Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Samuel
Chapter 23: He Strengthened His Hand in God
David, though a hunted fugitive, keeps enquiring of the LORD and saves the town of Keilah, only to learn its people would betray him. In the wilderness of Ziph, Jonathan finds him one last time and 'strengthened his hand in God.' Then, as Saul closes in and escape seems impossible, God turns the enemy aside, and the place is named the Rock of Escape.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Samuel chapter 23. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 23 shows David the fugitive still seeking the LORD, saving a thankless city, strengthened by a faithful friend, and delivered at the last moment by the hand of God. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
David Saves Keilah (1 Samuel 23:1-13)
Enquiring of the LORD, David delivers the town of Keilah from the Philistines, only to learn its people would hand him over to Saul.
Shall I Go and Smite These Philistines?
"Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 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 armies of the Philistines? 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. So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 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. 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 bars. And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth."
Word Study
"enquired," Hebrew sha'al (שָׁאַל), "to ask, enquire, request." Four times in this chapter David sha'als of the LORD, asking before he acts. It is the very word from which Saul's name is drawn, "asked of God", and here the irony is sharp: the man named "asked" no longer asks God anything, while the hunted David asks repeatedly and is answered. David enquires whether to fight, enquires again when his men fear, and later enquires whether Keilah will betray him. This is the discipline of a man after God's own heart: not presuming, not leaning on his own understanding, but "in all thy ways acknowledge him" (Proverbs 3:6). The ephod that Abiathar carried down from the massacre at Nob now becomes David's means of enquiry, so that even Saul's atrocity, by God's providence, provided David a priest and a way to seek the LORD. The believer walks the same path: ask, and ask again; "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5).
Explanation
Word comes that the Philistines are plundering Keilah, a town of Judah. David, though a fugitive with no obligation, enquires of the LORD and is told to go and save it. When his men, understandably afraid, hesitate, he enquires a second time and receives clear promise of victory. So David and his six hundred rout the Philistines and rescue the city. But gratitude is short-lived. When Saul hears David is "shut in" behind Keilah's gates, he musters an army to trap him. David, warned in spirit, uses the ephod to ask two pointed questions: Will Saul come down? and Will the men of Keilah, whom I just saved, hand me over? The answers are grim: yes, and yes. So David leaves before the trap closes, and Saul, hearing he has escaped, gives up the march. David saved Keilah, and Keilah would have betrayed David, a bitter lesson in the ingratitude of men and the faithfulness of God who warns His own.
Gospel Focus
David saved a city that would have delivered him to death. It is a shadow of a greater Savior. The Lord Jesus came to save the very people who would cry, "Crucify him," pouring out His deliverance on those whose hearts would betray Him. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:11). Yet the ingratitude of Keilah did not stop David from doing good, nor did the ingratitude of the world stop Christ from going to the cross. And notice David's dependence: at every turn he asks the LORD, and the LORD tells him plainly what men will do. Our God knows the hearts of all, and guides His people away from snares they cannot see. When you cannot tell friend from betrayer, He can, "I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm 32:8). Keep enquiring; the faithfulness of God more than covers the faithlessness of men.
Jonathan Strengthens David's Hand (1 Samuel 23:14-18)
In the wilderness of Ziph, Jonathan seeks out David one last time and encourages him in God, renewing their covenant.
He Strengthened His Hand in God
"And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house."
Word Study
"strengthened his hand in God," Hebrew chazaq (חָזַק), "to be strong, to strengthen, make firm." Jonathan came to David and "strengthened his hand in God" (chazaq). The phrase is precise and beautiful: he did not merely cheer David up, he strengthened his hand in God, turning his weary friend's eyes back to the LORD and His promise. True encouragement does this. It does not flatter or distract, but points the discouraged soul to God, to His faithfulness, His word, His purpose. Jonathan reminded David of the sure promise, "thou shalt be king over Israel," and sealed it with covenant. This is the ministry every believer owes another, "exhort one another daily... lest any of you be hardened" (Hebrews 3:13); "wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Note too Jonathan's rare humility: the crown prince gladly yields the throne, content to be "next unto thee." He loved David's good above his own advancement, a picture of self-emptying love.
Explanation
David hides in the wildernesses and strongholds of Ziph, hunted every single day, "but God delivered him not into his hand", the quiet, sovereign refrain of these chapters. At his lowest, when Saul has come out to seek his very life, Jonathan comes. Crossing enemy lines at real risk, the king's own son finds David in the wood and does the one thing he most needs: he strengthens his hand in God. He speaks faith, not fear: "the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel." He even confesses that Saul himself knows this to be true. Then the two renew their covenant before the LORD, and part. This is the last time the two friends will ever meet on earth. Jonathan returns to his house, and to his death beside his doomed father; but he leaves David strengthened for the long trial ahead.
Gospel Focus
Jonathan's ministry to David is a model of Christian friendship: he sought out the discouraged, strengthened his hand in God, and pointed him to God's promise rather than his circumstances. In a world of fair-weather friends and Keilahs ready to betray, Jonathan is the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24), and in that he points to Christ, who is not ashamed to call us brethren and who comes to us in our wilderness. Note too the shape of Jonathan's love: he lays down his own claim to the throne so that David may reign. "I shall be next unto thee" is the language of one who counts another's exaltation dearer than his own, the very mind of Christ, who "made himself of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7). Who has God set you beside to strengthen in Him? And do you, like Jonathan, rejoice when another is lifted above you? The love that yields is the love that reflects the Saviour.
The Rock of Escape (1 Samuel 23:19-29)
The Ziphites betray David to Saul, who nearly traps him, until a Philistine invasion turns the king away and David is delivered.
They Called That Place Selahammahlekoth
"Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi."
Word Study
"Selahammahlekoth," Hebrew Sela-hammachlekoth (סֶלַע הַמַּחְלְקוֹת), "the rock of divisions," or "the rock of escape." When Saul had David all but surrounded, one mountain between hunter and hunted, a messenger's word about a Philistine raid pulled him away at the last instant, and they named the place "the rock of divisions", the very rock that divided Saul from David, where the LORD's providence split the closing net. The name became a memorial: God parts the pursuer from the pursued at the very edge of ruin. How often His deliverances come at the last moment, when escape seems impossible and the enemy compasses us round about. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). The rock of divisions stands for every eleventh-hour rescue by which the LORD proves that "the LORD knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations" (2 Peter 2:9).
Explanation
The men of Ziph, fellow Judahites, betray David's hiding place to Saul, currying favor with the king. Saul, blasphemously invoking the LORD's blessing on their treachery ("ye have compassion on me"), sends them to pin down David's every haunt while he brings the army. The net tightens in the wilderness of Maon: Saul on one side of the mountain, David on the other, the king's men closing round to take them. It is the closest David ever came to capture; humanly, he was finished. Then, at that exact moment, a messenger reaches Saul: the Philistines have invaded. Saul must break off and turn to defend the land. David is delivered, and the place is named Selahammahlekoth, the rock of escape. David then moves to the strongholds of Engedi, by the Dead Sea, where the next chapter unfolds. The timing is God's; the enemy who threatened Keilah now, by God's providence, becomes the means of David's rescue.
Gospel Focus
The rock of escape is a monument to the providence of God. At the precise moment David was surrounded and lost, the LORD moved the Philistines to invade and drew Saul away. God had said He would not deliver David into Saul's hand (verse 14), and He kept His word, timing a distant raid to save His anointed. Nothing is coincidence to the God who works all things after the counsel of His own will. Betrayed by the Ziphites, hunted by Saul, David could yet say, "my times are in thy hand" (Psalm 31:15), and indeed it was in this very region and season that David poured out such trust in the Psalms. For the believer this is unshakable comfort: no snare can close that God does not permit, and no enemy can hold you when your Deliverer decrees escape. He who kept David at the rock of divisions "will with the temptation also make a way to escape" (1 Corinthians 10:13). Trust the God of the last moment; your times are in His hand.
Chapter 23 in Review
1 Samuel 23 follows the hunted David through guidance, friendship, and deliverance. Enquiring of the LORD, he saves the town of Keilah from the Philistines, only to learn by the ephod that the very people he rescued would betray him to Saul, so he departs before the trap closes. In the wilderness of Ziph, Jonathan comes one last time and "strengthened his hand in God," renewing their covenant and gladly yielding the throne. Then the Ziphites betray David, and Saul nearly captures him at Maon, one mountain between them, until a Philistine invasion pulls the king away, and the place is named the rock of escape.
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter magnifies both the faithfulness of God and the ministry of the saints. David the deliverer of a thankless city foreshadows Christ, who saved the very people who would betray Him. Jonathan strengthening David's hand in God models the encouragement believers owe one another, and his glad yielding of the throne reflects the self-emptying mind of Christ. And Selahammahlekoth, the rock where God parted pursuer from pursued at the last instant, stands for every eleventh-hour deliverance of the God in whose hand our times are held.
- David enquired of the LORD again and again; walk by asking, not by presuming.
- He saved a city that would betray him, as Christ saved those who would reject Him.
- Jonathan "strengthened his hand in God", true encouragement points a soul back to the LORD.
- At the rock of escape, God delivered David at the last moment; our times are in His hand.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you enquire of the LORD before you act, and again when others make you afraid?
- Whose hand can you strengthen in God today, pointing them to His promise rather than their fear?
- Where has God delivered you at the last moment, and do you rest that your times are in His hand?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Enquiring of the LORD; saving Keilah; the ingratitude of men: 1 Samuel 23:1-13; Proverbs 3:6; James 1:5; John 1:11; Psalm 32:8.
- Jonathan strengthens David's hand in God; encouragement and self-yielding love: 1 Samuel 23:14-18; Hebrews 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Proverbs 18:24; Philippians 2:7.
- Selahammahlekoth, the rock of escape; God's providential deliverance: 1 Samuel 23:19-29; Psalm 46:1; 2 Peter 2:9; Psalm 31:15; 1 Corinthians 10:13.