Ch. 1 Samuel 19:1-7. Jonathan’s intercession with his father on David’s behalf

1. Saul spake, &c.] Perhaps in some outburst of passion like Henry the Second’s against Thomas à Becket. No definite command seems to have been given.

2. until the morning] Rather, in the morning.

3. in the field where thou art] Jonathan may have wished David to hear and judge for himself of Saul’s intention; or to be close at hand so that he might at once inform him of the result of his appeal.

4. spake good of David] Had Jonathan simply advised David to flee, without endeavouring to bring Saul to a better mind, he would have acted to the prejudice of his father’s interests, by depriving him of the best support of his kingdom.

to thee-ward] “Ward” is used as a termination denoting (a) direction (Exodus 37:9), (b) as here, relation.

5. put his life in his hand] i.e. voluntarily exposed himself to peril of death. The figure seems to be that of taking a treasure out of a safe place, and carrying it about with the risk of losing it Cp. ch. 1 Samuel 28:21; Jdg 12:3; Psalm 119:109.

wrought a great salvation] See 1 Samuel 11:9 (note), 13.

sin against innocent blood] Incur bloodguiltiness by the murder of an innocent man. Cp. Deuteronomy 19:10-13; Psalm 94:21.

6. Saul sware] Sincerely no doubt for the time, but with no real repentance for his murderous design.

8–11. Saul’s attempt on David’s life

8. David went out, &c.] This preliminary mention of David’s fresh successes implies that Saul’s attack of madness was due to jealousy excited by them.

9. the evil spirit] See on 1 Samuel 16:14.

as he sat, &c.] Now he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing with his hand. These words are a parenthesis picturing the circumstances under which Saul attempted to murder David. On Saul’s spear see at 1 Samuel 18:10.

10. escaped that night] It is perhaps better to follow the Sept. in joining “that night” to the next sentence and reading, “and it came to pass that night that Saul, &c.”

11. in the morning] As he left his house. Cp. Jdg 16:2. “We may guess that only the fear of alarming the town, and of rousing the people to rescue their favourite hero, prevented him from directing them to break into the house, and to slay David there.” Kitto’s Bibl. Illustr.

Psalms 59 is referred by its title to the present occasion. If this is correct, the Psalm supplements the history, shewing that David was in danger not from Saul only, but from ruffians among Saul’s followers who prowled about the streets of Gibeah threatening his life.

12–17. David’s escape by the aid of Michal

12. through a window] Compare the escape of the spies from Jericho (Joshua 2:15), and St Paul from Damascus (2 Corinthians 11:33). If David’s house, like Rahab’s, was upon the town wall, it would be easy for him to escape thus though the door was watched by Saul’s men.

fled, and escaped] Thus began that fugitive life of hardship and peril, which was to form a new element in the education of the future king. See Introd. p. 40.

13. an image] The teraphim. These were the penates or house-hold images of the Israelites, brought originally from their Chaldean home (Genesis 31:19). In spite of the strict prohibition of idols, they were used by those who professed to worship Jehovah in the time of the Judges (Jdg 17:5; Jdg 18:14 ff.), and even down to the later days of the Kings (2 Kings 23:24). They seem to have been a kind of fetish or household charm for good luck, rather than an object of worship, and were used in divination (Zechariah 10:2; Ezekiel 21:19-22). It is surprising to find teraphim in David’s house. It has been conjectured that Michal, like Rachel, kept them secretly on account of her barrenness. The plural teraphim here denotes a single image, in human form, apparently of life-size.

put a pillow, &c.] Put the quilt of goat’s hair at its head, and covered it with the coverlet. Michal wrapped the head of the image in a rough rug, either to hide it, or to imitate a man’s hair, and covered up the whole with the beged, a square piece of woollen cloth, which was used for an upper garment, or for a bed-covering. Cp. Deuteronomy 24:12-13.

14. she said, He is sick] Apparently she took the messengers into the outer chamber and pointed to the figure in bed in an inner closet, not letting them go near enough to detect the imposture. The plan gained David time to escape. The Sept. has, “and they [the messengers] brought word that he was sick.”

15. Bring him up] This indicates that Saul’s residence was on the hill of Gibeah, David’s in the lower town.

16. There was an image, &c.] The teraphim was in the bed, and the quilt of goat’s hair at its head.

17 He said unto me, &c.] Michal adds another lie to screen herself from Saul’s anger. In this she was but following her father’s example (1 Samuel 19:6), and with more excuse. Compare the deceit practised by Rahab (Joshua 2:4 ff.); by the woman at Bahurim (2 Samuel 17:20); and in modern times, by Grotius’ wife, who to save her husband represented the box in which he was concealed as a box of theological books. Scripture affirms the universal duty of Truth without any exception (Leviticus 19:11), nor can it he understood to sanction breaches of this general law by recording them without disapproval. It is left to the casuist to discuss whether any necessity is sufficient to justify a falsehood or an act of deception. See Whewell’s Elements of Morality, Chaps. 15, 16.

18–24. David takes refuge with Samuel at Ramah

18. to Samuel] Turning naturally for direction at this crisis to the prophet who had anointed him, and hoping that Saul would at least reverence the age and authority of Samuel. No doubt David had had much intercourse with Samuel since their first meeting at Bethlehem.

in Naioth] Naioth, which was at or near Ramah, is a quasi-proper name signifying dwellings, and in al probability denotes the College, or common residence of the society of prophets collected together at Ramah by Samuel. See Introd. ch. 6 p. 33. Cp. 2 Kings 6:1-2. The Targum renders the word “house of instruction.” Hither Samuel took David, partly as being a safer place of refuge than his own house; partly that he might be spiritually strengthened by a share in the religious exercises of the society (1 Samuel 19:20).

20. prophets prophesying] Some common religious exercise conducted by Samuel, who is described as standing as president over the prophets, is meant by “prophesying.” See on 1 Samuel 10:5. The Targum paraphrases: “They saw the company of scribes praising, and Samuel standing as instructor over them.”

21. they prophesied also] Carried away by the religious excitement they forgot their errand, and joined the chant of the prophets.

22. a great well] The great cistern, some well known landmark in Sechu, a place nowhere else mentioned, between Gibeah and Ramah. The reading is uncertain. The Sept. has “the well of the threshing-floor that is in Sephi (or, the hill).”

23. until he came to Naioth] The inspiration seized Saul even before he reached the company of prophets. He was to be convinced of the irresistible might of the Divine Spirit against whose influence he had striven. He was to be taught, if his heart was not already too utterly hardened to learn, that in fighting against David he was fighting against God, and engaging in a futile struggle. For this reason Saul, as the chief agent in David’s persecution, was struck down more completely than his servants, and lay there unconscious “all that day and all that night.”

24. naked] Not literally naked, but stripped of his outer garment.

Is Saul also among the prophets?] The origin of the proverb is related in 1 Samuel 10:11. It now received a fresh exemplification. This burst of prophetic inspiration was a startling reminder to Saul of that former occasion when the Spirit of God came upon him to fit him for that office in which he had failed so sadly. See Maurice, Prophets and Kings, p. 17 ff.