to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul
שָׁא֖וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
practised
מַחֲרִ֣ישׁma.cha.Rish
H2790
to scratch · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
mischief
הָרָעָ֑הha.ra.'Ah
H7451
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
said
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙vai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abiathar
אֶבְיָתָ֣ר'ev.ya.Tar
H54
Ebjathar · proper noun, a man's name
priest
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןha.ko.Hen
H3548
literally one officiating · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hither
הַגִּ֖ישָׁהha.Gi.shah
H5066
to be or come (causatively · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
ephod
הָאֵפֽוֹדha.'e.Fod
H646
a girdle · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 30:7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to Da…
1 Samuel 23:6 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.
Numbers 27:21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall th…
1 Samuel 14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
1 Samuel 22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
Jeremiah 11:18-19 And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Acts 9:24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 23:7-13
Here is, I. Saul contriving within himself the destruction of David (Sa1 23:7, Sa1 23:8): He heard that he had come to Keilah; and did he not hear what brought him thither? Was it not told him that he had bravely relieved Keilah and delivered it out of the hands of the Philistines? This, one would think, should have put Saul upon considering what honour and dignity should be done to David for this. But, instead of that, he catches at it as an opportunity of doing David a mischief. An ungrateful wretch he was, and for ever unworthy to have any service or kindness done him. Well might David complain of his enemies that they rewarded him evil for good, and that for his love they ere his adversa…
he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod--The consultation was made, and the prayer uttered, by means of the priest. The alternative conditions here described have often been referred to as illustrating the doctrine of God's foreknowledge and preordination of events.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 23:9
Bring hither the ephod - It seems as if David himself, clothed with the ephod, had consulted the Lord; and Sa1 23:10-12 contain the words of the consultation, and the Lord's answer. But see on Sa1 23:2 (note).
John Gill on 1 Samuel 23:9
And. David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him,.... That is, plotted and contrived it, formed schemes in order to do him mischief, giving out one thing, and designing another; so he pretended war against the Philistines, but his intention was to come against Keilah, and take David there:
and he said to Abiathar the priest, bring hither the ephod; not for David to put on, but for the priest himself, that being clothed with it, and the Urim and Thummim in it, he might inquire for him of the Lord.
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 23:1-14
The Church Fathers
When David learned that Saul was secretly planning evil against him, etc. After bringing the ephod with Abiathar, David consulted the Lord, asking whether Saul would come to destroy Keilah, and whether the citizens would hand him over. Hence it can be inferred by what order he consulted the Lord before, that is, by putting on the priestly vestment and thus seeking the Lord's response through the mouth of the priest, and that this was the custom of those consulting God at that time, especially those who could not approach the Ark of the Lord. For it is written about this: "There I will speak to you, from above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim" (Exodus 25). But when David discovered both the impending enemy and the unfaithful refuge of the host city, he went out with his about six hundred men and wandered uncertainly here and there. For the holy ones, namely the members of the supreme King, seek through men of great virtue and knowledge of the holy scriptures how the state of the Church will be in the last times; and through the Scriptures, they learn that to its overthrow will come the empire of the Jewish people; and the men of Keilah, that is, of a restless mind and willing to live for themselves, not for the Creator, will quickly betray the faith they have initiated. Christ will depart from such, nor will He make His abode among them. The teachers, too, perfect in hope and work, depart. For six signify works, a hundred hope of eternal things, marking the perfection of men. For they abandon the lukewarm so that by speaking to those who do not preserve it, they do not harm further, in the example of the history which, describing the deeds of David, adds:
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abiathar — Father of abundance, or my father excels, the son of Ahimelech the high priest. He was the tenth high priest, and the fourth in descent from Eli. When his father was slain with the priests of Nob, he…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Foreknowledge of God — Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29; 11:2; 1 Pet. 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is…
High priest — Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides…
Keilah — Citadel, a city in the lowlands of Judah (Josh. 15:44). David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines (1 Sam. 23:1-8); but the inhabitants proving unfaithful to him, in that they sought to…
Teraphim — Givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal…
Urim And Thummim — (light and perfection). When the Jewish exiles were met on their return from Babylon by a question which they had no data for answering, they agreed to postpone the settlement of the difficulty till…
Ephod · .Used as an oracle — .Used as an oracle
Ephod, The · For the high priest: Worn or held by him when consulted — For the high priest: Worn or held by him when consulted
High Priest, The · Duties of: Enquiring of God by Urim and Thummim — Duties of: Enquiring of God by Urim and Thummim
Sa1 23:1-14
Rescue of Keilah. - After his return to the mountains of Judah, David received intelligence that Philistines, i.e., a marauding company of these enemies of Israel, were fighting against Keilah, and plundering the threshing-floors, upon which the corn that had been reaped was lying ready for threshing. Keilah belonged to the towns of the lowlands of Judah (Jos 15:44); and although it has not yet been discovered, was certainly very close to the Philistian frontier.
Sa1 23:2
After receiving this information, David inquired of the Lord (through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest) whether he should go and smite these Philistines, and received an affirmative answer.
Sa1 23:3-6
But…
Ingratitude · .Men of Keilah to David — .Men of Keilah to David
Keilah · .David rescues — .David rescues
Urim And Thummin · Instances of consulting God by — Instances of consulting God by
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
