1 Samuel Chapter 26 · Matthew Poole

1 Samuel 26:1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? Saul, by the discovery of the Ziphites, cometh to Hachilah against David,

1 Samuel 26:1-3; who cometh with Abishai to Saul’s camp; stayeth him from killing Saul, but taketh his spear and cruse,

1 Samuel 26:4-12. He upbraideth Abner,

1 Samuel 26:16; exhorteth Saul,

1 Samuel 26:17-20, who acknowledgeth his sin,

1 Samuel 26:21-25.

Having once betrayed him before, they thought their case desperate with David; and therefore did more strenuously assist Saul in discovering him, in order to his ruin.

Doth not David hide himself?

he is returned to his former haunt; of which see

1 Samuel 23:19. This place might be convenient for him, either for its nearness to Abigail’s estate; or because he might think that Saul was mollified, and the Ziphites cautioned by the unsuccessfulness of their former attempt; or because he could from thence make good his retreat into other places, if need were.

1 Samuel 26:2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. No text from Poole on this verse.

1 Samuel 26:3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. i.e. He understood by information, probably from his dear friend Jonathan.

1 Samuel 26:4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. No text from Poole on this verse.

1 Samuel 26:5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. Came to the place where Saul had pitched;

came near to the skirts of Saul’s camp; which he might easily discover from some neighboring hill or wood, and yet not be discerned himself. And it is probable he came thither disguised, and towards night.

Saul lay in the trench,

encompassed with his carriages for better security. Compare

1 Samuel 17:20.

1 Samuel 26:6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. Ahimelech the Hittite;

so called, either because he was one of that nation, but converted to the Jewish religion; compare

2 Samuel 11:3 15:18; or from his habitation amongst, or some relation, to some of that people.

Zeriah;

David’s sister: see

1 Chronicles 2:16. His father is not named, either because he was now dead, or because he was an obscure person.

1 Samuel 26:7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. To the people,

i. e. to Saul’s host and camp. It might seem a bold and strange attempt; but many things are to be considered:

1. That heroical persons have oft attempted things of no less difficulty and danger than this was; as many credible historians relate.

2. That David did and might easily perceive that they were all fast asleep.

3. That David had a particular assurance that God would preserve him to the kingdom.

4. That he had a special instinct from God to this work; and possibly God might inform him that he had cast them into a dead sleep, that he might have this second opportunity of manifesting his innocency towards Saul, and the justice of his cause.

1 Samuel 26:8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. I will nail him to the ground at one blow, that I shall not need a second stroke.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless? Though Saul be a cruel tyrant, and rejected by God, yet he is our sovereign lord and king; and I, though designed king, as yet am but a private person, and his subject; and therefore cannot kill him without sin, nor will I consent that thou shouldst do it.

1 Samuel 26:10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. The Lord shall smite him,

by some sudden and mortal stroke.

Or his day shall come to die,

according to the course of nature.

1 Samuel 26:11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. Take thou now the spear,

which will show where we have been, and what we could have done.

The cruse of water

might be put there, either to wash himself, in case of any accidental pollution, which oft happened in the night; or to refresh him, and quench his thirst in that hot climate and season; or for divers other uses.

1 Samuel 26:12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it , nor knew it , neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them. Sent upon them by the Lord, for David’s advantage.

1 Samuel 26:13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: That his person might be out of their reach, and yet his voice might be heard; which in a clear air, and in the silence of the night, might be heard at a great distance.

1 Samuel 26:14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? Or,

with or beside the king,

i.e. so near to him, so as to disturb the king.

1 Samuel 26:15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. Who is like to thee,

for courage and conduct? and therefore thy fault herein is the greater.

1 Samuel 26:16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is , and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. This thing is not good,

i.e. it is very bad, a great crime. A figure called

meiosis, as

Proverbs 18:5 19:2.

1 Samuel 26:17 And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. My son David;

as thou wast my son by marriage, so thou hast expressed the care and affection of a son to me now a second time.

1 Samuel 26:18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? No text from Poole on this verse.

1 Samuel 26:19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me;

if the Lord have by the evil spirit which he hath sent, or by his secret providence, directed thy rage against me for the punishment of thine or my sins.

Let him accept an offering;

let us offer up a sacrifice to God to appease his wrath against us.

If they be the children of men;

who by their crafty insinuations and calumnies have incensed thee against me. He showeth his prudence, and reverence, and meekness; that he accuseth not the king, but translateth the fault wholly upon his evil ministers; as the Israelites do in the like case,

Exodus 5:16.

From abiding in the inheritance of the Lord;

from the land which God hath given to his people for their inheritance, and where he hath established his presence and worship.

Saying, Go, serve other gods:

this was the language of their actions; for by driving him from God’s land, and the place of his worship, into foreign and idolatrous lands, they exposed him to the peril of being either insnared by their counsels or examples, or forced by their threats and power to worship idols.

1 Samuel 26:20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. Let not my blood fall to the earth;

do not attempt to spill my innocent blood like water upon the ground.

Before the face of the Lord;

remember, if thou dost it, God the judge of all men seeth it, and will avenge it of thee, though I will not avenge myself.

A flea;

hard to be taken, and not worth catching; a mean and contemptible person.

In the mountains,

where his advantage doth no way compensate his labour.

1 Samuel 26:21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. He not only confesseth, but aggravateth his fault, because his conscience was fully convinced, though his heart was not changed.

1 Samuel 26:22 And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. No text from Poole on this verse.

1 Samuel 26:23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed. I desire that God would deal no otherwise with me than I have dealt with thee.

1 Samuel 26:24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. No text from Poole on this verse.

1 Samuel 26:25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things , and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place. David went on his way;

knowing Saul’s unstable and deceitful heart, he would not trust to any of his professions or promises, but kept out of his reach.