Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, Jonathan reconciles David with Saul. Second, at v. 8, David defeats the Philistines; whereupon Saul, agitated by envy and an evil spirit, tries to pin him with a spear, but David dodged the blow and escaped. Third, at v. 11, Saul sends agents to seize David at home for execution; but Michal, his wife, warns David and lets him go, placing a statue in his bed. Fourth, at v. 18, David flees to Samuel; soon Saul sends his agents to the same place, who all prophesy with Samuel, and finally Saul himself prophesies with Samuel and his companions; whence the proverb: Is Saul also among the Prophets?
Vulgate Text: 1 Kings 19:1-24
1. And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, loved David greatly. 2. And Jonathan told David, saying: Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore watch over yourself in the morning, and stay in hiding. 3. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field, and I will speak to my father about you. 4. So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him: Let not the king sin against his servant David; for he has not sinned against you, and his works have been very good for you. 5. And he put his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, by killing David who is without fault? 6. When Saul heard this, appeased by Jonathan's voice, he swore: As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. 7. So Jonathan called David and brought him to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
8. And war broke out again; and David went out and fought against the Philistines, and struck them with a great blow, and they fled before him. 9. And the evil spirit of the Lord came upon Saul; and he sat in his house and held a spear, while David played the harp. 10. And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, and David dodged away; and the spear passed through to the wall, and David fled and was saved that night. 11. So Saul sent his agents to David's house to guard him and to have him killed in the morning. When Michal, David's wife, told him this, saying: If you do not save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will die; 12. she let him down through a window. And he went away and fled, and was saved. 13. And Michal took the statue and placed it on the bed, and put a goatskin at its head, and covered it with garments. 14. And Saul sent officers to seize David, and the answer was that he was sick. 15. And again Saul sent messengers to see David, saying: Bring him to me in his bed, so that he may be killed. 16. And when the messengers came, they found the statue on the bed, and the goatskin at its head. 17. And Saul said to Michal: Why have you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go? And Michal answered Saul: Because he said to me: Let me go, or else I will kill you.
18. But David, fleeing, was saved, and came to Samuel at Ramah. 19. And it was told Saul: Behold, David is in Naioth in Ramah. 20. So Saul sent officers to seize David; but when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing over them, the Spirit of the Lord came upon them also, and they too began to prophesy. 21. When this was reported to Saul, he sent other messengers, and they too prophesied. And again Saul sent a third group, and they too prophesied. 22. And Saul went himself to Ramah, and came to the great cistern in Sochoh, and asked: Where are Samuel and David? And he was told: Behold, they are in Naioth in Ramah. 23. And he went to Naioth, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him also, and he went along prophesying. 24. And he too stripped himself of his garments and prophesied with the others before Samuel, and lay naked all that day and night. Whence the proverb: Is Saul also among the Prophets?
Verse 1: Saul Orders David's Death
AND SAUL SPOKE TO JONATHAN HIS SON AND TO ALL HIS SERVANTS, THAT THEY SHOULD KILL DAVID. As David's virtue and victories grew, Saul's envy and hatred grew as well. For envy is the companion of virtue. Since he could not pin David down himself, he ordered him killed through his son Jonathan and his most faithful servants, says Josephus.
But the providence of God protecting David overcame everything, as did David's unconquered patience and prudence, which made him superior to all. For Jonathan loved David more than his father's impious command; indeed, he resisted Saul and by his effective eloquence turned Saul's hatred into love.
Verse 5: Jonathan's Defense of David
AND HE PUT HIS LIFE IN HIS HAND -- that is, he exposed himself and his life to manifest danger of death for you and your kingdom, when he entered a duel so unequal and fearsome with the giant Goliath.
WHY THEN DO YOU SIN AGAINST INNOCENT BLOOD? That is: Why do you resolve to shed the innocent blood of David, who has been so greatly beneficial to you?
Verse 6: Saul Swears Not to Kill David
WHEN SAUL HEARD THIS, APPEASED BY JONATHAN'S VOICE, HE SWORE: AS THE LORD LIVES, HE SHALL NOT BE PUT TO DEATH. See here how effective Jonathan's speech was, as well as the patience, modesty, prayer, and virtue of David. This is the illustrious victory of Christ and of the saints, by which, overcoming evil with good, they conquer their adversaries -- not by killing them, but by making friends out of enemies; which is far more difficult, more glorious, and more divine.
Hence St. Chrysostom, in the homily On David and Saul, concludes: "You too, therefore, be a physician to him who has injured you; seek this one thing -- how you may remove his disease."
Verse 8: David Defeats the Philistines Again
AND HE STRUCK THEM WITH A GREAT BLOW. See how God rewards David's patience with a new victory over the Philistines; but this stirred up new envy in Saul.
Verse 10: The Second Spear Attack
AND SAUL TRIED TO PIN DAVID WITH THE SPEAR TO THE WALL. See how changeable and inconstant the heart of man is, especially of the impious and envious. For when it is thoroughly imbued with the gall of rancor and hatred, even if it is smeared for a time with the honey of love, as soon as that evaporates it returns to its habitual bitterness.
Verse 11: Saul Sends Agents to David's House
SO SAUL SENT HIS AGENTS TO DAVID'S HOUSE, TO GUARD HIM AT NIGHT AND TO HAVE HIM KILLED IN THE MORNING -- so that they would seize David as he came out and bring him to Saul to be killed. David in these straits composed Psalm 58 [59]: "Deliver me from my enemies, O my God, and free me from those who rise up against me."
Verse 12: Michal Lets David Down Through the Window
SHE LET HIM DOWN THROUGH THE WINDOW. Because Saul's agents were guarding the doors, Michal let him down through the window. So St. Paul at Damascus, besieged by Aretas, escaped by being let down in a basket from the wall (2 Corinthians 11). Note here Michal's faithfulness, prudence, and love for David her husband: she revealed the plots, gave prudent advice, let him down through the window, and placed a statue in the bed.
Verse 13: The Statue in the Bed
AND MICHAL TOOK THE STATUE AND PLACED IT ON THE BED, AND PUT A GOATSKIN AT ITS HEAD, AND COVERED IT WITH GARMENTS. Michal did this so that David would have time to flee. She pretended that David was sick and lying in bed. The agents, looking from a distance in the dark room, thought it was David himself.
For "statue," the Hebrew is theraphim. Michal placed the goatskin so that through these reddish hairs she might represent David's red hair. Or with this soft skin she appeared to be warming the head of the sick David. St. Jerome says: "Not the liver of a goat, as our manuscripts have, but a small pillow sewn from goatskin which, with its unshorn hairs, would feign the head of a man wrapped up in bed."
Verse 18: David Flees to Samuel at Naioth
BEHOLD, DAVID IS IN NAIOTH IN RAMAH. "Naioth," says Adrichomius, is a place near the city of Ramah, six miles from Jerusalem toward Bethel. The Chaldean translates Naioth as "house of teaching." For here was a community and college of Prophets, that is, of religious men devoted to God.
Verse 20: The Agents Prophesy
WHEN THEY SAW THE COMPANY OF PROPHETS PROPHESYING -- that is, praising God with their customary hymns and psalms. The Spirit of God dictated to them the hymns they should sing and implanted in them the desire to sing. God did this for David's sake, so that he might have time to escape.
Morally, learn here how much the society of good people avails, as well as the virtue and merits of the saints. For these servants of Saul, being among the prophets, became prophets and praised God.
Verse 24: Is Saul Also Among the Prophets?
AND HE TOO STRIPPED HIMSELF OF HIS GARMENTS AND PROPHESIED BEFORE SAMUEL. Angelomus, Lyranus, and Abulensis think that Saul stripped only his outer royal garments, not his inner ones, because the Spirit of God does not take away modesty. AND HE FELL NAKED ALL THAT DAY AND NIGHT -- so that David would have sufficient time to flee.
IS SAUL ALSO AMONG THE PROPHETS? We heard the same said about Saul in chapter 10, but there the novelty was the cause of the proverb; here, however, the contradiction was. For all marveled that Saul, so hostile and envious toward David the prophet, was suddenly so changed that he himself prophesied among David's companions.
St. Augustine on Psalm 109 teaches that even to wicked people, in the very act and heat of wickedness, the spirit of prophecy can be given; for this is a grace freely given, not a sanctifying grace. "Saul, not after he had persecuted, but while he was actually persecuting David, prophesied. Therefore let them not boast who perhaps without charity have had this holy gift of God. If I have all prophecy but have not charity, I am nothing. And Saul prophesied too, but he was working iniquity."
Morally, see and marvel here at God's power over even obstinately wicked people, as well as His clemency and beneficence. He did something far greater with Saul of Tarsus: while he was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, striking him with heavenly light, He immediately changed him from persecutor to Apostle, from Pharisee to Doctor of the Gentiles. This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High.