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Selected Verse: 1 Samuel 26:13 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Sa 26:13	Strong Concordance	Then David [01732] went over [05674] to the other side [05676], and stood [05975] on the top [07218] of an hill [02022] afar off [07350]; a great [07227] space [04725] being between them:
	King James	Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Then David . . . stood on the top of an hill afar off . . . and cried to the people--(See on Jdg 9:7). The extraordinary purity and elasticity of the air in Palestine enable words to be distinctly heard that are addressed by a speaker from the top of one hill to people on that of another, from which it is separated by a deep intervening ravine. Hostile parties can thus speak to each other, while completely beyond the reach of each other's attack. It results from the peculiar features of the country in many of the mountain districts.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Then David . . . stood on the top of an hill afar off . . . and cried to the people--(See on Jdg 9:7). The extraordinary purity and elasticity of the air in Palestine enable words to be distinctly heard that are addressed by a speaker from the top of one hill to people on that of another, from which it is separated by a deep intervening ravine. Hostile parties can thus speak to each other, while completely beyond the reach of each other's attack. It results from the peculiar features of the country in many of the mountain districts.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
"And David went over to the other side, and placed himself upon the top of the mountain afar off (the space between them was great), and cried to the people," etc. Saul had probably encamped with his fighting men on the slope of the ill Hachilah, so that a valley separated him from the opposite hill, from which David had no doubt reconnoitred the camp and then gone down to it (Sa1 26:6), and to which he returned after the deed was accomplished. The statement that this mountain was far off, so that there was a great space between David and Saul, not only favours the accuracy of the historical tradition, but shows that David reckoned far less now upon any change in the state of Saul's mind than he had done before, when he followed Saul without hesitation from the cave and called after him (Sa1 24:9), and that in fact he rather feared lest Saul should endeavour to get him into his power as soon as he woke from his sleep. Sa1 26:14 David called out to Abner, whose duty it was as general to defend the life of his king. And Abner replied, "Who art thou, who criest out to the king?" i.e., offendest the king by thy shouting, and disturbest his rest. Sa1 26:15-16 David in return taunted Abner with having watched the king carelessly, and made himself chargeable with his death. "For one of the people came to destroy thy lord the king." As a proof of this, he then showed him the spear and pitcher that he had taken away with him. ראה is to be repeated in thought before את־צפּחת: "look where the king's spear is; and (look) at the pitcher at his head," sc., where it is. These reproaches that were cast at Abner were intended to show to Saul, who might at any rate possibly hear, and in fact did hear, that David was the most faithful defender of his life, more faithful than his closest and most zealous servants. Sa1 26:17-19 When Saul heard David's voice (for he could hardly have seen David, as the occurrence took place before daybreak, at the latest when the day began to dawn), and David had made himself known to the king in reply to his inquiry, David said, "Why doth my lord pursue his servant? for what have I done, and what evil is in my hand?" He then gave him the well-meant advice, to seek reconciliation for his wrath against him, and not to bring upon himself the guilt of allowing David to find his death in a foreign land. The words, "and now let my lord the king hear the saying of his servant," serve to indicate that what follows is important, and worthy of laying to heart. In his words, David supposes two cases as conceivable causes of Saul's hostility: (1) if Jehovah hath stirred thee up against me; (2) if men have done so. In the first case, he proposes as the best means of overcoming this instigation, that He (Jehovah) should smell an offering. The Hiphil ירח only means to smell, not to cause to smell. The subject is Jehovah. Smelling a sacrifice is an anthropomorphic term, used to denote the divine satisfaction (cf. Gen 8:21). The meaning of the words, "let Jehovah smell sacrifice," is therefore, "let Saul appease the wrath of God by the presentation of acceptable sacrifices." What sacrifices they are which please God, is shown in Psa 51:18-19; and it is certainly not by accident merely that David uses the word minchah, the technical expression in the law for the bloodless sacrifice, which sets forth the sanctification of life in good works. The thought to which David gives utterance here, namely, that God instigates a man to evil actions, is met with in other passages of the Old Testament. It not only lies at the foundation of the words of David in Psa 51:6 (cf. Hengstenberg on Psalms), but is also clearly expressed in Sa2 24:1, where Jehovah instigates David to number the people, and where this instigation is described as a manifestation of the anger of God against Israel; and in Sa2 16:10., where David says, with regard to Shimei, that God had bade him curse him. These passages also show that God only instigates those who have sinned against Him to evil deeds; and therefore that the instigation consists in the fact that God impels sinners to manifest the wickedness of their hearts in deeds, or furnishes the opportunity and occasion for the unfolding and practical manifestation of the evil desire of the heart, that the sinner may either be brought to the knowledge of his more evil ways and also to repentance, through the evil deed and its consequences, or, if the heart should be hardened still more by the evil deed, that it may become ripe for the judgment of death. The instigation of a sinner to evil is simply one peculiar way in which God, as a general rule, punishes sins through sinners; for God only instigates to evil actions such as have drawn down the wrath of God upon themselves in consequence of their sin. When David supposes the fact that Jehovah has instigated Saul against him, he acknowledges, implicitly at least, that he himself is a sinner, whom the Lord may be intending to punish, though without lessening Saul's wrong by this indirect confession. The second supposition is: "if, however, children of men" (sc., have instigated thee against me); in which case "let them be cursed before the Lord; for they drive me now (this day) that I dare not attach myself to the inheritance of Jehovah (i.e., the people of God), saying, Go, serve other gods." The meaning is this: They have carried it so far now, that I am obliged to separate from the people of God, to fly from the land of the Lord, and, because far away from His sanctuary, to serve other gods. The idea implied in the closing words was, that Jehovah could only be worshipped in Canaan, at the sanctuary consecrated to Him, because it was only there that He manifested himself to His people, and revealed His face or gracious presence (vid., Psa 42:2-3; Psa 84:11; Psa 143:6.). "We are not to understand that the enemies of David were actually accustomed to use these very words, but David was thinking of deeds rather than words" (Calvin). Sa1 26:20 "And now let not my blood fall to the earth far away from the face of the Lord," i.e., do not carry it so far as to compel me to perish in a foreign land. "For the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea (vid., Sa1 24:15), as one hunts a partridge upon the mountains." This last comparison does not of course refer to the first, so that "the object of comparison is compared again with something else," as Thenius supposes, but it refers rather to the whole of the previous clause. The king of Israel is pursuing something very trivial, and altogether unworthy of his pursuit, just as if one were hunting a partridge upon the mountains. "No one would think it worth his while to hunt a single partridge that had flown to the mountains, when they may be found in coveys in the fields" (Winer, Bibl. R. W. ii. p. 307). This comparison, therefore, does not presuppose that קרא must be a bird living upon the mountains, as Thenius maintains, so as to justify his altering the text according to the Septuagint. These words of David were perfectly well adapted to sharpen Saul's conscience, and induce him to desist from his enmity, if he still had an ear for the voice of truth.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

"And David went over to the other side, and placed himself upon the top of the mountain afar off (the space between them was great), and cried to the people," etc. Saul had probably encamped with his fighting men on the slope of the ill Hachilah, so that a valley separated him from the opposite hill, from which David had no doubt reconnoitred the camp and then gone down to it (Sa1 26:6), and to which he returned after the deed was accomplished. The statement that this mountain was far off, so that there was a great space between David and Saul, not only favours the accuracy of the historical tradition, but shows that David reckoned far less now upon any change in the state of Saul's mind than he had done before, when he followed Saul without hesitation from the cave and called after him (Sa1 24:9), and that in fact he rather feared lest Saul should endeavour to get him into his power as soon as he woke from his sleep.

Sa1 26:14

David called out to Abner, whose duty it was as general to defend the life of his king. And Abner replied, "Who art thou, who criest out to the king?" i.e., offendest the king by thy shouting, and disturbest his rest.

Sa1 26:15-16

David in return taunted Abner with having watched the king carelessly, and made himself chargeable with his death. "For one of the people came to destroy thy lord the king." As a proof of this, he then showed him the spear and pitcher that he had taken away with him. ראה is to be repeated in thought before את־צפּחת: "look where the king's spear is; and (look) at the pitcher at his head," sc., where it is. These reproaches that were cast at Abner were intended to show to Saul, who might at any rate possibly hear, and in fact did hear, that David was the most faithful defender of his life, more faithful than his closest and most zealous servants.

Sa1 26:17-19

When Saul heard David's voice (for he could hardly have seen David, as the occurrence took place before daybreak, at the latest when the day began to dawn), and David had made himself known to the king in reply to his inquiry, David said, "Why doth my lord pursue his servant? for what have I done, and what evil is in my hand?" He then gave him the well-meant advice, to seek reconciliation for his wrath against him, and not to bring upon himself the guilt of allowing David to find his death in a foreign land. The words, "and now let my lord the king hear the saying of his servant," serve to indicate that what follows is important, and worthy of laying to heart. In his words, David supposes two cases as conceivable causes of Saul's hostility: (1) if Jehovah hath stirred thee up against me; (2) if men have done so. In the first case, he proposes as the best means of overcoming this instigation, that He (Jehovah) should smell an offering. The Hiphil ירח only means to smell, not to cause to smell. The subject is Jehovah. Smelling a sacrifice is an anthropomorphic term, used to denote the divine satisfaction (cf. Gen 8:21). The meaning of the words, "let Jehovah smell sacrifice," is therefore, "let Saul appease the wrath of God by the presentation of acceptable sacrifices." What sacrifices they are which please God, is shown in Psa 51:18-19; and it is certainly not by accident merely that David uses the word minchah, the technical expression in the law for the bloodless sacrifice, which sets forth the sanctification of life in good works. The thought to which David gives utterance here, namely, that God instigates a man to evil actions, is met with in other passages of the Old Testament. It not only lies at the foundation of the words of David in Psa 51:6 (cf. Hengstenberg on Psalms), but is also clearly expressed in Sa2 24:1, where Jehovah instigates David to number the people, and where this instigation is described as a manifestation of the anger of God against Israel; and in Sa2 16:10., where David says, with regard to Shimei, that God had bade him curse him. These passages also show that God only instigates those who have sinned against Him to evil deeds; and therefore that the instigation consists in the fact that God impels sinners to manifest the wickedness of their hearts in deeds, or furnishes the opportunity and occasion for the unfolding and practical manifestation of the evil desire of the heart, that the sinner may either be brought to the knowledge of his more evil ways and also to repentance, through the evil deed and its consequences, or, if the heart should be hardened still more by the evil deed, that it may become ripe for the judgment of death. The instigation of a sinner to evil is simply one peculiar way in which God, as a general rule, punishes sins through sinners; for God only instigates to evil actions such as have drawn down the wrath of God upon themselves in consequence of their sin. When David supposes the fact that Jehovah has instigated Saul against him, he acknowledges, implicitly at least, that he himself is a sinner, whom the Lord may be intending to punish, though without lessening Saul's wrong by this indirect confession.

The second supposition is: "if, however, children of men" (sc., have instigated thee against me); in which case "let them be cursed before the Lord; for they drive me now (this day) that I dare not attach myself to the inheritance of Jehovah (i.e., the people of God), saying, Go, serve other gods." The meaning is this: They have carried it so far now, that I am obliged to separate from the people of God, to fly from the land of the Lord, and, because far away from His sanctuary, to serve other gods. The idea implied in the closing words was, that Jehovah could only be worshipped in Canaan, at the sanctuary consecrated to Him, because it was only there that He manifested himself to His people, and revealed His face or gracious presence (vid., Psa 42:2-3; Psa 84:11; Psa 143:6.). "We are not to understand that the enemies of David were actually accustomed to use these very words, but David was thinking of deeds rather than words" (Calvin).

Sa1 26:20

"And now let not my blood fall to the earth far away from the face of the Lord," i.e., do not carry it so far as to compel me to perish in a foreign land. "For the king of Israel has gone out to seek a single flea (vid., Sa1 24:15), as one hunts a partridge upon the mountains." This last comparison does not of course refer to the first, so that "the object of comparison is compared again with something else," as Thenius supposes, but it refers rather to the whole of the previous clause. The king of Israel is pursuing something very trivial, and altogether unworthy of his pursuit, just as if one were hunting a partridge upon the mountains. "No one would think it worth his while to hunt a single partridge that had flown to the mountains, when they may be found in coveys in the fields" (Winer, Bibl. R. W. ii. p. 307). This comparison, therefore, does not presuppose that קרא must be a bird living upon the mountains, as Thenius maintains, so as to justify his altering the text according to the Septuagint. These words of David were perfectly well adapted to sharpen Saul's conscience, and induce him to desist from his enmity, if he still had an ear for the voice of truth.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Afar off - That his person might be out of their reach, and yet his voice might be heard; which in a clear air, and in the silence of the night might be heard at a great distance.

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⁷ And when they told [05046] it to Jotham [03147], he went [03212] and stood [05975] in the top [07218] of mount [02022] Gerizim [01630], and lifted up [05375] his voice [06963], and cried [07121], and said [0559] unto them, Hearken [08085] unto me, ye men [01167] of Shechem [07927], that God [0430] may hearken [08085] unto you.

¹⁵ The LORD [03068] therefore be judge [01781], and judge [08199] between me and thee, and see [07200], and plead [07378] my cause [07379], and deliver [08199] me out of thine hand [03027].

²⁰ Now therefore, let not my blood [01818] fall [05307] to the earth [0776] before the face [06440] of the LORD [03068]: for the king [04428] of Israel [03478] is come out [03318] to seek [01245] a [0259] flea [06550], as when one doth hunt [07291] a partridge [07124] in the mountains [02022].

⁶ I stretch forth [06566] my hands [03027] unto thee: my soul [05315] thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty [05889] land [0776]. Selah [05542].

¹¹ For the LORD [03068] God [0430] is a sun [08121] and shield [04043]: the LORD [03068] will give [05414] grace [02580] and glory [03519]: no good [02896] thing will he withhold [04513] from them that walk [01980] uprightly [08549].

² My soul [05315] thirsteth [06770] for God [0430], for the living [02416] God [0410]: when shall I come [0935] and appear [07200] before [06440] God [0430]?
³ My tears [01832] have been my meat [03899] day [03119] and night [03915], while they continually [03117] say [0559] unto me, Where is thy God [0430]?

¹⁰ And the king [04428] said [0559], What have I to do with you, ye sons [01121] of Zeruiah [06870]? so let him curse [07043], because the LORD [03068] hath said [0559] unto him, Curse [07043] David [01732]. Who shall then say [0559], Wherefore hast thou done so [06213]?

¹ And again [03254] the anger [0639] of the LORD [03068] was kindled [02734] against Israel [03478], and he moved [05496] David [01732] against them to say [0559], Go [03212], number [04487] Israel [03478] and Judah [03063].

⁶ Behold, thou desirest [02654] truth [0571] in the inward parts [02910]: and in the hidden [05640] part thou shalt make me to know [03045] wisdom [02451].

¹⁸ Do good [03190] in thy good pleasure [07522] unto Zion [06726]: build [01129] thou the walls [02346] of Jerusalem [03389].
¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased [02654] with the sacrifices [02077] of righteousness [06664], with burnt offering [05930] and whole [03632] burnt offering [05930]: then shall they offer [05927] bullocks [06499] upon thine altar [04196].

²¹ And the LORD [03068] smelled [07306] a sweet [05207] savour [07381]; and the LORD [03068] said [0559] in [0413] his heart [03820], I will not again [03254] curse [07043] the ground [0127] any more for man's [0120] sake [05668]; for the imagination [03336] of man's [0120] heart [03820] is evil [07451] from his youth [05271]; neither will I again [03254] smite [05221] any more every thing living [02416], as I have done [06213].

¹⁷ And Saul [07586] knew [05234] David's [01732] voice [06963], and said [0559], Is this thy voice [06963], my son [01121] David [01732]? And David [01732] said [0559], It is my voice [06963], my lord [0113], O king [04428].
¹⁸ And he said [0559], Wherefore doth my lord [0113] thus pursue [07291] after [0310] his servant [05650]? for what have I done [06213]? or what evil [07451] is in mine hand [03027]?
¹⁹ Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord [0113] the king [04428] hear [08085] the words [01697] of his servant [05650]. If the LORD [03068] have stirred thee up [05496] against me, let him accept [07306] an offering [04503]: but if they be the children [01121] of men [0120], cursed [0779] be they before [06440] the LORD [03068]; for they have driven [01644] me out this day [03117] from abiding [05596] in the inheritance [05159] of the LORD [03068], saying [0559], Go [03212], serve [05647] other [0312] gods [0430].

¹⁵ And David [01732] said [0559] to Abner [074], Art not thou a valiant man [0376]? and who is like to thee in Israel [03478]? wherefore then hast thou not kept [08104] thy lord [0113] the king [04428]? for there came [0935] one [0259] of the people [05971] in to destroy [07843] the king [04428] thy lord [0113].
¹⁶ This thing [01697] is not good [02896] that thou hast done [06213]. As the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], ye are worthy [01121] to die [04194], because ye have not kept [08104] your master [0113], the LORD'S [03068] anointed [04899]. And now see [07200] where the king's [04428] spear [02595] is, and the cruse [06835] of water [04325] that was at his bolster [04763].

¹⁴ And David [01732] cried [07121] to the people [05971], and to Abner [074] the son [01121] of Ner [05369], saying [0559], Answerest [06030] thou not, Abner [074]? Then Abner [074] answered [06030] and said [0559], Who art thou that criest [07121] to the king [04428]?

⁹ And David [01732] said [0559] to Saul [07586], Wherefore hearest [08085] thou men's [0120] words [01697], saying [0559], Behold, David [01732] seeketh [01245] thy hurt [07451]?

⁶ Then answered [06030] David [01732] and said [0559] to Ahimelech [0288] the Hittite [02850], and to Abishai [052] the son [01121] of Zeruiah [06870], brother [0251] to Joab [03097], saying [0559], Who will go down [03381] with me to Saul [07586] to the camp [04264]? And Abishai [052] said [0559], I will go down [03381] with thee.