Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 8 Aug. 2021
NAW
translation of 1 Sam 23:1-14:
Then they brought news to David
saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Q’eilah,
and they are plundering the threshing-floors!” So David
inquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go and conduct a strike
against these Philistines?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go
and conduct a strike among the Philistines, and save Q’eilah.”
David’s men, however, said to him, “Look, we are
afraid here in Judah, and will be even more so if we go to Q’eilah
against the ranks of the Philistines!” So David imposed again
upon Yahweh to inquire, and Yahweh answered him and said, “Get
up; go down to Q’eilah, for I am giving the Philistines into
your control.” So David (and his men) went down to Q’eilah
and fought with the Philistines and led away their livestock and
conducted a strike – a heavy strike – against them.
Thus, David saved the residents of Q’eilah.
So it was
when Abiathar son of Achimelek fled to David at Keilah, an ephod
came down in his hand. Then it was communicated to Saul that David
had come to Q’eilah, and Saul said, “God has warranted
him into my control, for he has shut himself in by going into a city
that has double-doors with a bolt!” So Saul had it announced
to all the people that they should go down to Q’eilah to
fight, in order to besiege David and his men. Now, David knew that
Saul was against him, keeping quiet about his evil-intent, so he
said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring in the ephod.” Then
David said, “Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has heard for
sure that Saul is trying to come to Q’eilah to lay waste to
the city on my account. Will they shut me out? {} Will Saul come
down like this [intelligence] your servant has heard? Yahweh, God of
Israel, {} communicate with your servant!” And Yahweh said,
“He will come down.” Then David said, “Will the
city-commissioners of Q’eilah shut me and my men out into
Saul’s control?” And Yahweh said, “They will shut
you out.” So, David (and his approximately 600 men) got up and
went out from Q’eilah, and they went wherever they could go.
When it was communicated to Saul that David had made his escape from
Q’eilah, he then brought an end to the expedition. Thus David
resided in the wilderness in the strongholds, then resided on the
hill in the wilderness of Ziph. Meanwhile, Saul sought for him all
his days, but {Yahweh} did not deliver him into his control.
This part of David’s story takes place while he is a political refugee, hiding in the woods in Judea, and it revolves around a particular military action he took to free the town of Q’eilah.
Q’eilah was a border-town in the Shephalah region between Judah and Philistine territory1, with grain fields around it and a walled city in the middle to which residents could escape if the Philistine army ever came at them, but they were having lots of trouble with marauding bands of Philistines stealing their food after harvest time.
Interesting that the inhabitants of Q’eilah appealed to David rather than to Saul to deliver them.
It is true that Q’eilah was closer to Adullam (where David and his band were), than to Gibeah of Saul, but on the other hand, Matthew Henry may be right in surmising that Saul was not doing a good job of protecting the nation any more, and that through Gad’s prophecy, God had called David back to Judah in order to protect the nation2.
And David enters into the necessary work of the defense of his nation willingly; he doesn’t say, “Why ask me? That’s Saul’s job; what’s wrong with him that he isn’t defending you? It’s not my business!”
This has more applications that I realized at first. There is obvious application to private property owners on the borders of our nation, when federal and state governments do not do their jobs of protecting them.
But it even extends to doing household chores when the one who is supposed to do them falls down on their task:
Husbands, if the division of labor in your household puts your wife in charge of doing laundry, and she falls behind, will you grouse at her for not being able to find any clean clothes, or will you take the attitude of David and wash some clothes, because you can and because it needs to be done.
In our house, we have teams of two or three kids in charge of putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher, but I can’t tell you how many times I have found the dishwasher full of clean dishes and the counter full of dirty dishes. Usually when I ask why, the kids tell me that the people on dishwasher duty are asleep or sick or away at somebody else’s house, so nobody emptied the dishwasher. Well, just empty the dishwasher yourself! Help the whole family by pitching in where you can, even if it’s technically somebody else’s job.
“Those are unlike to David who sullenly decline to do good…” ~M. Henry
There is, of course, a balancing principle: that we should not do what God has not called us to do. There are some things we have no business getting involved in.
For instance, in the dishwasher example, my wife realized that her calling is centered on childrearing, not modelling for Better Homes and Gardens, and though there is a divine calling for her to be a “keeper at home,” it is more faithful to her calling to train the children in housekeeping than to do all the housekeeping herself and leave the children at loose ends.
Furthermore, there are fine ministry endeavors which you might also be interested in, but which God may not intend for you to do. A missionary friend who serves in China wrote a couple of years ago about Chinese pastors coming to him for counsel because they were feeling burned out. He started noticing a pattern, “When they see a need, they pray, ‘God help me meet this need.’” And then they tried to meet every need themselves and burned themselves out. My missionary friend started teaching them to pray differently, “Pray this way, ‘God how will You meet this need? God, who will You use to meet this need? God, what are You asking me to do?’” This moved the pastors out of the center of the equation and brought in the resources of the rest of the church to act like the body God designed it to be3.
But here in 1 Samuel, we are talking about war.
And, as Andrew Willett rightly observed in his commentary on this passage, “...warre is not to be taken in hand rashly, but with counsell first from God, and then to be taken with men… David will not here enterprise battell, unless first he had consulted with God…”
This is a Biblical pattern, and you don’t have to go any further than the book of Judges to see it, where the Israelites consulted with God before their first battle in chapter 1 against the Canaanites and Perrizzites, and in the battle at the end of Judges against Benjamin.
So David inquired of the Lord:
Part of the question for David was, “Can I do any good with this small band of rabble I’ve got, or will we just get ourselves killed trying to defend Q’eilah?”
But another part of the question worthy of asking God was, as Matthew Henry put it, “[M]ight [I] lawfully take Saul's work out of his hand, and act without a commission from him?”
“To repel unprovoked assaults on unoffending people who were engaged in their harvest operations, was a humane and benevolent service. But it was doubtful how far it was David’s duty to go against a public enemy without the royal commission…” ~JFB
Now in those days, inquiring of the LORD was typically done through a priest or prophet. Abiathar the priest had not arrived yet from Nob, so commentators4 guess maybe that it was the prophet Gad who inquired of God for David at this point.
And God responded, “Go and conduct a strike among the Philistines, and save Q’eilah.”
I struggle a little bit with that because never in my fifty-odd years of life has God spoken audibly to me. I have run into folks who say that God spoke to them audibly or gave them visions, and in some cases I don’t doubt it, but why would God do that for David or for other Christians, but not for me? I can’t answer that definitively except to say that I must trust that God will do what is best.
David didn’t have access to nearly as much written scripture as I do, so maybe it was a way that God made up for that lack on his part.
Conversely, I’ve never been in the life-or-death situations that David was in, so maybe I don’t have as much need for a special revelation.
As it is with all personal relationships, I may want to hear more communication from someone, but I can’t make them communicate. If I want a real relationship, I have to accept the freedom of the other party to communicate however they want, without me controlling it. And how much moreso it is with God, who has no obligation to me other than what His own love for me motivates Him to communicate. I’ll engage in my side of the conversation and pray, but I have to accept God’s autonomy to respond or not respond however He wants, and trust that He will do what’s best.
Going back to our story, when David presents the battle-plan to his band of men, they balk at it, resulting in David having to go back to God with another prayer:
Moving the band out of the cover of the forests and caves into the Shephalah to fight the Philistines in the open fields outside the walls of Q’eilah would expose them “not only to the Philistines, before them, on the edge of their country, from whence they could have re-enforcements easily, but [also] to Saul and his army behind them; and so, being between two fires, [they] would be in danger of being [annihilated].” ~John Gill
Judging by the comments from David's men, it sounds like it was no small order to fight this Philistine army. David and his men were not at all likely to win against them if they were to fight, which is perhaps why David went back a second time to ask the Lord's counsel.
I’d think that if God told me directly to do something, it would insult Him to come back and ask for more confirmation – and there are times when our confidence in God’s word and our faith in Him are such that we should obey Him without hesitation and without seeking further confirmation, but God’s merciful kindness is such that He doesn’t snuff out the guttering wicks5 of little-faith followers like us when we must ask Him for more. In fact He seems to welcome it. 16th Century commentator Andrew Willet expounded:
“God [is]
well pleased, twice in the same thing to be consulted with:
1.
when a man desireth to be further strengthened and confirmed in his
own faith, as Gideon asked two signs one after an other (Judges 6),
2. when upon God's answer, the event falleth out not
answerable, then for their further resolution, they may again go
unto God, as the Israelites did, being once overcome of the
Benjaminites (Judges 20),
3. it is lawfull for the edifying of
others, as David here doth,
4. or for a more full answer, if
they receive not sufficient satisfaction at the first... This
sheweth, that when men receive not full satisfaction by once
hearing of the word of God, they should resort unto it often... as
St. Paul saith in Philippians 3:1, that it was a sure thing for
them to write the same things again.”
So David goes to God again in prayer, and God repeats the command to go down to Q’eilah, together with a promise that God would give them success in battle. So they head out of the woods and hills down toward the coast to Q’eilah.
It appears that the first thing David does before attacking the Philistines is to “lead away their livestock.” There is some debate as to what this means.
Perhaps the livestock were the Philistine soldiers’ food, and by removing their source of food, David shrewdly insured that the Philistines would not fight a prolonged battle against him because they would quickly run out of food.
Or perhaps the livestock were the Philistines’ transportation, and by removing all the enemies vehicles, as it were, David ensured that they wouldn’t be able to escape quickly and avoid slaughter.
Anyway, after taking this measure, David then attacks the Philistine soldiers with his men and wins the battle. And it’s been suggested that if the next numbering of David’s troops is two hundred more than the last time, David must not have sustained any losses in that battle either. (Gill)
The people of Keilah were probably hungry after having had their grain stolen off their threshing floors and having been beseiged within the walled city for who-knows-how-long, so I imagine they were pretty excited after the battle to see all the Philistines’ livestock! There would be milk for the children and steak for the victors and replenishment of the herds lost in the leadup to the seige!
This is also the point, it seems, when young Abiathar reconnoiters with David. Abiathar is carrying the ephod of the high priest in his hand, being himself next-in-line for the position that his father Achimelek had filled until being lately murdered by Doeg. The coming of a high-priest into his entourage had to have been an encouraging development for David, despite the tragic news Abiathar bore. It meant God’s special presence would be with David, and David could have constant access to God through the high priest stationed in his camp!
And now David sees the need to make use of this spiritual resource with yet another prayer of inquiry:
The dangers are escalating for David. By engaging in this battle with the Philistines, David revealed his whereabouts to King Saul and could become a sitting duck for Saul to pick off.
Several things about the depravity of Saul’s character are shared with us at this point to underscore how grave the situation was:
First, Saul despises David’s service to his nation and turns it into an opportunity to smash a faithful citizen. The King of the land should instead have appreciated what David had just done and offered him rich rewards for bravely protecting the people, but all Saul can think of is doing David a mischief. (M. Henry)
Secondly, Saul brazenly uses God-talk (that he doesn’t believe) in order to manipulate religious followers into doing evil with him against David.
He proclaims to his followers in v. 7, “God has delivered David over to my hand!” When nothing could be further from the truth.
The Hebrew word Saul uses is more pregnant with meaning than merely “delivered” – it implies rejection as well.
Someone at Saul’s court heard this religiously-abusive statement and must have relayed it to the prophet in David’s camp who wrote this account.
But “God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden....” (Eccl. 12:14, NASB) This blasphemous use of God’s character will not be taken lightly by God.
Third, Saul had summoned “all the people” to fight against David.
The last time there had been a summons of that order, it was in chapter 15, when 210,000 troops were mobilized. Saul is going all-out to obliterate David’s band of 400-6006 men.
Saul is going to drive them into the city, bar the gates, and kill them along with everybody in the city. The stakes are incredibly high.
Furthermore, vs. 8-9 imply that Saul deceived his own soldiers about the purpose for which he mobilized the army. The root meaning of the Hebrew word for the “plotting” Saul was doing against David has to do with “being quiet.”
Matthew Henry explains, “Saul... called all the people together to war, [that] they must with all speed march to Keilah, pretending to oppose the Philistines, but [instead it was Saul’s intent to use them] to besiege David and his men, though concealing that design; for it is said (v.9) that he ‘secretly [quietly] practised [plotted] mischief against him.’” Saul was hijacking the soldiers of Israel from legitimate state functions to perform his personal vendetta.
It’s entirely possible that this war party Saul mobilized is the same one that decimated the town of Nob and was now on their way to Q’eilah to destroy it.
The word David chooses in his prayer to God to describe the intelligence he had received as to what Saul was about to do to Q’eilah is strong: not just “destroy,” but “utterly lay waste to” the city, even as was done to Nob.
All this is shared with us to help us see what a snake David is dealing with, and how high the stakes are for David to survive and establish a throne of justice after Saul.
So David, as was his custom when he encountered trouble, turned to God and prayed for guidance and deliverance.
“God knows all men better than they know themselves, knows their... strength, what is in them, and what they will do if they come into such and such circumstances. He therefore knows not only what will be, but what would be if it were not prevented; and therefore ‘knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation,’ and how ‘to render to every man according to his works.’” ~M. Henry (quoting 2 Pet. 2:9 & Prov. 24:12)
Now that David has a priest with an ephod in his camp, he takes advantage of it and calls for Abiathar.
No one seems to know for sure how the ephod worked, but it was apparently a sanctified way for the priests of Israel to cast lots. Tthe Urim and Thummim are thought to be like a coin that could be removed from the ephod and “flipped” to determine the Lord's will in a matter.
It just gave a yes or no answer, so the answers recorded to the inquiries in the following verses made by Abiathar with the ephod are much simpler than the earlier oracles David received from the prophet in the first 5 verses.
David asks two questions7 of God, this time, not asking what to do, but instead asking about the likelihood of risk in staying-put at Q’eilah. David intends to use the information God gives him to make his own decision about what to do next.
If you think about it, David was a homeless person who had become a local hero for saving a city, so it was natural that he should think about making that city his home. Why not settle down in Q’eilah with the good will of the people and the walls of the city as a safeguard against Saul? I think it is with this in mind that David asks God if Saul would consider attacking a walled city like this and if the leaders (literally the “baals”) of the city would rally around him and defend him from Saul.
God’s answers make it clear that David cannot trust in the walls of Q’eilah or in the people of Q’eilah to keep him safe, for only God can ultimately keep us safe.
God answers that if David were to stay in Q’eilah, Saul would indeed come after him there, and the lords of Q’eilah would betray him to Saul's army. (The Hebrew word here literally pictures them shoving David out the gate of the city and “shutting” it behind him so that he will be exposed outside and not be protected inside the walls.)
By the way, God’s answers are not as hypothetical as they seem, for the locals did indeed try to betray David to Saul later on, and Saul did come down against David after that.
But David asked GOD for guidance, rather than listening to false prophets or relying solely on his brains, and God gave him the information that would save his life and the lives of his people by avoiding a civil war.
Nowadays we don’t have temples with high priests and ephods, but we can learn a lesson from David to pray and seek guidance from God however we can. In David’s case, “No sooner is the ephod brought to him than he makes use of it: ‘Bring hither the ephod.’ We have the scriptures, those lively oracles, in our hands; let us take advice from them in doubtful cases. ‘Bring hither the Bible!’” ~M. Henry
Wisdom is, of course called-for in what to ask of God in prayer, but Jesus encourages us to ask:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NKJV)
“...ask, and it will be given to y'all. Continue to search, and y'all will find. Continue to knock, and it will be opened up to you. For every one who is asking is receiving, and the one who is searching is finding, and to the one who is knocking it is being opened up!” (Matt. 7:7-8, NAW)
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it…. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 14:13-14, 16:24, NKJV)
Of course, it has to be something God is willing to do: “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we shall request something according to His will, He is hearing us. And if we know that He is hearing us – whatever we may be requesting – we know that we have the items that we had requested of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15, NAW)
So, search the scriptures for what He reveals of His will, and get to making prayer requests!
Our story closes with epilogues on David and Saul:
David chooses to trust God and wait rather than overthrow his government. “He keeps God's way, waits God's time, and is content to secure himself in woods and wildernesses…” ~Matthew Henry
“Two miles southeast of Hebron, and [12 miles8 southeast of Q’eilah,] in the midst of a level plain, is Tell-ziph, an isolated and conical hillock, about a hundred feet high, probably the acropolis... of the ancient city of Ziph, from which the surrounding wilderness was called. It seems, anciently, to have been covered by an extensive woods [but was deforested centuries ago].” ~JFB This is where we leave David.
Saul, meanwhile, in archtypical rivalry to the seed of the woman, like the dragon in Revelation 12:4 that “stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born,” Saul continues to seek David’s life in the same mad enterprise that the Devil and His minions continue against us, for, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 4:29 “...as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.” (NKJV)
But Saul could not get David because God would not allow Saul to get David. God is sovereignly controlling everybody and everything – even the most powerful kings and armies, so when He decides to save you, there’s nobody in the world who will be able to mess with you. Nobody.
God will never, ever deliver us over to the enemy.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.” (John 10:27-29, NKJV)
“He has also said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5, NKJV)9.
“That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no never, no never forsake”
Jesus instructed us to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one.”
Are you praying that?
Will you stop and pray that before you do anything else, every time you encounter a problem? Stop and pray! As Philippians 4:6 says in the Contemporary English Version, “Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.” Will you do that?
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1
Καὶ ἀπηγγέλ |
1
And |
1 And they told David, saying: Behold the Philistines fight against Ceila, and they rob the barns. |
1 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they robC the threshingfloors. |
1 Then they brought news to David saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Q’eilah, and they are plundering the threshing-floors!” |
1 וַיַּגִּדוּ לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה פְלִשְׁתִּים נִלְחָמִים בִּקְעִילָה וְהֵמָּה שֹׁסִים אֶת- הַגֳּרָנוֹתD: |
2 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν Δαυιδ διὰ τοῦ κυρίου λέγων Εἰ πορευθῶ καὶ πατάξω τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους τούτους; καὶ εἶπεν κύριος Πορεύου καὶ πατάξεις ἐν τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις [τούτοις] καὶ σώσεις τὴν Κεϊλα. |
2 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said, Go, and thou shalt smite [these] Philistines, and shalt save Keila. |
2 Therefore David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the Lord said to David: Go, and thou shalt smite the Philistines, and shalt save Ceila. |
2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smiteE these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. |
2 So David inquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go and conduct a strike against these Philistines?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go and conduct a strike among the Philistines, and save Q’eilah.” |
2 וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהוָה לֵאמֹר הַאֵלֵךְ וְהִכֵּיתִי בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים הָאֵלֶּה סF וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-דָּוִד לֵךְ וְהִכִּיתָ בַפְּלִשְׁתִּים וְהוֹשַׁעְתָּ אֶת- קְעִילָה: |
3
καὶ εἶπαν οἱ
ἄνδρες τοῦ
Δαυιδ πρὸς
αὐτόν Ἰδοὺ
ἡμεῖς ἐνταῦθα
ἐν τῇ Ιουδαίᾳ
φοβούμεθα,
καὶ πῶς ἔσται
ἐὰν πορευθῶμεν
εἰς Κεϊλα;
εἰς τὰ |
3
And the men of David said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in
Judea; and how shall it be if we go to Keila? Shall we go after
the |
3 And the men that were with David, said to him: Behold we are in fear here in Judea, how much more if we go to Ceila against the bands of the Philistines? |
3 And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armiesH of the Philistines? |
3 David’s men, however, said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah, and will be even more so if we go to Q’eilah against the ranks of the Philistines!” |
3 וַיֹּאמְרוּ אַנְשֵׁי דָוִד אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ פֹה בִּיהוּדָה יְרֵאִים וְאַף כִּי-נֵלֵךְ קְעִלָה אֶל- מַעַרְכוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים: ס |
4
καὶ προσέθετο
Δαυιδ ἐρωτῆσαι
ἔτι διὰ τοῦ
κυρίου,
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη
αὐτῷ κύριος
καὶ εἶπεν [πρὸς
αὐτόν]
Ἀνάστηθι [καὶ]
κατάβηθι εἰς
Κεϊλα, ὅτι ἐγὼ
παραδίδωμι τοὺς
ἀλλοφύλους
εἰς χεῖρ |
4 And David enquired yet again of the Lord; and the Lord answered him, and said [to him], Arise [and] go down to Keila, for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand[s]I. |
4 Therefore David consulted the Lord again. And X he answered and said to him: Arise, [and] go X to Ceila: for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. |
4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. |
4 So David imposed again upon Yahweh to inquire, and Yahweh answered him and said, “Get up; go down to Q’eilah, for I am giving the Philistines into your control.” |
4 וַיּוֹסֶף עוֹד דָּוִד לִשְׁאֹל בַּיהוָה ס וַיַּעֲנֵהוּ יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר קוּם רֵדJ קְעִילָה כִּי-אֲנִי נֹתֵן אֶת-פְּלִשְׁתִּים בְּיָדֶךָ: |
5 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες [οἱ μετ᾿] αὐτοῦ εἰς Κεϊλα καὶ ἐπολέμησεν ἐν τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις, [καὶ ἔφυγον ἐκ προσώπου αὐτοῦ,] καὶ ἀπήγαγεν τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπάταξεν ἐν αὐτοῖς πληγὴν μεγάλην, καὶ ἔσωσεν Δαυιδ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Κεϊλα. |
5 So David and his men [with him] went to Keila, and fought with the Philistines; [and they fled from before him,] and he carried off their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter, and David rescued the inhabitants of Keila. |
5 David, therefore, and his men, went to Ceila, and fought against the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and made a great slaughter of them: and David saved the inhabitants of Ceila. |
5 So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattleK, and smote them with a great slaughterL. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. |
5 So David (and his men) went down to Q’eilah and fought with the Philistines and led away their livestock and conducted a strike – a heavy strike – against them. Thus, David saved the residents of Q’eilah. |
5 וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַאִנְשׁMוֹ קְעִילָה וַיִּלָּחֶם בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּנְהַג אֶת- מִקְנֵיהֶםN וַיַּךְ בָּהֶם מַכָּה גְדוֹלָה וַיֹּשַׁע דָּוִד אֵת יֹשְׁבֵי קְעִילָה: ס |
6 Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ φυγεῖν Αβιαθαρ υἱὸν Αβιμελεχ πρὸς Δαυιδ [καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ Δαυιδ] εἰς Κεϊλα κατέβη [ἔχων] εφουδ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ. |
6 And it came to pass when Abiathar the son of Achimelech fled to David, [that he] went down [with David] to Keila, [having] an ephod in his hand. |
6 Now at that time, when Abiathar, the son of Achimelech, fled to David, to Ceila, he came down, [having] an ephod with X him. |
6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. |
6 So it was when Abiathar son of Achimelek fled to David at Keilah, an ephod came down in his hand. |
6 וַיְהִי בִּבְרֹחַ אֶבְיָתָר בֶּן-אֲחִימֶלֶךְ אֶל-דָּוִד קְעִילָה אֵפוֹד יָרַד בְּיָדוֹO: |
7
καὶ ἀπηγγέλη
τῷ Σαουλ ὅτι
ἥκει Δαυιδ
εἰς Κεϊλα,
καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ
ΠέπρακενP
αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς
εἰς χεῖρ |
7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keila: and Saul said, God has sold him into my hand[s], for he is shut up, having entered into a city that has gates and bar[s]. |
7
And it was told Saul that David was come to Ceila: and Saul said:
The |
7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bar[s]. |
7 Then it was related to Saul that David had come to Q’eilah, and Saul said, “God has warranted him into my control, for he has shut himself in by going into a city that has double-doors with a bolt!” |
7 וַיֻּגַּד לְשָׁאוּל כִּי-בָא דָוִד קְעִילָה וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל נִכַּרQ אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים בְּיָדִי כִּי נִסְגַּר לָבוֹא בְּעִיר דְּלָתַיִם וּבְרִיחַ: |
8 καὶ παρήγγειλεν Σαουλ παντὶ τῷ λαῷ εἰς πόλεμον καταβαίνειν εἰς Κεϊλα συνέχεινR τὸν Δαυιδ καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας αὐτοῦ. |
8 And Saul charged all the people to go down to war to Keila, to besiege David and his men. |
8 And Saul commanded all the people to go down to fight against Ceila, [and] to besiege David and his men. |
8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. |
8 So Saul had it announced to all the people that they should go down to Q’eilah to fight, in order to beseige David and his men. |
8 וַיְשַׁמַּעS שָׁאוּל אֶת-כָּל- הָעָם לַמִּלְחָמָה לָרֶדֶת קְעִילָה לָצוּר אֶל-דָּוִד וְאֶל-אֲנָשָׁיו: |
9
καὶ ἔγνω Δαυιδ
ὅτι |
9 And David knew that Saul spoke openlyV of mischief against him: and [David] said to Abiathar the priest, Bring the ephod [of the LordW]. |
9 Now when David understood that Saul secretly prepared evil against him, X he said to Abiathar, the priest: Bring hither the ephod. |
9 And David knew that Saul secretly practisedX mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. |
9 Now, David knew that Saul was against him, keeping quiet about his evil-intent, so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring in the ephod.” |
9 וַיֵּדַע דָּוִד כִּי עָלָיו שָׁאוּל מַחֲרִישׁY הָרָעָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל- אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן הַגִּישָׁה הָאֵפוֹד: ס |
10 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ Κύριε ὁ θεὸς Ισραηλ, ἀκούων ἀκήκοεν ὁ δοῦλός σου ὅτι ζητεῖ Σαουλ ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ Κεϊλα διαφθεῖραι τὴν πόλιν δι᾿ ἐμέ. |
10 And David said, Lord God of Israel, thy servant has indeed heard, that Saul seeks to come against Keila to destroy the city on my account. |
10 And David said: O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath heard a report, that Saul designeth to come to Ceila, to destroy the city for my sake: |
10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainlyZ heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. |
10 Then David said, “Yahweh, God of Israel, your servant has heard for sure that Saul is trying to come to Q’eilah to lay waste to the city on my account. |
10 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁמֹעַ שָׁמַע עַבְדְּךָ כִּי-מְבַקֵּשׁ שָׁאוּל לָבוֹא אֶל- קְעִילָה לְשַׁחֵת לָעִיר בַּעֲבוּרִי: |
11
εἰ ἀποκλεισθήσεται;
[καὶ]
|
11
Will [the
place]
be shut
up
X
X
X?
[And]
|
11
Will the |
11
Will the |
11 Will they shut me out? {} Will Saul come down like this [intelligence] your servant has heard? Yahweh, God of Israel, {} communicate with your servant!” And Yahweh said, “He will come down.” |
11 הֲיַסְגִּרֻנִי בַעֲלֵי קְעִילָה בְיָדוֹAD הֲיֵרֵד שָׁאוּל כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע עַבְדֶּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַגֶּד- נָאAE לְעַבְדֶּךָ ס וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה יֵרֵד: |
AFkai
eipen Dauid. ei paradwsousinAG
oi |
AIAnd
David said, “Will the |
12
And David said: Will the |
12
Then said David, Will the |
12 Then David said, “Will the city-commissioners of Q’eilah shut me and my men out into Saul’s control?” And Yahweh said, “They will shut you out.” |
12 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד הֲיַסְגִּרוּ בַּעֲלֵי קְעִילָה אֹתִי וְאֶת-אֲנָשַׁי בְּיַד-שָׁאוּל וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה יַסְגִּירוּ: ס |
13
καὶ ἀνέστη Δαυιδ
καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες
[οἱ
μετ᾿]
αὐτοῦ ὡς |
13
And David arose, and the men [with]
him, [in
number]
about |
13
Then David and his men, who were about 600,
arose, and departing from Ceila, wandered
[up
and down, uncertain]
where they should |
13 Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could goAK. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forthAL. |
13 So, David and his approximately 600 men got up and went out from Q’eilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was communicated to Saul that David had made his escape from Q’eilah, then he brought an end to the expedition. |
13 וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו כְּשֵׁשׁAM-מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וַיֵּצְאוּ מִקְּעִלָה וַיִּתְהַלְּכוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר יִתְהַלָּכוּAN וּלְשָׁאוּלAO הֻגַּד כִּי-נִמְלַט דָּוִד מִקְּעִילָה וַיֶּחְדַּל לָצֵאת: |
14
Καὶ ἐκάθισεν
Δαυιδ ἐν τῇ
ἐρήμῳ [ἐν
Μασερεμ]
ἐν τοῖς στενοῖςAP
καὶ ἐκάθητο
ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν
τῷ ὄρει Ζιφ ἐν
τῇ γῇ τῇ αὐχμώδει·
καὶ ἐζήτει
αὐτὸν Σαουλ
πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας,
καὶ οὐ παρέδωκεν
αὐτὸν |
14
And he dwelt
[in
Maserem]AQ
in the wilderness, in the narrow
passes;
and dwelt in the wilderness in mount Ziph, in the dry country. And
Saul sought him |
14
But David abode
in the desert in strong holds, and he remained in a mountain of
the desert of Ziph, in a woody hill. And Saul sought him al |
14 And David abodeAR in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountainAS in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every dayXAT, but God delivered him not into his hand. |
14 Thus David resided in the wilderness, in the strongholds, then resided on the hill in the wilderness of Ziph. Meanwhile, Saul sought for him all his days, but {Yahweh} did not deliver him into his control. |
14 וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמְּצָדוֹת וַיֵּשֶׁב בָּהָר בְּמִדְבַּרAU-זִיף וַיְבַקְשֵׁהוּ שָׁאוּל כָּל-הַיָּמִים וְלֹא-נְתָנוֹ אֱלֹהִיםAV בְּיָדוֹ: |
1Tsumura, in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, points out that the phrase “here in Judah” contrasted with Keilah in v.3 indicates Keilah was not considered part of Judah, but perhaps it became so after David’s deliverance of it.
2Henry went on to write, “Probably it was the departure both of God and David from Saul that encouraged the Philistines to make this incursion. When princes begin to persecute God's people and ministers, let them expect no other than vexation on all sides. The way for any country to be quiet is to let God's church be quiet in it.”
3Source: China Harvest Newsletter from 2018 or 2019
4Josephus, Willett, Henry, Jamieson, Gill, and Tsumura (NICOT). On the other hand, Kimchi, Abarbinel, and Keil & Delitzsch advocated for it being Abiathar.
5Isaiah 42:3 “a bruised reed He will not break, and a dim wick He will not extinguish; He will cause judgment to come out to truth.” (NAW)
6The early-church era Septuagint says that David’s men still numbered 400 at this time, whereas the Enlightenment-era Hebrew text says it had grown to 600. If the latter is accurate, Andrew Willett’s comment is a propos, “[A]ffliction and persecution doth not diminish the Lord’s people, but rather increaseth them.”
7Jewish commentaries are quite taken up with whether or not one can ask God more than one question at a time, but I don’t think that this narrative is intended to have bearing on this question.
8This contribution is from the NICOT commentary by Tsumura.
9This is actually a quote of OT passages like Gen. 28:15, Deut. 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5, and 1 Chron. 28:20.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing 1 Samuel 23 is 4Q52, which contains fragments of
vs. 8-23, and which has been dated at 250 B.C. Where it agrees with
the MT, I have colored the MT purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX
with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
Bcf. Symmachus = pronomeusousi (“in the fore-pastures”?)
CNASB = “plundering,” NIV = “looting”
D“threshing-floors — These were commonly situated on the fields and were open to the wind (Jdg. 6:11; Rth. 3:2).” ~JFB
ENASB, NIV, ESV = “attack”
FKittel noted that multiple Hebrew manuscripts skip down to the ס in v.4, removing the repetition of the inquiry.
GThe LXX reads as though the Hebrew were מערבה (“merchandise”) instead of מערכה (that which is “arranged”), but later Greek versions conform to the MT with parataxeiV/ranks (Aquila, Theodotian) or stratopeda/footsoldiers (Symmachus).
HNASB = “ranks,” NIV = “forces”
ISyriac, and even some Hebrew manuscripts read plural “hands” with the LXX. This doesn’t change the meaning though.
JGoldman passed along Driver’s note that “go down” would indicate that Q,eilah was at a lower elevation.
KNASB, NIV, ESV = “livestock” see endnote N below.
LNIV translates paraphrastically “heavy losses,” ESV is synonymous with KJV, rendering “great blow.” The word “blow/loss/slaughter” is from the same Hebrew root from which the word “struck” comes.
MThe Qere suggests adding a yod here to make it more clear that “men” is plural, since the MT has a slightly-contracted spelling, but it doesn’t change the meaning.
N“[I]t
should seem he made a sally into the country of the Philistines, for
he carried off their cattle by way of reprisal for the wrong they
did to the men of Keilah in robbing their threshing-floors.”
~M. Henry
“[The Philistines] had brought [cattle] with
them for the support of their army; or having routed them, they
[David’s troops] pursued them into their own country, and
brought off their cattle from thence:” ~J. Gill
“fought
against the Philistines, drove off their cattle” ~K&D
“‘drove
off… cattle’ … It may be that the cattle were
brought along ‘to forage for what was left on the threshing
floors’ (McCarter) or ‘to transport the grain’
(Hertzberg).” ~Tsumura
OGill noted that Kimchi, Ben Melech, and Abarbinel interpreted this phrase as emphasizing providence/chance rather than intention being the reason that "the ephod came down in his hand," but, on the other hand, the Targums give the verb the causative sense "the ephod he made to descend in his hand.” Tsumura (NICOT) renders it “carried.”
PThe LXX version is based on the Hebrew root makar, not nakar as the MT is. Symmachus conformed his version to the MT tradition with exedwken (“gave away”), and the Syriac, Chaldee, and Latin versions seem also to agree with the MT.
QGoldman:
“The Hebrew is nikkar, which
the older commentators equated with machar,
‘sold, surrendered.’ It can only be explained as the
Piel conjugation of nachar,
‘hath alienated’ (cf. Deut. 32:27, Jer. 19:4).”
K&D:
“נִכַּר
does not mean
simply to look at, but also to find strange,
and treat as strange,
and then absolutely to reject.”
But the majority of the
times this word occurs, it has a positive connotation of recognizing
by sight in a familiar way.
Rcf. synonym from Symmachus poliorkein (lit. “put the city under oath”). The word in the LXX literally means “have/possess together.”
SPiel “cause to hear” appears only here and 1 Sam. 15:4, when Saul summoned 210,000 troops, so it’s likely the numbers were again of this order if he summoned “all the people.”
TThe LXX reads as though the Hebrew had an extra ‘al (“not”) before the verb in addition to the ‘aliv (“upon him”).
UAquila uses the synonymous phrase eggison to enduma (“bring near the garment”).
VThe Greek is literally “was not about quiet”
WThe DSS does not have space in this obliterated section of the verse for this extra word in the LXX. “Of the Lord” is nevertheless assumed, so it doesn’t change anything to have it.
XNASB, NIV, ESV = “plotting” The Hebrew word has a base meaning of being “quiet.”
Y“lit.
forging... from הָרַשׁ;
Prov. 3:29, 6:14”
~K&D
But everywhere else in the history books, when the
Hiphil form of choresh appears (Jdg. 18:19; 1 Sam. 7:8;
10:27; 23:9; 2 Sam. 13:20; 19:11; 2 Ki. 18:36; Neh. 5:8; Est. 4:14;
7:4), it means “be
silent.”
ZNASB = for certain,” NIV = “definitely,” ESV = “surely”
AALater Greek versions correct to the MT tradition with katabhsetai “He will go down.”
ABNIV = “citizens,” The Hebrew root is “Ba’al,” Lit. “lords/masters,” Goldman = “burghers of the city, as distinct from the mass of the people,” M. Henry = “magistrates or elders,” Gill = “lords and great men of the place, the governor of the city, and the heads of it, the chief magistrates in it”
ACNASB, NIV, ESV = “surrender” Same in v.12. The Hebrew word literally means “shut away,” and the KJV, NAS, and ESV all translated it “shut” where it occurred in v.7. (The NIV translated it “imprisoned” in v.7.)
ADThe DSS is obliterated here, but it doesn’t have room for three of the first four words of this verse in the MT; so it supports the LXX, which omits “lords of Keilah into his hand.”
AEDSS instead hdygh
AFThis verse is not in the Septuagint. This text is Fields’ back-translation of the Hebrew into Greek, or possibly that of the Alexandrian manuscript or of Aquila or Symmachus’ versions. Since this verse is in the DSS, Alexandrian Greek, MT, and Vulgate, it seems likely to have been accidentally skipped by the Vaticanus and other LXX copyists.
AGTheodotian translated a little differently, but to the same effect, mh paradwsousin oi econteV Kehla (“The men to whom Q’eilah belong won’t betray me, will they?”).
AHIt appears that the LXX translators read ba’ali as prepositional ב = “in” + על = “upon,” thus the Greek παρα = “around the vicinity”.
AIThis verse is not in Brenton’s translation because it’s not in the Vaticanus manuscript, but it is in the Alexandrian Greek manuscript, as well as in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Masoretic Text, and Latin Vulgate. The following text is my translation of the Greek text in the column to the left.
AJcf. Symmachus kai errembonto ‘opoudhpote (“they just threw down wherever”) – not a literal a rendering of the MT as the LXX is, but not really different in meaning.
AKGoldman = “they went whithersoever they went” See endnote AO.
ALNASB = “gave up the pursuit,” NIV = “did not go [there],” ESV = “gave up the expedition”
AMThe ancient Greek and Latin versions render the number 4 here. It is unfortunate that the DSS is too obscured here for comparison.
ANTargum:
“they went to a place which was fit to go unto”
Driver:
“a Semitic idiom employed where either the means or the desire
to be more explicit does not exist”
Gill: “not
knowing whither they should go, having no particular place in view;
but went where they thought they could be safest, or that appeared
the most proper place for them”
Keil & Delitzsch:
“they wandered about where they wandered about, i.e., wherever
they could go without danger.”
Tsumura: “wandered
wherever they could”
AOThe lamed here in the DSS works if the word order of this sentence in the MT is transposed, putting the verb before the subject. This wouldn’t change the meaning except to remove emphasis from Saul as the subject, which wouldn’t change the story.
APLater Greek translators corrected the LXX with a variety of translations for Metsudot: Aquila = ocurwmasi (“strongholds”), Symmachus = katafugaiV (“refuges”), and Theodotian = sphlaioiV (“caves”), all of which get at the same general idea.
AQHere is another case of the LXX both transliterating the Hebrew word (Metsudot) and also translating it (steno- = narrows) instead of just translating it as other versions did.
ARcf. NASB, NIV = “stayed,” ESV = “remained”
ASNASB, ESV = “hill country”
ATIn both Hebrew and Greek, the word “the/his days” is definite and plural.
AUDSS instead brub, a synonym for “desert/wilderness” It would be hard to tell whether the LXX and Latin translated their version from this DSS word or from the MT word. It makes no practical difference in meaning.
AVThe DSS reads **יה, supporting the LXX and Vulgate, which read “Lord” instead of the MT “God.” But both titles refer to the same God, so there is no real difference in meaning.