CHAPTER NINETEEN

19:1
Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan as ve!" #ond o#
David
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and a!ned hi%& '(" #athe! Saul is lookin) #o! a *han*e to kill "ou. Be on "ou! )ua!d
to%o!!o %o!nin)+ )o into hidin) and sta" the!e.
In chapter 18 Saul wasnt ready to directly kill David, but now he is. Previous attempts to send David out on
military missions and have him die in battle have been unsuccessful.
he !mplified "ible has, #$ow Saul told %onathan, his son and all his servants, that they must kill David.
he Pulpit &ommentary has, #$ow Saul told %onathan, his son and all his servants about killin' David,( and
so both the Septua'int and the Syriac render it.( his translation makes more sense.
he &ambrid'e "ible &ommentary supports this translation. $ew )evised Standard with !pocrypha #Saul
spoke with his son %onathan and with all his servants about killin' David.( he *"& has this translation. +e
probably told them that David was plottin' to take the throne and was a traitor.
*hy would Saul tell %onathan to kill David, knowin' they were best buddies, -aybe he thou'ht %onathan
was more loyal to him than to David. )emember Saul is not thinkin' clearly.
Be on "ou! )ua!d his is 'ood advice for all believers.

,
I ill )o out and stand ith %" #athe! in the #ield he!e "ou a!e. I-ll s.eak to hi% a/out "ou and ill
tell "ou hat I #ind out.'
I ill )o out and stand ith %" #athe! In the +ebrew this means to stand at his fathers side to act on the
best interest of his father. %onathan isnt betrayin' his father. hes doin' what is best for his father. he field
may be the place where Saul and his son took their daily mornin' walk.
David is 'oin' to be hidin' close to where Saul and %onathan would be talkin'. In this way %onathan wont
have to 'o far to 'o to tell David about the conversation. Im sure %onathan knows his father is suspicious of
him and everyone else. It would look funny havin' the conversation with his father and /umpin' on a horse
and racin' off. %onathan possibly wandered a little distance sat down by a tree where David was hidin' and
whispered to David what had happened.

0
Jonathan s.oke ell o# David to Saul his #athe! and said to hi%& '1et not the kin) do !on) to his
se!vant David+ he has not !on)ed "ou& and hat he has done has /ene#ited "ou )!eatl".
2
He took his
li#e in his hands hen he killed the Philistine. The 13RD on a )!eat vi*to!" #o! all Is!ael& and "ou
sa it and e!e )lad. 4h" then ould "ou do !on) to an inno*ent %an like David /" killin) hi% #o!
no !eason5'
%onathan acts as Davids advocate, pointin' out that there is no reason to kill David.
took his li#e in his hands 0iterally, he put his life in the palm of his hand. he idea is his life could have
been easily crushed.
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6
Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath: 'As su!el" as the 13RD lives& David ill not /e .ut to
death.'
Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath Saul seems to have re'ained some control over himself and
took a very solemn oath not to kill David. *e see in verse 11 that he 1uickly broke that oath. I suspect that he
took the oath to placate his son. Saul didnt /ust listen to his son. +e also obeyed him.
! promise is only as 'ood as the man behind the promise.

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So Jonathan *alled David and told hi% the hole *onve!sation. He /!ou)ht hi% to Saul& and David
as ith Saul as /e#o!e.
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3n*e %o!e a! /!oke out& and David ent out and #ou)ht the Philistines. He
st!u*k the% ith su*h #o!*e that the" #led /e#o!e hi%.
and David as ith Saul as /e#o!e "efore Saul became /ealous, hateful, fearful, murderous, lyin',
deceitful, and before his mind was full of evil thou'ht.
3n*e %o!e a! /!oke out& and David ent out and #ou)ht the Philistines he war intensified. David no
doubt was sent to fi'ht the Philistines and won all the battles and distin'uished himself, causin' Saul to a'ain
become /ealous and fearful of him. Saul is no doubt thinkin' that David could use the army to overthrow
him.

9
But an evil s.i!it #!o% the 13RD *a%e u.on Saul as he as sittin) in his house ith his s.ea! in his
hand. 4hile David as .la"in) the ha!.&
18
Saul t!ied to .in hi% to the all ith his s.ea!& /ut David
eluded hi% as Saul d!ove the s.ea! into the all. That ni)ht David %ade )ood his es*a.e.
Sauls 'ood will toward David only lasted so lon'. he Pulpit &ommentary says that this is an evil spirit that
2od allows to influence Saul. his is #no lon'er a natural influence, but that Saul, havin' broken his
covenant relations with %ehovah, was now punished by him.( I tend to think this spirit is Sauls /ealousy and
hatred. Seein' David /ust makes Sauls blood boil in an'er. Sauls hatred of David is 'reater than ever. even
Davids music could not placate Saul.
+ere the commentators say Saul threw his spear at David so hard that it stuck in the wall, and this wasnt /ust
wall board. Saul is so an'ry that he couldnt even hit a sittin' tar'et.
That ni)ht David %ade )ood his es*a.e here is some disa'reement as to the se1uence of events. Some
authors say that Saul sent men to kill David that ni'ht, but David escaped from them. he *"& says that
David escaped from Sauls spear that ni'ht.
11
Saul sent %en to David-s house to at*h it and to kill hi% in the %o!nin). But (i*hal& David-s i#e&
a!ned hi%& 'I# "ou don-t !un #o! "ou! li#e toni)ht& to%o!!o "ou-ll /e killed.'
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So (i*hal let David
don th!ou)h a indo& and he #led and es*a.ed.
radition ascribes vv. 11314 as the ori'inal settin' of Psalm 56.
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he *"& says that Saul sent a'ents to Davids house to watch it, so he could kill David in the mornin'. his
is the first 'roup of a'ents. he sent assassins 8hieme9.
he house mi'ht have been part of the town wall, so she let David down outside the town wall or an openin'
into the courtyard. -ichal is warnin' David as %onathan did earlier.

1,
Then (i*hal took an idol and laid it on the /ed& *ove!in) it ith a )a!%ent and .uttin) so%e )oats-
hai! at the head.
he idol is in the +ebrew a terapim, and they are presumably always small. -ichal made a dummy out of
clothin' and carpets and formed it like a person and covered it with a 'arment. :nly the 'oats; hair of the
terapim at the head was visible. )achel is said to have hid the terapim in her camel saddle. It seems -ichals
terapim was almost life si<e. "oth women deceived their fathers to deliver their husbands.
he *"& has, #-ichal took the terapim and put in on the bed, and she placed 'oats hair where his head
would be.
he ="& says, #-ichal;s use of household idols doubtless reflects pa'an inclination.( hese idols were part
of the &anaanite reli'ion. Its like a believer still attendin' the &atholic &hurch or, in my opinion, a %ewish
believer still attendin' a Syna'o'ue or observin' : dietary laws. he idols were forbidden but people still
considered them to be 'ood luck charms. David no doubt knew about the idols and allowed them in his
house, but as you married men know, its not easy chan'in' a wifes beliefs.
hieme calls it, the 2oddess of 0ove. +e says -ichal didnt have to do this because David had a 17 hour
head start, but she likes to lie.
*ove!in) it ith a )a!%ent +is everyday clothes.
Then (i*hal took an idol and laid it on the /ed Some translations have the idols put on the bed when
David was in it to protect or heal him.
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4hen Saul sent the %en to *a.tu!e David& (i*hal said& 'He is ill.'
*hen David didnt come home, the a'ents informed Saul and Saul sent them back to arrest David. his is
the second 'roup of a'ents.
"ut -ichal sent a messen'er to tell her father that David was sick. Sauls a'ents looked in the room and saw
what they thou'ht was a sick man in bed. hey didnt investi'ate further. hey didnt want to catch any
illness.

12
Then Saul sent the %en /a*k to see David and told the%& 'B!in) hi% u. to %e in his /ed so that I
%a" kill hi%.'
16
But hen the %en ente!ed& the!e as the idol in the /ed& and at the head as so%e
)oats- hai!.
Saul then orders bed and all to be brou'ht to him so that he could kill him and sends a third 'roup of a'ents.
he bed is usually a strip of carpet, this would be easy enou'h. "ut when the a'ents force their way throu'h,
in spite of every obstruction with -ichals protestations, they found that David had fled.
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17
Saul said to (i*hal& '4h" did "ou de*eive %e like this and send %" ene%" aa" so that he
es*a.ed5'
(i*hal told hi%& 'He said to %e& 91et %e )et aa". 4h" should I kill "ou5- '
-ichal is a smart 'irl. She says David threatened to kill her if she didnt help him escape. I doubt that she
fooled her father, but it let him save face.

1:
4hen David had #led and %ade his es*a.e& he ent to Sa%uel at Ra%ah and told hi% all that Saul
had done to hi%. Then he and Sa%uel ent to Naioth and sta"ed the!e.
David fled 7 miles away to Samuels home. David would remain a hunted man until Sauls death. hieme
says David shouldnt have needed to 'o to Samuel. that David didnt have enou'h faith in the 0ord.
Naioth Possibly a common noun 8?habitations?9 rather than a place name@ it may refer to the compound of
dwellin's in )amah where Samuel;s ?'roup of prophets? 8v. 7A9 lived 8cf. 7 Bin's C@1379. he &=D calls
$aioth the Prophets Dilla'e.
his is a blessin' in dis'uise in that he is separated from -ichal.

19
4o!d *a%e to Saul: 'David is in Naioth at Ra%ah'+
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so he sent %en to *a.tu!e hi%. But hen
the" sa a )!ou. o# .!o.hets .!o.hes"in)& ith Sa%uel standin) the!e as thei! leade!& the S.i!it o#
;od *a%e u.on Saul-s %en and the" also .!o.hesied.
$1
Saul as told a/out it& and he sent %o!e %en&
and the" .!o.hesied too. Saul sent %en a thi!d ti%e& and the" also .!o.hesied.
4o!d *a%e to Saul: 'David is in Naioth at Ra%ah' he &=D has, #Someone told Saul, David is at the
Prophets Dilla'e in )amah.( Bin' Saul had supporters and a'ents everywhere.
Saul didnt want to confront Samuel. )emember 15@143>5.
the S.i!it o# ;od *a%e u.on Saul-s %en and the" also .!o.hesied he *"& su''est this is an evil spirit
from 2od. Deffinbau'h says it is #reasonable to suppose that their words include praisin' 2od.( he +oly
Spirit may have forced this 'roup of special opps assassins to praise 2od and proclaim David to be the neEt
kin' of Israel. *hat happened to Sauls men, he ="& says they fell into, #Fa divinely induced possession
trance.( he P+& says the men were #overpowered.( *hatever the eEplanation, and Im not sure what really
happened, the men were unable to fulfill their mission.
he +oly Spirit protects believers.
a )!ou. o# .!o.hets theolo'ical students

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<inall"& he hi%sel# le#t #o! Ra%ah and ent to the )!eat *iste!n at Se*u. And he asked& '4he!e a!e
Sa%uel and David5' '3ve! in Naioth at Ra%ah&' the" said.
Se*u -entioned only here. meanin' and location unknown.
G
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So Saul ent to Naioth at Ra%ah. But the S.i!it o# ;od *a%e even u.on hi%& and he alked alon)
.!o.hes"in) until he *a%e to Naioth.
Saul fell into a trance induced by the +oly Spirit.
=arlier he prophesied 'ivin' praise to 2od. here he muttered 'ibberish.
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He st!i..ed o## his !o/es and also .!o.hesied in Sa%uel-s .!esen*e. He la" that a" all that da" and
ni)ht. This is h" .eo.le sa"& 'Is Saul also a%on) the .!o.hets5'
Some commentaries say Saul was naked and some say he was without his outer robes. =ither way, Saul
humbled himself before Samuel. +is trance was deeper and lon'er lastin' than the trance of his soldiers. Saul
is powerless to move to kill David.
his verse shows Saul stripped of his kin'ship and his kin'dom. his is Divine %ud'ment. his allowed
David to escape.
'Is Saul also a%on) the .!o.hets5' he ="& says, #o 1uestion the 'enuineness of Saul;s prophetic
behavior was to 1uestion his le'itimacy as kin' of Israel.( he people now 1uestion Sauls ri'ht to be kin'.
he *"& su''ests this means, #$o, he is not one of the prophets. +e is insane.( his was stran'e
uneEpected behavior for a kin', seein' he is not a prophet.
?Perhaps here the +oly Spirit pleaded with Saul personally for the last time.( 8bibleeEplained.com9
%onathan, -ichal, Samuel and the 0ord all worked to'ether to deliver David. #!ll thin's work to'ether( for
the believer in the Plan of 2od.
Saul is seen at the bi''est clown in %udah. 8hieme9
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