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1 Samuel 23

BLIVRE · Chapter 23/31

1E deram aviso a Davi, dizendo: Eis que os filisteus combatem a Queila, e roubam as eiras.

2E Davi consultou ao SENHOR, dizendo: Irei a ferir a estes filisteus? E o SENHOR respondeu a Davi: Vai, fere aos filisteus, e livra a Queila.

3Mas os que estavam com Davi lhe disseram: Eis que nós aqui em Judá estamos com medo; quanto mais se formos a Queila contra o exército dos filisteus?

4Então Davi voltou a consultar ao SENHOR. E o SENHOR lhe respondeu, e disse: Levanta-te, desce a Queila, que eu entregarei em tuas mãos aos filisteus.

5Partiu-se, pois Davi com seus homens a Queila, e lutou contra os filisteus, e tomou seus gados, e feriu-os com grande estrago: e livrou Davi aos de Queila.

6E aconteceu que, fugindo Abiatar filho de Aimeleque a Davi a Queila, veio também com ele o éfode.

7E foi dito a Saul que Davi havia vindo a Queila. Então disse Saul: Deus o trouxe a minhas mãos; porque ele está escondido, havendo-se posto em cidade com portas e fechaduras.

8E convocou Saul todo aquele povo à batalha, para descer a Queila, e pôr cerco a Davi e aos seus.

9Mas entendendo Davi que Saul planejava o mal contra ele, disse a Abiatar sacerdote: Traze o éfode.

10E disse Davi: o SENHOR Deus de Israel, teu servo tem entendido que Saul trata de vir contra Queila, a destruir a cidade por causa minha.

11Os vizinhos de Queila me entregarão em suas mãos? Descerá Saul, como teu servo tem ouvido? O SENHOR Deus de Israel, rogo-te que o declares a teu servo. E o SENHOR disse: Sim, descerá.

12Disse logo Davi: Os vizinhos de Queila entregarão a mim e a meus homens em mãos de Saul? E o SENHOR respondeu: Eles te entregarão.

13Davi então se levantou com seus homens, que eram como seiscentos, e sairam de Queila, e foram-se de uma parte à outra. E veio a nova a Saul de como Davi se havia escapado de Queila; e deixou de sair.

14E Davi se estava no deserto em penhas, e habitava em um monte no deserto de Zife; e Saul o buscava todos os dias, mas Deus não o entregou em suas mãos.

15Vendo, pois, Davi que Saul havia saído em busca de sua alma, estava-se ele no bosque no deserto de Zife.

16Então se levantou Jônatas filho de Saul, e veio a Davi no bosque, e confortou sua mão em Deus.

17E disse-lhe: Não temas, porque a mão de meu pai Saul não te achará, e tu reinarás sobre Israel, e eu serei segundo depois de ti; e ainda Saul meu pai assim o sabe.

18E entre ambos fizeram aliança diante do SENHOR: e Davi se ficou no bosque, e Jônatas se voltou à sua casa.

19E subiram os de Zife a dizer a Saul em Gibeá: Não está Davi escondido em nossa terra nas penhas do bosque, no morro de Haquilá que está à direita do deserto?

20Portanto, rei, desce agora logo, segundo todo aquele desejo de tua alma, e nós o entregaremos na mão do rei.

21E Saul disse: Benditos sejais vós do SENHOR, que haveis tido compaixão de mim:

22Ide, pois, agora, preparai ainda, considerai e vede seu lugar por onde ele passa, e quem o tenha visto ali; porque se me disse que ele é em grande maneira astuto.

23Considerai, pois, e vede todos os esconderijos de onde se oculta, e voltai a mim com a certeza, e eu irei convosco: que se ele estiver na terra, eu lhe buscarei entre todos os milhares de Judá.

24E eles se levantaram, e se foram a Zife diante de Saul. Mas Davi e sua gente estavam no deserto de Maom, na planície que está à direita do deserto.

25E partiu-se Saul com sua gente a buscá-lo; mas foi dado aviso a Davi, e desceu à penha, e ficou no deserto de Maom. O qual quando Saul ouviu, seguiu a Davi ao deserto de Maom.

26E Saul ia pelo um lado do monte, e Davi com os seus pelo outro lado do monte: e apressava-se Davi para ir adiante de Saul; mas Saul e os seus haviam cercado a Davi e à sua gente para tomá-los.

27Então veio um mensageiro a Saul, dizendo: Vem logo, porque os filisteus fizeram uma invasão na terra.

28Voltou-se, portanto, Saul de perseguir a Davi, e partiu contra os filisteus. Por esta causa puseram a aquele lugar por nome Selá-Hamalecote.

29Então Davi subiu dali, e habitou nos lugares fortes em En-Gedi.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

David delivers the city of Keilah from the Philistines, but must flee when Saul plans to besiege him there. Jonathan visits him and encourages him one last time. Saul nearly captures David in the wilderness of Maon, but is interrupted by a Philistine raid.

Explanation

Even as a hunted fugitive, David continues to act for Israel's good, delivering Keilah from the Philistine attack before learning that this same city might betray him into Saul's hands — showing a character that prioritizes the collective good even amid his own personal suffering. The repeated use of the ephod to inquire of God directly about strategic decisions (whether to attack, whether he would be betrayed) demonstrates how David, unlike Saul who had already lost access to divine guidance, kept an open line of communication with God for every critical decision. The almost comic last-minute intervention of a Philistine raid, which forces Saul to abandon the pursuit at the exact moment he was about to capture David, is seen — through the very name given to the place ('Sela-hammahlekoth,' or 'the rock of divisions') — as literal divine providence separating the two adversaries at just the right moment.

Fun facts

  • Jonathan's visit to David 'in the wood' (v.16) is the last recorded meeting between the two friends before Jonathan's death, making his final words of encouragement especially meaningful in hindsight.
  • The place name 'Sela-hammahlekoth' (rock of divisions, or of escapes) preserves within Israel's own geography the memory of this dramatic, almost miraculous moment of escape.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 23:1Threshing floors, where freshly harvested grain was processed, were valuable raiding targets — the Philistines struck right at harvest time, when there was the most to steal.
  2. 1 Samuel 23:2Unlike the constant flight of the previous chapters, here David acts like a liberator who consults God before moving — a pattern of leadership that foreshadows his future role as king.
  3. 1 Samuel 23:3David’s own followers hesitate, worried about the risk of attacking an organized army while they are still fugitives being hunted by Saul.
  4. 1 Samuel 23:4David seeks a second confirmation from God before acting, respecting his men’s reasonable hesitation instead of simply forcing the decision on them.
  5. 1 Samuel 23:5The concrete victory confirms God’s promise and vindicates David’s confidence in the face of his own men’s initial reluctance.
  6. 1 Samuel 23:6The ephod brought by Abiathar becomes, from here on, the tool David repeatedly uses to consult God — a practical continuation of the priesthood that survived the massacre at Nob.
  7. 1 Samuel 23:7Saul wrongly reads David’s presence in a walled city as a trap working in his own favor, not knowing that God will reveal to David the townspeople’s true intentions.
  8. 1 Samuel 23:8Mobilizing the whole army to capture a single man shows Saul’s growing obsession — he now treated hunting David as a national military priority.
  9. 1 Samuel 23:9Consulting the ephod was a way of asking God a yes-or-no question, probably using the Urim and Thummim kept inside it — David uses this method repeatedly to decide whether to stay in or flee Keilah.
  10. 1 Samuel 23:10David recognizes the danger his own presence poses to the people of Keilah, whom he had just saved from the Philistines — the liberated city now risks destruction for sheltering him.
  11. 1 Samuel 23:11David asks two specific questions and gets direct answers — a rare biblical example of such a clear, straightforward dialogue with God through the ephod.
  12. 1 Samuel 23:12God’s answer reveals a painful ingratitude: the very people David had just freed from the Philistines would hand him over without hesitation to save themselves from Saul.
  13. 1 Samuel 23:13David’s following has already grown from four hundred men in chapter 22 to six hundred — his band, fugitive as it was, kept drawing more men willing to follow him.
  14. 1 Samuel 23:14The line “but God delivered him not into his hand” sums up the whole chase: Saul searches tirelessly, but every attempt is thwarted by circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
  15. 1 Samuel 23:15The constant change of hiding places, from region to region, shows how David’s fugitive life had already become an exhausting routine of permanent vigilance.
  16. 1 Samuel 23:16This is the last recorded meeting between the two friends before Jonathan’s death — a gesture of emotional and spiritual support at the hardest hour of David’s flight.
  17. 1 Samuel 23:17Jonathan openly reaffirms, once more, that he accepts David’s future kingship without jealousy — and reveals that even Saul, on some level, already knew the same thing.
  18. 1 Samuel 23:18This is the last formal covenant renewed between the two — after this meeting, Jonathan’s and David’s paths do not cross again before the prince’s death.
  19. 1 Samuel 23:19The Ziphites, from David’s own tribe of Judah, hand his location over to Saul — proof that not everyone from David’s homeland was on his side; shelter among fellow tribesmen was no guarantee of loyalty.
  20. 1 Samuel 23:20The Ziphites actively offer to hand David over, going beyond simply reporting his location — a betrayal likely driven by fear or by the desire to please the king.
  21. 1 Samuel 23:21Saul’s gratitude to the Ziphites, even invoking God’s blessing on their betrayal, shows how much he had already fused his personal vendetta against David with a supposed cause of God’s.
  22. 1 Samuel 23:22Saul openly acknowledges David’s cunning at repeatedly escaping — an involuntary respect for the very enemy he is trying to capture.
  23. 1 Samuel 23:23Saul’s willingness to search out “all the thousands of Judah” shows the obsessive scale of the hunt — he was ready to mobilize enormous resources just to capture one man.
  24. 1 Samuel 23:24The specific mention of David’s location in Maon sets up the nearly successful chase that unfolds through the rest of the chapter.
  25. 1 Samuel 23:25With every move David makes to hide better, word reaches Saul fast — the informant network against David kept working even while he was among allies.
  26. 1 Samuel 23:26This is the most dangerous moment of the entire chase: David is literally surrounded, and only an outside interruption, described in the next verse, prevents his capture.
  27. 1 Samuel 23:27The Philistine invasion arrives at the exact moment Saul was about to capture David — a dramatic relief the narrative credits to providence, not luck.
  28. 1 Samuel 23:28The place name, meaning “rock of escape” or “rock of parting,” was permanently recorded as a reminder of just how close David came to being captured there.
  29. 1 Samuel 23:29En-gedi, a fertile oasis near the Dead Sea full of natural caves, offered both water and ideal hiding places — the perfect setting for the next chapter’s confrontation.

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