Study Desk

"For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you [as heir to the throne] nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send [someone] and bring him to me, for he must die."

Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down, so Jonathan knew [without any doubt] that his father had decided to put David to death.

And Jonathan called out after the boy, "Hurry, be quick, do not stay!" So Jonathan's boy picked up the arrow and came back to his master.

David answered the priest, "Be assured that women have been kept from us in these three days since I set out, and the bodies of the young men were consecrated (ceremonially clean), although it was an ordinary (unconsecrated) journey; so how much more will their vessels be holy today?"

So the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.

Then the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, do so. For there is no other here except for it." And David said, "There is none like that; give it to me."

So [fearing for his life] he changed his behavior in their sight, and acted insanely in their hands, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard.

So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father's house heard about it, they went down there to him.

Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah." So David left and went into the forest of Hereth.

"For all of you have conspired against me so that no one informs me when my son [Jonathan] makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you cares about me or informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as he does this day?"

Saul said to him, "Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so he would rebel against me by lying in ambush, as he does this day?"

So the king said to Doeg, "You turn around and attack the priests." And Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests, and that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the [priest's] linen ephod.

So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the Lord said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines; he drove away their cattle and struck them with a great slaughter. So David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.

So Saul summoned all the people (soldiers) for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed [in the woods] at Horesh and Jonathan went to his house.

"Now then, O king, come down [to Ziph] in accordance with all your heart's desire to do so [and capture him]; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king."

"So look, and take note of all the places where he hides and come back to me with the established facts, then I will go with you. If he is [anywhere] in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah."

So they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon.

So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape.