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1 Samuel 19:16

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And when the messengers were come in,.... To David's house, and into the room where he was supposed to lie: behold, [there was] an image in the bed to their great surprise; they expected to see David, but instead of him the teraphim, as in 1 Samuel 19:13; if they had been in the room before, and thought they had seen David in the bed, they might...

1 Samuel 19:17

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And Saul said unto Michal,.... After the messengers returned and reported what they had seen, when Saul either came to her at her house, or sent for her to his palace: why hast thou deceived me so; for deceiving his messengers was deceiving him, by pretending David was sick and in bed, when she had placed an image there, and had let him down...

1 Samuel 19:18

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

So David fled and escaped,.... Fled from his own house, and escaped falling into the hands of the messengers of Saul, and so of Saul himself: and came to Samuel to Ramah; the place where Samuel dwelt: to him David chose to come, by whom he had been anointed king, that his faith might be strengthened by him with respect to the kingdom, which might...

1 Samuel 19:19

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And it was told Saul,.... By some officious persons who saw David at Ramah, and observed that he and Samuel went together to Naioth: saying, behold, David [is] at Naioth, in Ramah; or near it; according to R. Isaiah, Ramah was the name of a hill, or mountain, so called from its height, and Naioth the name of a place on it; it signifies pastures...

1 Samuel 19:20

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And Saul sent messengers to take David,.... Notwithstanding the sacred place he was in, so bent was he upon his destruction: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying; or praising, as the Targum; singing hymns and songs of praise to God, under the inspiration and influence of the Spirit of God, who endited these songs for them, and...

1 Samuel 19:21

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And when it was told Saul,.... That the messengers he had sent, instead of seizing on David, were prophesying of him, or however were attending to services of a different nature than what they were sent upon: he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise; when they came to the same place: and Saul sent messengers again a third time, and...

1 Samuel 19:22

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Then went he also to Ramah,.... That is, Saul; his messengers not returning to him, when he sent one after another to take David, at length he set out himself from Gibeah to Ramah: and came to a great well that [is] in Sechu; which was either the name of a man, the owner of the well, or a place near to which the well was, and is commonly thought...

1 Samuel 19:23

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah,.... He went on from the well towards the place: and the Spirit of God was upon him also; as well as upon his messengers; even the spirit of prophecy, as the Targum: and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah: in this he differed from his messengers; they did not prophesy till they came to...

1 Samuel 19:24

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And he stripped off his clothes also,.... Not all his clothes, but his upper garments, as men in such circumstances used to do, as the prophets sometimes did, and as it seems his messengers had done; according to Jarchi, R. Isaiah, and others (n), he stripped himself of his royal robes, and put on the habit of the scholars, the disciples, and sons...

1 Samuel 20

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 20 David fleeing from Naioth came to Jonathan, and acquainted him with his circumstances, and entreated his favour, 1 Samuel 20:1; which Jonathan promised, and renewed the covenant with him, 1 Samuel 20:9; a scheme was formed between them, by which David might know whether Saul was reconciled to him, and he might come...

1 Samuel 20:1

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah,.... While Saul was prophesying, or lay in a trance there: and came; to Gibeah, where Saul dwelt, and had his palace, and kept his court: and said before Jonathan; whom he found there, and for whose sake he thither fled to have his advice, and to use his interest with his father, and be his friend at court: what...

1 Samuel 20

Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry

David, having several times narrowly escaped Saul's fury, begins to consider at last whether it may not be necessary for him to retire into the country and to take up arms in his own defence. But he will not do so daring a thing without consulting his faithful friend Jonathan; how he did this, and what passed between them, we have an account in...

1 Samuel 20:1-2

Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: He could not think that his father really intended to take the life of his friend.

1 Samuel 20:1

Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? David had an enemy upon the throne; and God gave him a friend in the heir to the throne. If thou hast an enemy, thou hast also a friend; God sets the one over against the...

1 Samuel 20:2

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And he said unto him, God forbid, thou shalt not die,.... He could not believe his father had any such intention; and that if he discovered anything of that kind, it was only when he was in a frenzy, and a melancholy disorder had seized him; and that David had nothing to fear on that head, and that he would secure him from all danger in that...

1 Samuel 20:2-3

Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon

Behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes: and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and...

1 Samuel 20:2

Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon

And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. One admires Jonathan for defending Saul; he will not believe anything bad of his father. Children should never believe anything evil of their...

1 Samuel 20:3

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

And David sware moreover, and said,.... To assure Jonathan of the truth of it, that he did most certainly seek after his life, of which, as he had no doubt himself, by an oath he endeavoured to remove any that might be in Jonathan, who was not willing to believe his father could be guilty of so foul a crime: thy father certainly knoweth that I...

1 Samuel 20:3

Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon

And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. He wanted Jonathan to believe the truth, namely, that Saul was seeking to kill him, and...

1 Samuel 20:4

John Gill - Exposition - John Gill

Then said Jonathan unto David,.... Now giving credit to what he had said, and in order to comfort and support him under the apprehensions he had of danger: whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do [it] for thee; for the preservation of his life, by speaking to his father on his behalf, endeavouring to dissuade him from his evil intentions, or...