841 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And [as touching] the matter which thou and I have spoken of,.... The covenant they had made between them and their families: behold, the Lord [be] between me and thee for ever: as a witness of the covenant, and a revenger of those that should break it; so the Targum, "behold, the Word of the Lord be between me and thee a witness for ever.''
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So David hid himself in the field,.... Not directly, but at the time appointed; for he went to Bethlehem, and returned from thence before that time: and when the new moon was come; the first clay of the month, which was a solemn festival: the king sat him down to eat meat; Saul sat down at his table to eat of the provisions that were set upon it;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the king sat upon his seat as at other times,.... Upon the seat he usually sat on: [even] upon a seat by the wall; on a couch by the side of the wall; or, as Jarchi and R. Isaiah say, at the head of the couch by the wall, which was the most honourable place; and Kimchi observes, it was the custom in those days to eat meat sitting on beds or...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day,.... About David's absence, took no notice of it, said nothing about it: for he thought something had befallen him; some impurity, some nocturnal pollution, see Leviticus 15:16; he [is] not clean, surely he [is] not clean; which he repeated in his mind for the confirmation of it, and in contempt, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass on the morrow, [which was] the second [day] of the month,.... The Targum is, "and it was on the day after it, which was the intercalation of the second month;'' when the beginning of the month was judged of by the appearance of the moon, and there was a difficulty about that, what day it appeared on, two days were kept for it;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jonathan answered Saul,.... In reply to Saul's question, and to excuse David, he said, David earnestly asked [leave] of me [to go] to Bethlehem; his own city, his native place, where his family lived, whom he was desirous to see, and yet chose not to go without asking leave; and as Saul was not at home, he asked leave of Jonathan, who was next...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said, let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city,.... In the city of Bethlehem where they lived, a peace offering on account of the new moon, and as an anniversary thanksgiving for the mercies of the year, 1 Samuel 20:6; and seeing, though he was not at the feast in one place, he observed it in another, his absence...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan,.... For giving David leave to go, and for excusing him in this manner: and he said unto him, thou son of the perverse and rebellious [woman]; most of the Jewish commentators supply it as we do, but the supplement of woman may as well be left out, and be read, "thou son of perverse rebellion" (f);...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom,.... He would not, though heir to the crown, be sure of it; it would be precarious to him, he would be in great danger of being deprived of it on the death of his father; and therefore it would be his highest wisdom to deliver David up to be...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jonathan answered Saul his, father, and said unto him,.... Making no answer to the charges of perverseness, rebellion, and folly brought against himself, which he bore with patience, but could not bear to hear his dear friend spoken against, and as worthy of death; and therefore in answer to that says, wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him,.... So provoked to wrath was he by what he said. It seems by this that Saul always had a javelin or spear in his hand, which is to be accounted for by the custom of those times; in other countries, as well as in this, the kings used to carry spears in their hands instead of sceptres, and which they used...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger,.... Resenting his father's attempt to smite him, and his resolution to slay David: and did eat no meat the second day of the month; not then at that meal he was just sat down to, nor at another time that day, his stomach was so full through indignation at his father, and grief for his friend David;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass in the morning:,.... The next morning, the morning of the third day of the month: that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David; he went to the place in the field, or near it, where David hid himself, and at the time agreed between them; which, Abarbinel says, was the time the nobles agreed on for...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said unto his lad, run, find out now the arrows which I shoot,.... He no doubt told him the mark which he should shoot at, the stone Ezel, and bid him look out about that for them: [and] as the lad ran; before he had got to the mark: he shot an arrow beyond him: or it; beyond the lad, or beyond the mark he shot at; purposely shooting with...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot,.... To the mark which he told him he should shoot at, and whereabout he might expect to find the arrow: Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, [is] not the arrow beyond thee? he cried with a loud voice and said this, not so much that the lad might hear him, but that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jonathan cried after the lad, make speed, haste, stay not,.... But bring the arrows to him directly, that he might dismiss him; for, observing that no man was passing by, he was desirous of embracing the opportunity for a few minutes to have an interview with David alone before he fled: and Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows; for though the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the lad knew not anything,.... What was meant by shooting the arrows, and by shooting them beyond where he was, and by bidding him make haste to bring them: only Jonathan and David knew the matter; what was signified by them, those being signs agreed upon between them.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad,.... "His vessels" (l) or instruments; his arms, as the Targum, his quiver, bow, and arrows: and said unto him, go, carry [them] to the city; to Gibeah, to Jonathan's house, or to his apartments at court there. (l) את כליו "vasa sua", Montanus; "instrumenta sua", Piscator; "arma sua", V. L. Tigurine...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
[And] as soon as the lad was gone,.... Which David could observe from his lurking place: David arose out of [a place] toward the south; to the south of the field in which he was hid, or to the south of the stone Ezel, near which he was; and so the Targum, "and David arose from the side of the stone Atha, which was towards the south;'' Jonathan...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jonathan said to David, go in peace,.... In peace of mind, committing himself, his family, and affairs, to the providence of God, who would take care of him, and keep him in safety from the evil designs of Saul; and particularly he would have him be easy with respect to what had passed between them two, not doubting but it would be faithfully...