1 Samuel 26:1

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah,.... Of Benjamin, called sometimes Gibeah of Saul, because it was the place of his birth and residence; hither Saul had returned after his last interview

And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? The Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah.

1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 26 Saul, by the discovery of the Ziphites, cometh to Hachilah against David, ; who cometh with Abishai to Saul’ s camp; stayeth him from killing Saul, but taketh his spear and cruse, . He upbraideth Abner, ; exhorteth Saul, , who acknowledgeth his sin, . 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 . 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 26:1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, [which is] before Jeshimon?Ver. 1. And the Ziphites came unto Saul.] As they had done once before, and therefore being conscious of their former treachery, and in addition desirous to curry favour with Saul, they stir him up to destroy David, whom they ought to have favoured, as being of their own tribe. Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah?] Is he not, with the hunted hare, returned to his old form? There he had found God appearing for him, as out of an engine, and there he hopeth to find him again. It is not amiss in our daily prayers, to accustom ourselves to the same place; faith may hereby be somewhat helped, as Jacob’ s was by Bethel and Penuel.

(1) The Ziphites came unto Saul.—There is grave difficulty connected with the recital contained in this chapter. Is it another account of the incident told in 1 Samuel 24, 26 by a different narrator? This is the opinion of some modern expositors of weight: for instance, Ewald and the Bishop of Bath and Wells in the Speaker’s Commentary. The question at issue is as follows:—We have in this First Book of Samuel, in 1 Samuel 23, 24, 26, two recitals of David sparing his great adversary’s life, at first sight under very similar circumstances. For instance: in both these occurrences (1) it is the same people, the Ziphites, who call Saul’s attention to David’s presence in their neighbourhood; (2) in both, Saul comes from Gibeah with the same number of men, 3,000; (3) the general bearing of the incident is identical in both—viz., the persuasions of David’s followers to induce their leader to take Saul’s life when in his power resisted by the noble-minded chieftain; the taking of something personal by David from the sleeping king, as a proof that the royal life had been in his hands; the sequel, which describes the heartfelt temporary repentance of Saul for the past. But here the resemblance ends. The circumstances of the night raid by David and his companions into the camp of the sleeping Saul are, when examined closely, so entirely different from the circumstances of the midday siesta of Saul in the En-gedi cavern, where David and his band were dwelling, that it is really impossible to assume that they are versions of one and the same incident. We conclude, therefore, with some certainty, that the accounts contained in 1 Samuel 23, 24, , 26 refer to two distinct and separate events; and so Keil, Erdmann and Lange, Dean Payne Smith in the Pulpit Commentary, Wordsworth, &c. Bishop Hervey, in the Speaker’s Commentary, is, however, supported in his hypothesis of the two accounts referring to only one incident by Ewald, De Wette, and others. In the course of this exposition, the more striking agreements and divergencies will be discussed. There remains, however, a still graver question to be considered, the gravity and difficulty of which remains the same whether we assume, as we propose to do, that twice in the course of the outlaw life of David the king’s life was in his power, or that only once David stood over the sleeping king, sword in hand, and that the two accounts refer to one and the same event—For what purpose did the compiler of the First Book of Samuel insert in his narrative this twenty-sixth chapter—where either the old story of 1 Samuel 23, 24 is repeated with certain variations, or else an incident of a similar nature to one which has been told before in careful detail is repeated at great length? To this important question no perfectly satisfactory reply can be given.

CHAPTER XXVI The Ziphites inform Saul of David's hiding place, 1. Saul, with three thousand men, goes in pursuit of him, 2, 3. David sends out spies; and finds where Saul had pitched his camp; and he and Abishai come to the camp by night, find all asleep, and bring away Saul's spear, and the cruse of water that was at his head, 4-12. David goes to the opposite hill; awakes Abner, captain of Saul's host; chides him for being so careless of his master's life; and calls on Saul to send one of his servants for the spear; and severely chides him for his continued hostility to him, 13-24. Saul humbles himself to David; promises to persecute him no more; and returns to his own place, 25. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI Verse 1. The Ziphites came] This is the second time that these enemies of David endeavoured to throw him into the hands of Saul. 1 Samuel 23:19.

Ch. 1 Samuel 26:1-4. Saul’s renewed pursuit of David 1. And the Ziphites came] On the theory that this is only another account of the incidents related in 1 Samuel 23:19 to 1 Samuel 24:22, see Note VII. p. 243. The view there taken that the narratives refer to different events, is assumed in the notes. Psalms 54 is referred by its title either to this occasion or to that of 1 Samuel 23:19 ff. the hill of Hachilah] See on 1 Samuel 23:19. is before Jeshimon] Looketh towards the Waste. See on 1 Samuel 23:19, where the position of the hill of Hachilah is more particularly defined as “on the south of the Waste.”

The incident related in this chapter of the meeting between Saul and David bears a strong general resemblance to that recorded in 1 Sam. 24, and is of a nature unlikely to have occurred more than once.

THE ’ SECOND ATTEMPT TO BETRAY DAVID, 1 Samuel 26:1-5. 1. Ziphites… Hachilah… Jeshimon — See notes on 1 Samuel 23:14; 1 Samuel 23:19. The assumption of certain critics, that because this account resembles the one in chap.