1 Samuel 26:3

And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Saul	שָׁא֜וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
pitched	וַיִּ֨חַן vai.Yi.chan	H2583	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hill	בְּגִבְעַ֣ת be.giv.'At	H1389	a hillock · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Hachilah	הַחֲכִילָ֗ה ha.cha.khi.Lah	H2444	Chakilah · definite article + proper noun, a place name
before	פְּנֵ֥י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Jeshimon	הַיְשִׁימֹ֖ן hay.shi.Mon	H3452	a desolation · definite article + proper noun, a place name
way	הַדָּ֑רֶךְ ha.Da.rekh	H1870	a road (as trodden) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
David	וְדָוִד֙ ve.da.Vid	H1732	David · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
abode	יֹשֵׁ֣ב yo.Shev	H3427	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
wilderness	בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר ba.mid.Bar	H4057	a pasture (i.e. open field · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
saw	וַיַּ֕רְא vai.Yar'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul	שָׁא֛וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
came	בָ֥א va'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
after	אַחֲרָ֖יו 'a.cha.Rav	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wilderness	הַמִּדְבָּֽרָה ha.mid.Ba.rah	H4057	a pasture (i.e. open field · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix

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 23:19 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 Hachila…
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?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Here, 1. Saul gets information of David's movements and acts offensively. The Ziphites came to him and told him where David now was, in the same place where he was when they formerly betrayed him, Sa1 23:19. Perhaps (though it is not mentioned) Saul had given them intimation, under-hand, that he continued his design against David, and would be glad of their assistance. If not, they were very officious to Saul, aware of what would please him, and very malicious against David, to whom they despaired of ever reconciling themselves, and therefore they stirred up Saul (who needed no such spur) against him, Sa1 26:1. For aught we know, Saul would have continued in the same good mind that he was in…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:2

Three thousand chosen men - Though they knew that David was but six hundred strong, yet Saul thought it was not safe to pursue such an able general with a less force than that mentioned in the text; and, that he might the better depend on them, they were all elect or picked men out of the whole of his army.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:3

And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way,.... To the wilderness; the very same place where the Ziphites suggested David was: but David abode in the wilderness; not in the hill of Hachilah, but in the wilderness of Ziph itself: and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness; he understood, by some information he had, that Saul had set out from Gibeah, and was coming to seek for him in the wilderness of Ziph; perhaps Jonathan had given him intelligence; however, he was not quite certain, as appears by what follows.

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 26:1-12

The repetition not only of the treachery of the Ziphites, but also of the sparing of Saul by David, furnishes no proof in itself that the account contained in this chapter is only another legend of the occurrences already related in 1 Samuel 23:19-24:22. As the pursuit of David by Saul lasted for several years, in so small a district as the desert of Judah, there is nothing strange in the repetition of the same scenes. And the assertion made by Thenius, that "Saul would have been a moral monster, which he evidently was not, if he had pursued David with quiet deliberation, and through the medium of the same persons, and had sought his life again, after his own life had been so magnanimously s…

Dictionary and topics

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.…
Hachilah · A hill in — A hill in
Self-Control · Of David — Of David

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).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:2

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:3

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 26:1-12

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:1-5

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:2

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:3

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 26:1-12

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 26:3