1 Samuel Chapter 23

At a Glance

  • David’s resilience is tested again as he learns that Keilah faces Philistine aggression.
  • David’s success in Keilah triggers Saul’s counter-move—an all-out siege planned to capture David within the city gates.
  • This chapter foregrounds the fragility of trust in human communities under threat and the divine dependence of God’s chosen.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Set in the period of David’s ascent to kingship, this chapter sits within the broader arc of the Philistine threat and David’s nomadic leadership.

Chapter Overview

David’s resilience is tested again as he learns that Keilah faces Philistine aggression. He seeks God’s direction, asking if he should go to Keilah and strike the Philistines. In a pattern that shows both faith and fear, the Lord instructs David to go, even as his men express fear about the defense of a walled city. David’s prayerful discernment yields divine reassurance: the Lord will indeed deliver the Philistines into David’s hand.

David’s success in Keilah triggers Saul’s counter-move—an all-out siege planned to capture David within the city gates. Yet David’s discernment continues through prayer and the ephod, a liturgical instrument of guidance. He questions whether Keilah’s inhabitants will betray him to Saul; the Lord confirms that they would. With this unsettling news, David and his six hundred men are forced to flee again, leaving Keilah to its uncertain fate.

This chapter foregrounds the fragility of trust in human communities under threat and the divine dependence of God’s chosen. It is a chapter about courage in exile, the discipline of seeking God before acting, and the sobering reality that even protective actions can come with collateral harm. The narrative ends with David’s heart-as-grounded by faith—with each step forward, they entrust the result to God, even as the crowd around them grows more complex and perilous.

Historical & Literary Context

Set in the period of David’s ascent to kingship, this chapter sits within the broader arc of the Philistine threat and David’s nomadic leadership. Genre remains historical narrative with strong theological reflections on divine guidance and prophetic clarity.

Function within the book: This chapter tests David’s leadership further, illustrating how he negotiates danger while remaining true to his covenantal God. It shows the consequences of strategic decisions—how the right action under God’s direction may still lead to difficult outcomes for the city and its people.

Key Themes

- Divine guidance amid crisis: Prayerful discernment shapes bold action.

- Trust and risk in communal defense: The city’s allegiance and potential betrayal highlight the costs of leadership.

- The ethics of protection: Delivering Keilah from Philistine control while risking its people’s safety.

- The fragile line between victory and vulnerability: God’s deliverance does not erase the danger that surrounds David.

Modern Application

- Prayerful decision-making: Emphasizes the practice of seeking divine guidance before bold steps.

- Community risk management: Leadership involves difficult choices that may affect the many, including neighbors and allies.

- Fear and faith in leadership: Addressing fear with faith and pastoral care can sustain a fragile community under threat.

- Accountability to the wider good: David’s choices reveal a tension between personal safety and the welfare of others.

Cross-References (3-5 related passages)

- 1 Samuel 14 (Jonathan’s courage and trusting in God’s guidance)

- 1 Samuel 23:1–13 (David’s inquiry about whether to defend Keilah)

- Psalm 54 (David’s plea for deliverance in danger)

- Deuteronomy 32:20–22 (God’s warnings against betrayal in security and fear)

Recommended Personas (Biblical personas for insight)

- David: for discernment and brave action under pressure.

- Abiathar the priest: for spiritual counsel and the tension between city safety and priestly duties.

- Saul: to understand the escalation of fear and the cost to civilians.

Chapter Text

1

Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors.

2

Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.

3

And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

4

Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.

5

So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

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.

7

And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.

8

And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.

9

And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.

10

Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.

11

Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.

12

Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.

13

Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth.

14

And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

15

And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

16

And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.

17

And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.

18

And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

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 Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?

20

Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.

21

And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me.

22

Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.

23

See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.

24

And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

25

Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

26

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.

27

But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land.

28

Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth.

29

And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.

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