gets up and leaves the cave.

Translation: David tore apart his men with arguments [lit., words]... We find a very creative use of words in this verse. We first have David dividing or tearing apart his men. What he is doing is presenting several arguments which demolish their point of view. David does not simply tell his men, “This is the way it is. I’m the boss; deal with it.” He makes persuasive arguments which explain why he regrets the action that he took. Saul is God’s anointed, and it is not up to David to question the time frame of Saul’s reign. It is not up to David to remove Saul as king and it is not up to David to attempt to humiliate Saul. Now, David will want to let Saul know that he could have struck him down, but chose not to. David possibly still holds hope that Saul might be reasoned with.

David can definitely still reason with his own men. What he does not want to see is his men tear out after Saul. First of all, David just had the chance to kill Saul and he knew enough not to. He is in charge of these men and he cannot allow them to do the same. If it is wrong for him, it would be wrong for them. So David must dissuade them before they get the idea in their heads that they can chase after Saul. Secondly, there is no telling how many lives would be lost in such an attack. God may also preserve Saul during such an attack, which would result in the deaths of David’s men.

David has a teaching ministry here as well. David, even as the crown prince of Israel, will teach doctrine. David is responsible for a portion of the Old Testament. It is possible that he wrote part of Samuel, or edited portions of it. He wrote about half of the psalms. He will reinstituted the sacrifices, Tent of God services, and the Ark. These things had been separated for a long time (since 1Sam. 7 or before).

Speaking of the psalms, I hope you have recognized in our study just how important David’s teaching through the psalms has been. Not only do they chronicle his growth process (as does this portion of the book of Samuel), but they also present a great deal of doctrine—as long as they are not relegated to devotional literature (this approach often obscures the meaning of the psalms).

Translation: ...and he did not permit [lit., give] them to oppose [lit., to take a stand against] Saul. We will find the verb qûwm used twice in this verse. Qûwm means to take a stand, to stand up, to rise up. It is first used metaphorically here, and then rather crudely in the next portion of this verse (Saul stands up after taking a dump). We also find the frequent verb nâthan (which the KJV gives about 80 some different English translations). With the negative, David is not going to give or to allow his men to oppose (take a stand against) Saul. So David does two things: he gives an explanation as to why his men cannot oppose Saul and his rulership over Israel; and then he does not allow them to oppose Saul. He both approaches this logically and as the man in authority.

So, what this means is, David did not allow his men to speak out against Saul; he did not allow them to be disrespectful toward Saul; he did not allow them to plot Saul’s death. His men, although fugitives from Saul, just like David, had to live with Saul as the ruler of Israel. Again, his reasoning was simple: Saul is the anointed of God—meaning that God chose Saul to be king over Israel—therefore, there is nothing that could be done against Saul. They had to depend upon God to remove Saul from the throne.

Few commentators recognize the importance of David’s teaching ministry here. These 600 men are going to become David’s most trusted aides. When David becomes king, he will need to look to men he can trust. As king, David cannot do everything. He cannot go on every campaign, sit in on every meeting, and plan ever single event. A king must delegate his authority and one characteristic of a good leader is someone who can delegate authority and delegate it properly.

Application: You must be able, as a good leader, to let go of some of the authority which you are entrusted with. The greater the position, the more responsibilities that you must delegate. Furthermore, you must know the proper people to delegate authority to, and it is not always those you like or who like you. You are an idiot if you only trust people who like you or vice versa. Look for those who have great integrity, who have a good worth ethic, whose values are straight. It doesn’t matter if their personality rubs you the wrong way, or if they are quiet, shy and haven’t said two words to you (nor have they brown-nosed you).

At the beginning of the book of 2Samuel, we will run into certain situations where David delegated authority to the wrong person, and wrong decisions were made. Bear in mind that mistakes are inevitable in the devil’s world, so just because someone under you makes a mistake, this does not call for their dismissal (however, in some cases, it will necessitate their execution).

Translation: Saul then arose out from the cave... While David explains briefly to his men what they are not allowed to do and why they are not allowed to do it, Saul finishes his business and stands up. It says, literally, that Saul takes a stand outside the cave. The stand that Saul takes is a lot less ceremonious.

Translation: ...and went on [his] way. Saul then picks up and departs with his men, still in search of David who as within a few feet of him only moments ago. This is typical of Saul, who does not have even a clue.

David Reasons with Saul