Introduction: A Chapter of Pursuit, of Providence, and of Trust
Chapter 23 of Shmuel Aleph is one of the most gripping chapters in David's flight. It opens with an act of heroism: David, though already a fugitive, goes out to save a city in Israel from the hand of the Philistines. It continues with Shaul's relentless pursuit of him, with inquiries of the Urim veTumim, with the encouragement David receives from Yonatan, and with David's betrayal at the hands of the men of Ziph. It ends with a last moment rescue, when David is already surrounded on both sides of the mountain. Throughout the entire chapter the Malbim teaches us to examine every single word, and from it we will also learn great depth in faith and in trust.
They Are Plundering the Threshing Floors - War on Shabbat over Straw and Stubble
וַיַּגִּדוּ לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה פְלִשְׁתִּים נִלְחָמִים בִּקְעִילָה וְהֵמָּה שֹׁסִים אֶת־הַגֳּרָנוֹת׃ - And they told David, saying: Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are plundering the threshing floors.
Keilah is a city of Israel, and the Philistines come to fight against its inhabitants. Why do they turn specifically to David? We must remember that David was formerly their army commander, and he was the one who protected them and saved them from all the enemies that rose against them. Therefore, when they are in distress, to whom do they turn? To David.
Chazal say that the Philistines came over matters of straw and stubble, and this took place on Shabbat. The general rule is that on Shabbat one does not wage war, unless there is an element of danger to life involved. And here, if they came only over straw and stubble, this is not a matter of saving life. However, Chazal say that in border cities it is permitted to wage war on Shabbat even over matters of straw and stubble. Why? Because in border cities, if we give the enemy any foothold, it will then be easy and convenient for him to conquer all of the Land of Israel afterward. Therefore the cities on the border must be greatly strengthened, so that the Land of Israel will not be easy to conquer.
The Malbim is precise in the wording: it says "fighting against Keilah" ("nilchamim be'Keilah") and not "fighting over Keilah" ("al Keilah"). One who fights over the city stands on the outside and wants to conquer the wall. One who fights within the city is already inside and is fighting with the inhabitants of the city. From here we learn that the Philistines did not come to conquer the wall, but rather they are already inside the city.
And a further precision: there is a difference between "plunderers" ("bozezim") and "despoilers" ("shosim"). One who plunders takes spoil; his intent is to take for himself (as in "but on the spoil they did not lay their hand"). But "shosim" are those who come only to destroy. He does not come to take, but to burn and destroy everything that is here, and this is worse. And this is what is said, "and they are plundering the threshing floors" - over matters of straw and stubble, that they came only to trample and destroy.
Two Inquiries of the Urim veTumim - "Against the Philistines" or "the Philistines"
וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהֹוָה לֵאמֹר הַאֵלֵךְ וְהִכֵּיתִי בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים הָאֵלֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־דָּוִד לֵךְ וְהִכִּיתָ בַפְּלִשְׁתִּים וְהוֹשַׁעְתָּ אֶת־קְעִילָה׃ - And David inquired of Hashem, saying: Shall I go and strike these Philistines? And Hashem said to David: Go and strike the Philistines, and save Keilah.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אַנְשֵׁי דָוִד אֵלָיו הִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ פֹה בִּיהוּדָה יְרֵאִים וְאַף כִּי־נֵלֵךְ קְעִלָה אֶל־מַעַרְכוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים׃ - And David's men said to him: Behold, we are afraid here in Yehudah; how much more if we go to Keilah, against the battle lines of the Philistines?
Here stands an enormous wonder: the Holy One, Blessed be He, tells David, "Go and strike the Philistines and save Keilah," and David's men do not trust Hashem's answer? They do not believe the words of the Urim veTumim? How can this be?
The Malbim explains that there were two reasons for this. The first: in the holy tongue there is a difference between "you shall strike the Philistines" (et) and "you shall strike at the Philistines" (ba). "Et Pelishtim" means all of them; "ba Pelishtim" means a partial blow, as in the expression "perhaps I can strike at him." David asked "and I shall strike at these Philistines" - that is, at some of them, those who came against Keilah, and that is exactly the answer he received. His men said to him: this creates a problem for us. Tomorrow the Philistines will come reorganized and strike us, and we are already pursued enough by Shaul; we do not need a new campaign against the Philistines. Had it said "you shall strike the Philistines," we would have buried the Philistines and the matter would be over. But "to strike at the Philistines" means that the rest will come tomorrow and go out against us.
The second reason: Hashem did not tell him that He would give them into his hand miraculously, but rather "you shall strike them" - by way of natural warfare. Furthermore, Hashem did not promise him that he would be safe in Keilah. He did not tell him: go to Keilah and I promise you that Shaul will not come to you. David's question was whether he could strike at the Philistines, and to this he was answered in the affirmative; but whether Shaul would pursue him and reach Keilah to strike him, on that nothing was said.
And regarding this they say: here we are, and we have two advantages here. First, here we have no enemy or ambush. Second, we are in Yehudah, among the men of our own tribe. And with all these two advantages we are afraid. So how shall we go to Keilah, which is not in Yehudah, to the Philistine battle lines, and have a battle from within and from without - Shaul from here and the Philistines from there?
וַיּוֹסֶף עוֹד דָּוִד לִשְׁאוֹל בַּיהֹוָה וַיַּעֲנֵהוּ יְהֹוָה וַיֹּאמֶר קוּם רֵד קְעִילָה כִּי־אֲנִי נֹתֵן אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּים בְּיָדֶךָ׃ - And David inquired of Hashem yet again, and Hashem answered him and said: Arise, go down to Keilah, for I am giving the Philistines into your hand.
Therefore David inquires again, this time in a more detailed manner, and the answer is renewed in three respects: "Arise, go down to Keilah" - do not fear; "I am giving" - through providence and miracle, and not as at first, which meant go and fight and succeed by natural means; and furthermore, He does not now say "at the Philistines" but "the Philistines" - that is, all those who were a threat to them from the surrounding area.
The Great Blow and the Philistines' Cattle
וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁו קְעִילָה וַיִּלָּחֶם בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּנְהַג אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶם וַיַּךְ בָּהֶם מַכָּה גְדוֹלָה וַיֹּשַׁע דָּוִד אֵת יֹשְׁבֵי קְעִילָה׃ - And David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines, and drove away their cattle, and struck them a great blow; and David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
What is the meaning of "and drove away their cattle"? From where would the Philistines have cattle in battle, who takes sheep and oxen into combat? Rather, when David struck them a great blow, he pursued them all the way to the land of the Philistines - this is "the great blow," and this is "you shall strike the Philistines" - and there, in their own land, he took sheep and oxen from them and returned with them to his land.
From Where David Had the Urim VeTumim
וַיְהִי בִּבְרֹחַ אֶבְיָתָר בֶּן־אֲחִימֶלֶךְ אֶל־דָּוִד קְעִילָה אֵפוֹד יָרַד בְּיָדוֹ׃ - And it came to pass, when Evyatar the son of Achimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
Here the verse resolves the question: how could David inquire with the Urim VeTumim, when the Kohen Gadol was not with him? Rather, when Evyatar fled following the killing of the people of Nov, the city of the Kohanim, and he was the only one who was saved, he took the ephod with him. And this was by the providence of Hashem, in order to save the people of Keilah through the inquiry with the Urim VeTumim.
"God Has Delivered Him into My Hand" - Shaul's Pretext
וַיֻּגַּד לְשָׁאוּל כִּי־בָא דָוִד קְעִילָה וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל נִכַּר אֹתוֹ אֱלֹהִים בְּיָדִי כִּי נִסְגַּר לָבוֹא בְּעִיר דְּלָתַיִם וּבְרִיחַ׃ - It was told to Shaul that David had come to Keilah, and Shaul said: God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a city with gates and a bar.
According to the simple reading, "nikar" comes from the language of delivering over: God has handed him over into my hand. But the Malbim says that we do not find an example of the word "nikar" used in this sense anywhere in Nach, and he suggests that the word derives from "nochri" (foreigner): from now on I may treat him as a foreigner, as an enemy of Israel. Why? Because he has shut himself in a city with gates and a bar. One who shuts himself into a walled city thereby shows that he has, as it were, conquered a place for himself, and that he has territory over which he fights, unlike a man who flees through the wilderness from place to place. This already constitutes open rebellion, and from here Shaul has a pretext to fight against him as against a foreigner.
"Secretly Devising Harm" - Shaul's Cover Maneuver
וַיְשַׁמַּע שָׁאוּל אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָם לַמִּלְחָמָה לָרֶדֶת קְעִילָה לָצוּר אֶל־דָּוִד וְאֶל־אֲנָשָׁיו׃ - Shaul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
וַיֵּדַע דָּוִד כִּי עָלָיו שָׁאוּל מַחֲרִישׁ הָרָעָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֵן הַגִּישָׁה הָאֵפוֹד׃ - David knew that Shaul was secretly devising harm against him, and he said to Evyatar the Kohen: Bring the Efod near.
On the face of it, what does "David knew" mean, when it is explicitly written that he had gathered the people "to besiege David and his men"? As though there were some secret that became known specifically to David while everyone else thought otherwise. Rather, the Malbim explains that Shaul was very shrewd. He knew that if he assembled everyone and told them: gentlemen, we are going out to war against David, very few men would come, perhaps only the Binyaminites who were close to him. So he did otherwise: he announced to everyone that they were going down to war against the Pelishtim at Keilah. This report had already spread and reached every corner of the Land of Israel, while the fact that David had succeeded in defeating the Pelishtim was not yet known. So everyone gathered thinking they were going against the Pelishtim, and when they arrived Shaul would say: David is here, let us seize David as well. "To besiege David and his men" was Shaul's true intention, but that is not what he conveyed to the people; to the people he issued a call to arms for war against the Pelishtim. And David knew that the Pelishtim here were a cover story, and so he asked Evyatar the Kohen to bring the Efod near in order to know what to do.
Two Questions and One Answer
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁמֹעַ שָׁמַע עַבְדְּךָ כִּי־מְבַקֵּשׁ שָׁאוּל לָבוֹא אֶל־קְעִילָה לְשַׁחֵת לָעִיר בַּעֲבוּרִי׃ - David said: Hashem, God of Israel, Your servant has surely heard that Shaul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account.
הֲיַסְגִּרֻנִי בַעֲלֵי קְעִילָה בְיָדוֹ הֲיֵרֵד שָׁאוּל כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע עַבְדֶּךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַגֶּד־נָא לְעַבְדֶּךָ וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה יֵרֵד׃ - Will the men of Keilah hand me over into his hand? Will Shaul come down as Your servant has heard? Hashem, God of Israel, please tell Your servant. And Hashem said: He will come down.
David asks two questions: will the men of Keilah hand me over, and will Shaul come down. And Hashem answers only one: "He will come down." Rashi explains, based on Chazal: we learn from here that when one asks about two things, he is answered only about one, and he is answered only about the first. David asked out of order; he should have asked first "Will Shaul come down" and afterward "Will they hand me over." And since he asked the question of being handed over first, he was answered only about the second question. Had he asked in order, he would have received an answer to both questions at once, for if they say that they will hand him over, this is a sign that Shaul came down.
"On My Account" (Ba'avuri) and Not "Because of Me" (Biglali) - the Malbim's Precision
But the Malbim, in his way, finds great depth in the grammar of the holy tongue. What is the difference between "biglali" and "ba'avuri"? "Biglal" indicates a cause that has already occurred, while "ba'avur" indicates a cause that lies in the future. I am willing to be your partner because (biglal) you have a lot of money: a cause in the past. I am willing to be your partner in order that (ba'avur) we will make a lot of money: a cause in the future, because it will pay off for me down the road.
According to this: had David said "to destroy the city because of me," the meaning would be that Shaul would come and destroy Keilah because they had protected David in the past. In that case it would make no difference at all whether they hand him over or not, whether David is there or not. Shaul comes to destroy, you protected him in the past, and you will pay the price, exactly as happened in Nov, the city of the Kohanim. But David says "for my sake" - meaning in order to bring me out of the city; only for this will he come to destroy. If so, there is a real question here: if they hand me over, I must flee; and if they do not hand me over, perhaps I should stay.
And why did he ask out of order, first "will they hand me over" and only afterward "will Shaul come down"? The Malbim explains that there is an additional question here: it is possible that Shaul will not come down himself but will send a messenger. If he sends a messenger, it is possible that the people of Keilah will hand him over to that messenger, and it is possible that they will not want to accept the messenger's directive. A force of Shaul's would come and they would not obey it and would not agree to hand him over. And then comes the second question: in such a case, if they refuse his messengers, will Shaul come down himself? For Shaul himself is already a power, and no one would try to defy his word.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד הֲיַסְגִּרוּ בַּעֲלֵי קְעִילָה אֹתִי וְאֶת־אֲנָשַׁי בְּיַד־שָׁאוּל וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה יַסְגִּירוּ׃ - And David said: Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over into the hand of Shaul? And Hashem said: They will hand you over.
Note the change: in the first question he asked "will they hand me over" - only himself, and in the second "me and my men." And the reason is: if Shaul sends a messenger, he will ask only for David, the head of the rebels, and will pardon the rest; for if he were to demand that all of David's men be handed over, his men would surely resist, war would break out, some of David's men would die and some of Shaul's men would die, and Shaul does not want this. All he wants is David's head. But Hashem's answer "he will come down" removed the first possibility from consideration: there is no messenger here, Shaul will come down himself. And in this both questions were in effect answered: they will not hand you over through a messenger, for Shaul is coming in person.
And once it was made clear to David that Shaul is coming down himself, a new question arose that had not existed before: will they hand me and my men over into the hand of Shaul himself? For if Shaul comes down with his army, he will not be content with David's head alone, but will want to eliminate all of them, so that no other rebel arise tomorrow. And Hashem answers: "they will hand you over." Know that the people of Keilah will hand you and your men over, for Shaul will want to enter the city and will not agree that David's head be thrown to him from the window; since the city rebelled against him, he will want to enter it and conquer it properly.
"And they went wherever they went" - the tactic of movement
וַיָּקׇם דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו כְּשֵׁשׁ־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ וַיֵּצְאוּ מִקְּעִלָה וַיִּתְהַלְּכוּ בַּאֲשֶׁר יִתְהַלָּכוּ וּלְשָׁאוּל הֻגַּד כִּי־נִמְלַט דָּוִד מִקְּעִילָה וַיֶּחְדַּל לָצֵאת׃ - And David and his men arose, about six hundred men, and they went out from Keilah and went wherever they went. And it was told to Shaul that David had escaped from Keilah, and he ceased to go out.
Once David heard the answer "they will hand you over," he and his men immediately arose and went out from Keilah and scattered. "And they went wherever they went" - they were always moving from place to place, going to a certain place and returning to the first place, and in this way they confounded the enemy: he saw them here, then in another place, and then here again. Shaul hears that David has escaped and ceases to go out, but he does not give up.
וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמְּצָדוֹת וַיֵּשֶׁב בָּהָר בְּמִדְבַּר־זִיף וַיְבַקְשֵׁהוּ שָׁאוּל כׇּל־הַיָּמִים וְלֹא־נְתָנוֹ אֱלֹהִים בְּיָדוֹ׃ - And David dwelt in the wilderness in the strongholds, and he dwelt in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph, and Shaul sought him all the days, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
Note the two places: "in the wilderness in the strongholds" - one place of hiding, and "in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph" - another place. This was his tactic: each time Shaul sought to come, David would change his place, and so Shaul never knew exactly where he was.
Yehonatan strengthens David's hands in four things
וַיַּרְא דָּוִד כִּי־יָצָא שָׁאוּל לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת־נַפְשׁוֹ וְדָוִד בְּמִדְבַּר־זִיף בַּחֹרְשָׁה׃ - And David saw that Shaul had gone out to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the woods.
וַיָּקׇם יְהוֹנָתָן בֶּן־שָׁאוּל וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל־דָּוִד חֹרְשָׁה וַיְחַזֵּק אֶת־יָדוֹ בֵּאלֹהִים׃ - And Yehonatan son of Shaul arose and went to David at Choresha, and strengthened his hand in God.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַל־תִּירָא כִּי לֹא תִמְצָאֲךָ יַד שָׁאוּל אָבִי וְאַתָּה תִּמְלֹךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָנֹכִי אֶהְיֶה־לְּךָ לְמִשְׁנֶה וְגַם־שָׁאוּל אָבִי יֹדֵעַ כֵּן׃ - And he said to him: Do not fear, for the hand of Shaul my father shall not find you, and you shall reign over Israel, and I will be second to you, and even Shaul my father knows this.
David sees that Shaul has gone out to seek his life, while he himself is in the wilderness of Ziph, in Choresha, and he understands that he has entered a situation of danger. Seemingly he should have fled at once, so why does he not flee? The answer is that Yehonatan came and strengthened his hands in four matters. First, "in God": he told him do not fear, Hashem your God is with you, and through Hashem's providence you will be saved from every trouble. Second, "the hand of Shaul my father shall not find you" - for he does not know at all where you are. Third, "and you shall reign over Israel" - with Hashem's help your horn will be lifted up, and do not be anxious about the situation of being pursued in which you now find yourself. And fourth, "and even Shaul my father knows this" - if even your enemy knows that the battle is over, you have no greater victory than this, and therefore my father's hands have gone slack, and you have nothing to worry about.
וַיִּכְרְתוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם בְּרִית לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד בַּחֹרְשָׁה וִיהוֹנָתָן הָלַךְ לְבֵיתוֹ׃ - And the two of them made a covenant before Hashem, and David remained in Choresha, and Yehonatan went to his house.
And why is there a need to make a covenant anew, seeing that they already made a covenant earlier, and a covenant has no expiration date? The Malbim explains that there is a difference between that covenant and this one: the first covenant was not before the Kohen and the Urim VeTumim, and now this is a covenant before a Kohen and the Urim VeTumim. And therefore David remained there, and Shaul searches for him but cannot find him.
The Zifites Give a Precise Address
וַיַּעֲלוּ זִפִים אֶל־שָׁאוּל הַגִּבְעָתָה לֵאמֹר הֲלוֹא דָוִד מִסְתַּתֵּר עִמָּנוּ בַמְּצָדוֹת בַּחֹרְשָׁה בְּגִבְעַת הַחֲכִילָה אֲשֶׁר מִימִין הַיְשִׁימוֹן׃ - And the Zifites went up to Shaul at Givah, saying: Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds, in Choresha, on the hill of Chachilah, which is to the south of Yeshimon?
וְעַתָּה לְכׇל־אַוַּת נַפְשְׁךָ הַמֶּלֶךְ לָרֶדֶת רֵד וְלָנוּ הַסְגִּירוֹ בְּיַד הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And now, according to all the desire of your soul, O king, to come down, come down, and it will be ours to deliver him into the hand of the king.
The Zifites go up to Shaul at the hill, and give him a precise address down to the last detail: in the strongholds, in Choresha, in the forest, on the hill of Chachilah - and since there was another hill there on the left side, they emphasize "which is to the south of Yeshimon." You could not have anything clearer than this, you do not even need a navigation system; you come, gather him up, and go. And they add: in whatever manner you wish you can come down, we will already do the work for you, you just come and take him.
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל בְּרוּכִים אַתֶּם לַיהֹוָה כִּי חֲמַלְתֶּם עָלָי׃ - And Shaul said: Blessed are you to Hashem, for you have had compassion on me.
Shaul blesses them: May Hashem bless you, for you have compassion on me and are saving me from the hand of those who pursue me. And concerning this episode David composed Psalm 54 in Tehillim: "For the conductor, with instrumental music, a maskil of David, when the Zifites came and said to Shaul, is not David hiding among us. O God, save me by Your name, and by Your might judge me. O God, hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me, and tyrants have sought my soul, and have not set God before them, selah. Behold, God is my helper, Hashem is among those who uphold my soul. He will return the evil to those who lie in wait for me, in Your truth cut them off. With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You, I will give thanks to Your name, Hashem, for it is good, for from every trouble He has saved me, and my eye has looked upon my enemies." Thus he gives thanks to Hashem, blessed be He, and the Holy One, blessed be He, truly saves him, as we will see shortly.
"Prepare Yet More" - Shaul Demands Preparatory Work
לְכוּ־נָא הָכִינוּ עוֹד וּדְעוּ וּרְאוּ אֶת־מְקוֹמוֹ אֲשֶׁר תִּהְיֶה רַגְלוֹ מִי רָאָהוּ שָׁם כִּי אָמַר אֵלַי עָרוֹם יַעְרִם הוּא׃ - Go now, prepare yet more, and know and see his place where his foot shall be, and who has seen him there, for it has been told to me that he acts with great cunning.
Shaul had already been through seven wild goose chases, and he does not want once again to mobilize everyone, gather men, set out in pursuit, and return in disappointment. It is also not a great honor for a king to return each time in such disgrace. So he tells them: this time I will go out only if you do the groundwork and preparation properly.
The Malbim explains his demands: I know that David uses cunning and stratagems to hide, and I do not want to go for nothing. Therefore: "prepare yet more, and know" - with clear knowledge. "And see" - with actual sight of the eye, that you should see the place where he is hiding; it may be that you look from afar and think it is one place, when in truth it is another, and I want complete certainty. "His place where his foot shall be" - that he not change his location in the meantime. "Who has seen him there" - perhaps the men you see are David's men and not David himself, who may be hiding elsewhere; therefore I want clear testimony from a trustworthy man, not just anyone, who saw David himself there. And all this, why? "For it has been told to me that he acts with great cunning" - I sent a spy to search for him, and the spy told me that David knows how to act cunningly and devise stratagems, and it is very hard to contend with him.
וּרְאוּ וּדְעוּ מִכֹּל הַמַּחֲבֹאִים אֲשֶׁר יִתְחַבֵּא שָׁם וְשַׁבְתֶּם אֵלַי אֶל־נָכוֹן וְהָלַכְתִּי אִתְּכֶם וְהָיָה אִם־יֶשְׁנוֹ בָאָרֶץ וְחִפַּשְׂתִּי אֹתוֹ בְּכֹל אַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה׃ - See and know of all the hiding places where he hides there, and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Yehudah.
And a fourth demand: check all the hiding places where he may hide there. Shaul says: I know that David appears in a certain place one moment and vanishes and hides the next. So search well and get to know all the hiding places, and even if he flees and hides, at least I will know where to look for him. For one must understand: it is not simple at all to hide with six hundred men. The wilderness of Yehudah is not the Sahara, it is not an enormous place; with six hundred men, how much can one hide? Someone was once asked: have you ever seen an elephant hiding behind a flower? He said: no. Apparently it hid well... You cannot hide with such a huge troop, and wherever you go you leave signs and footprints. Therefore, presumably he has a few hiding places, and I ask that you go and check which ones they are, so that if we do not find him when we come, at least we will know where he is supposed to be hiding. And Shaul adds: when I arrive, if he is in the land, I will not rest nor be still, and among all the thousands of Yehudah I will go to search for him.
From the Plain to the Rock
וַיָּקוּמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ זִיפָה לִפְנֵי שָׁאוּל וְדָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו בְּמִדְבַּר מָעוֹן בָּעֲרָבָה אֶל יְמִין הַיְשִׁימוֹן׃ - And they arose and went to Ziph ahead of Shaul; and David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain, to the right of the wasteland.
After they went and investigated and inquired and returned, they set out to Ziph ahead of Shaul, like a vanguard before the camp, to do the fieldwork and the preparation. And David, who had earlier been in the thicket, had already moved to the wilderness of Maon.
וַיֵּלֶךְ שָׁאוּל וַאֲנָשָׁיו לְבַקֵּשׁ וַיַּגִּדוּ לְדָוִד וַיֵּרֶד הַסֶּלַע וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּמִדְבַּר מָעוֹן וַיִּשְׁמַע שָׁאוּל וַיִּרְדֹּף אַחֲרֵי־דָוִד מִדְבַּר מָעוֹן׃ - And Shaul and his men went to search, and they told David, and he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon; and Shaul heard, and he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.
Shaul and his men go to search, since they did not find him in the thicket, and they tell David about it - you should know, it was not only Shaul who had helpers; there were also those who helped David. David was at first in the plain of the wilderness of Maon, and "aravah" means a flat plain. Afterward he went down to the rock, which is a great mountain. Why? Because in a plain it is very easy to find a person, but if one hides beside a rock, it is harder there.
The Hardest Moment: "I Said in My Haste"
וַיֵּלֶךְ שָׁאוּל מִצַּד הָהָר מִזֶּה וְדָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו מִצַּד הָהָר מִזֶּה וַיְהִי דָוִד נֶחְפָּז לָלֶכֶת מִפְּנֵי שָׁאוּל וְשָׁאוּל וַאֲנָשָׁיו עֹטְרִים אֶל־דָּוִד וְאֶל־אֲנָשָׁיו לְתׇפְשָׂם׃ - And Shaul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from before Shaul, while Shaul and his men were encircling David and his men to capture them.
What tension. David is on one side of the rock and Shaul on the other, and Shaul knows David is there. He said: if I chase after him, we could circle around ourselves all day. What did he do? He split his camp into two, and in a pincer movement surrounded the mountain from both sides, leaving David no way to escape. This is the meaning of "otrim" (surrounding) - from the word atarah (crown), like a crown upon his head, which encircles from every side.
Chazal ask, what is meant by "and David hurried to go"? This is what David said: "I said in my haste, all men are liars." And when did he say it? When David saw himself hemmed in by Shaul and his men, having reached total confinement, he said: for nothing did Shmuel anoint me, and he told me "for Hashem has anointed you as king" - where is that promise he made me? And how do we know he said this? For it says "I said in my haste" - when in haste? Here, "and David hurried" - "all men are liars," even Shmuel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I testify about him that Shmuel is faithful, as it says "and all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheva knew that Shmuel was faithful as a prophet," and you call Shmuel a liar? The Holy One, blessed be He, testifies about him that he was faithful throughout all of Israel, and you say he is a liar?
The Last Moment Rescue
וּמַלְאָךְ בָּא אֶל־שָׁאוּל לֵאמֹר מַהֲרָה וְלֵכָה כִּי־פָשְׁטוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ - And a messenger came to Shaul saying, hurry and come, for the Philistines have raided the land.
Immediately in the next verse the messenger arrives and says: Shaul, this is not the time for games with David. The Philistines have raided the land, there is an attack. You could capture David and be left with no kingdom, because the Philistines will conquer the land - and what will it help you to kill David? Leave David and come quickly to save your kingdom. And at the last moment the messenger, an angel, arrives and pulls Shaul away from there, and David is once again saved from Shaul's hand.
The Ralbag says: this story explains how wondrous is the intensity of Hashem's providence over those He loves, and how He saved David from death amid tremendous danger. This is what was said regarding Chizkiyahu: I have a tradition from the house of my father's father, even if a sharp sword rests upon a person's neck he should not despair of mercy. And who is "my father's father"? King David. A sharp sword rests upon the neck, you are trapped from both sides, there is no escape, a miracle is needed - and one who believes in Hashem has no difficulty, for Hashem performs miracles too.
Sela HaMachlekot - Three Explanations
וַיָּשׇׁב שָׁאוּל מִרְדֹף אַחֲרֵי דָוִד וַיֵּלֶךְ לִקְרַאת פְּלִשְׁתִּים עַל־כֵּן קָרְאוּ לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא סֶלַע הַמַּחְלְקוֹת׃ - And Shaul returned from pursuing David and went toward the Philistines, therefore they called that place Sela HaMachlekot.
Shaul returns from pursuing David and goes toward the Philistines, for he has no choice. And why is the place called "Sela HaMachlekot" (the Rock of Divisions)? The Radak says: because there they were divided from one another - Shaul departed to go to the Philistines, and David departed to flee to his place.
Another explanation: that the king's heart was divided. Shaul was in an enormous dilemma and his heart was divided within him. What to do? David is already here, in another hour I could finish the matter with him and then go to the Philistines; but if I delay here another hour, it may be that the situation with the Philistines will already be over and they will conquer the land and I will have nothing to do against them. In the end he decided to go after the Philistines.
So too in the Midrash: what is Sela HaMachlekot? Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said, that there Shaul's warriors were divided over the matter of pursuing David. There was a dispute even among Shaul's men. Some of them would say: the counsel of the son of Yishai is in our hands, we will not turn away from him - he is already here, shall we leave him? And some of them said: the war of Israel comes first, for the son of Yishai is available to us at any time. David - if not today then tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then the day after; but here there is a war of Israel and the saving of lives, it may be that the Philistines are killing among Israel.
And another matter, a wonderful explanation: what is Sela HaMachlekot? That when David and his servants would pass by that place - meaning many years later, when David was already king and had an army and everything had straightened out - David would separate from his troops, he and the six hundred who were with him at that time, leaving the entire army and going to that place, dismounting from their horses and prostrating themselves on their faces and saying: blessed is He who performed a miracle for us in this place. This is Sela HaMachlekot - a rock where, whenever they would arrive there, they would separate from one another.
Yosef at the Edge of the Pit: Recognizing the Miracle and the Failure to Communicate
And where else do we find a person who separated from his caravan in order to prostrate himself and bless, "Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in this place"? When Yaakov died, the brothers said, "Perhaps Yosef will hate us and will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him." The question arises: why would the brothers suspect Yosef of such a thing? After all, they had seen that Yosef treated them generously, was prepared to give them far beyond what was needed, and bore them no grudge, so why would they think this way? Chazal say: when the caravan that had gone to bury Yaakov in the land of Israel returned, they suddenly saw Yosef leaving the caravan, going and standing beside a pit and gazing into it. And what was that pit? It was the pit into which they had thrown Yosef. They said: here is Yosef looking into the pit, surely he is now remembering what we did to him, and he will settle accounts with us.
But, as usual, the whole problem was a failure to communicate. This was the problem between the brothers and Yosef from the very beginning; had there been communication, had they been able to speak in peace, there would have been no dispute at all. And here too there was a failure to communicate. Had they asked Yosef: what is this about? He would have told them - I simply went to bless, "Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in this place." So Chazal say: since a miracle had been done for him there, he went to that place in order to recite the blessing. And they suspected him, and therefore they told him that father had commanded that he not do them harm, while Yosef, for his part, thinks to himself: how could it even enter their minds to suspect that I intend to do them harm?
Until the Next Pursuit
And in conclusion, "וַיַּעַל דָּוִד מִשָּׁם וַיֵּשֶׁב בִּמְצָדוֹת עֵין גֶּדִי - And David went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds of Ein Gedi" - David leaves that place and settles in the strongholds of Ein Gedi, until the next pursuit.
In summary:
Chapter 23 sets before us David at the height of being hunted, and precisely from there he finds the strength to save a city in Israel. The Malbim teaches us to be precise about every letter: "fighting be'Keilah" and not against it, "shosim" (plundering) and not looting, "be'Pelishtim" and not the Pelishtim, "ba'avuri" (on my account) and not because of me, "nikar" from the word nochri (foreign) - and from every precise reading an entire world of understanding opens up regarding the movements of the chapter. The two inquiries through the Urim ve'Tumim reveal how greatly David decides his path according to the word of Hashem; Yehonatan strengthens his hands in four matters; and at the very moment when the sword lies right upon his neck, and Shaul encircles him from both sides of the mountain, the messenger arrives and saves him. From here comes the great lesson: even when a sharp sword lies upon a person's neck, let him not despair of mercy. And David himself did not forget the miracle - all his days, when he would pass through that place, he would separate from his troops, dismount from his horse, and prostrate himself: Blessed is He who performed a miracle for us in this place.