Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
David liberates Keilah from the Philistines. When Saul hears of this, he plans to surround and capture him there. Therefore David, at verse 12, consulting the Lord, hears that he will be handed over to Saul by the Keilahites. He therefore flees to the hill of Ziph, where Jonathan visits and encourages him. Then, at verse 19, the Ziphites inform Saul that David is hiding among them; Saul therefore pursues them with his forces and surrounds David; and when he is about to capture him, a messenger arrives saying that the Philistines have invaded Judea; whereupon Saul, to resist them, ceases pursuing David.
Vulgate Text: 1 Kings 23:1-28
1. And they told David, saying: Behold, the Philistines are attacking Keilah and plundering the threshing floors. 2. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying: Shall I go and strike these Philistines? And the Lord said to David: Go, and you will strike the Philistines and save Keilah. 3. And the men who were with David said to him: Behold, we are afraid here in Judea; how much more if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 4. Therefore David again inquired of the Lord. And He answered him, saying: Arise and go to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. 5. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought against the Philistines, and drove away their livestock, and struck them with a great slaughter. And David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6. Now at the time when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he had come down with the ephod in his hand. 7. And it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, and Saul said: God has delivered him into my hands, for he is shut in, having entered a city that has gates and bars. 8. And Saul commanded all the people to go down to battle against Keilah, and to besiege David and his men. 9. And when David learned that Saul was secretly plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest: Bring the ephod here. 10. And David said: O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard a report that Saul plans to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hands? And will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, tell Your servant. And the Lord said: He will come down. 12. And David said: Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hands of Saul? And the Lord said: They will deliver you. 13. Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and wandered about wherever they could. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, and so he did not go out. 14. And David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph, on the shaded mountain. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15. And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. Now David was in the Wilderness of Ziph, in the forest. 16. And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the forest and strengthened his hand in God. 17. And he said to him: Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you shall reign over Israel, and I shall be second to you; and even Saul my father knows this. 18. So they both made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the forest, but Jonathan went back to his house. 19. Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying: Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds of the forest, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of the desert? 20. Now therefore, O king, come down according to your heart's desire, and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hands. 21. And Saul said: Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have had compassion on me. 22. Go therefore, I pray you, and make still more certain, and investigate carefully, and consider the place where his foot is, or who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23. Consider and note all the hiding places where he hides, and come back to me with certain news, that I may go with you. And if he is in the land, I will search for him among 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 to the right of Jeshimon. 25. So Saul and his companions went to seek him, and David was told; and immediately he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard this, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26. And Saul went along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side of the mountain. Now David despaired of being able to escape from Saul; and Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men in the form of a crown, to capture them. 27. And a messenger came to Saul, saying: Make haste and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land. 28. So Saul returned, ceasing to pursue David, and went to meet the Philistines. For this reason they called that place the Rock of Division.
Verse 1: Keilah Under Attack
1. THE PHILISTINES ARE ATTACKING KEILAH. -- "Keilah," say St. Jerome, Eusebius, and Adrichomius in their book on Hebrew Places, "is a city in the tribe of Judah, formerly a seat of David; and it is now a small village called Keilah, to the east of Eleutheropolis going toward Hebron, at about the eighth milestone. In it the tomb of the prophet Habakkuk is shown."
AND THEY ARE PLUNDERING THE THRESHING FLOORS. -- Vatablus says "granaries," that is, they are plundering the harvest and grain stored on the threshing floors and in granaries.
Verse 2: David Consults the Lord
2. THEREFORE DAVID INQUIRED OF THE LORD -- through Abiathar the High Priest who had fled to him, as is clear from verse 6.
Verse 5: David Saves Keilah
5. AND DAVID SAVED THE INHABITANTS OF KEILAH -- as his fellow tribesmen and citizens; for both were from the tribe of Judah. David therefore here earned the civic crown by liberating his fellow citizens from the Philistines, and therefore shortly after Saul's death, David was raised to the kingship by the tribe of Judah, 2 Samuel 2.
Verse 6: The Ephod
6. HAVING THE EPHOD WITH HIM -- as if to say: Abiathar, fleeing from Saul, came to David bearing the pontifical vestment, in which was the Ephod with the Urim and Thummim, so that, since his father Ahimelech had already been killed by Saul, he might succeed him in the pontificate and consult God through the Ephod on David's behalf.
Verse 9: Bring the Ephod
9. DAVID SAID TO ABIATHAR THE PRIEST: BRING THE EPHOD -- that is, unfold and put on the Ephod, so that through its Urim and Thummim you may consult the Lord about what I should do in so great a danger and so close a persecution by Saul. Hence Abiathar in Hebrew means "father of inquiry" or "of contemplation," because he himself by praying consulted the Lord and sought out His will and counsel for David's safety. See here David's piety toward God, inasmuch as in straits he takes refuge in God; likewise toward his fellow citizens of Keilah, inasmuch as he delivers them from the Philistines; and also toward Saul, inasmuch as he flees his fury as a subject, not resisting him but sparing him, even when he had him in his hands, chapter 24:5.
Verse 12: God's Conditional Knowledge
12. WILL THE MEN OF KEILAH DELIVER ME, ETC., INTO THE HANDS OF SAUL? AND THE LORD SAID: THEY WILL DELIVER YOU -- certainly and infallibly. For such is God's knowledge and foreknowledge, whereas human knowledge is uncertain and fallible, and therefore often fails in reality. Hence Suarez, Vasquez, Molina, and other distinguished theologians conclude that God knows future contingent events not only as absolute, but also as conditional -- for example, what I would do if I were in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, etc., given such and such circumstances and conditions, even if those circumstances will never actually be realized. For thus here God foreknew and foretold that the Keilahites would deliver David, even their fellow tribesman and liberator, to Saul, out of fear lest they be killed by him, as the citizens of Nob had been killed -- although in fact they did not deliver him, because David, hearing from God that he would be delivered by them, anticipated the betrayal and fled.
Verse 15: The Wilderness of Ziph
15. NOW DAVID WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF ZIPH, IN THE FOREST. -- "Ziph" was a city in the tribe of Judah, situated on a wooded and shady mountain, covered with thickets and barren trees. Near the city was therefore "the wilderness of Ziph" -- wooded, covered with brush, accessible to wild animals and mountain goats, full of caves and grottoes, and extremely cavernous, in which David, wandering and fugitive from the face of Saul, hid and concealed himself. So say Brocardus, Bredenbachius, and Adrichomius.
Verse 16: Jonathan Strengthens David
16. AND JONATHAN THE SON OF SAUL AROSE AND WENT TO DAVID IN THE FOREST, AND STRENGTHENED HIS HAND IN GOD. -- The Chaldean says, "in the word of the Lord," because, namely, God had said and foretold that David would succeed Saul in the kingdom when He anointed him king through Samuel, as if to say: Jonathan bade David be of good and strong courage, because he had God as his protector, against whom Saul could do nothing. "Hand" here therefore signifies strength and fortitude of both spirit and body; for these are exerted and displayed by the hands.
Verse 19: The Ziphites Betray David
19. THEN THE ZIPHITES CAME UP TO SAUL -- reporting to him that David was hiding among them, and that they would hand him over into his hands. See here how all the Jews persecute David, just as they persecuted Christ, his antitype. Then David, taking refuge in God, the only asylum of the desolate, composed Psalm 54: "O God, save me by Your name, etc. For strangers have risen up against me, and the mighty seek my life."
Verse 23: Return with Certain News
23. COME BACK TO ME WITH CERTAIN NEWS -- having ascertained the matter with certainty, which you can report to me: namely, where David is hiding and how he can be captured by me, lest I wander uncertainly and lead out my forces in vain at great expense and to the detriment of my reputation.
Verse 25: The Wilderness of Maon
25. SAUL PURSUED DAVID IN THE WILDERNESS OF MAON. -- "Maon," as St. Jerome says in his Hebrew Places, and from him Adrichomius, was a city in the tribe of Judah, situated in the plains to the right of Jeshimon, facing the east toward the south. Near the city was a wooded wilderness full of caves, in which David hid. It borders the wilderness of Carmel and the wilderness of Paran.
Verse 26: David Despairs of Escape
26. DAVID DESPAIRED OF BEING ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM THE FACE OF SAUL -- by his own strength and wisdom; yet he hoped to escape by God's help. For he knew that he had been anointed king by God, to succeed Saul in the kingdom.
Verse 27: Deus ex Machina
27. AND A MESSENGER CAME TO SAUL, SAYING: MAKE HASTE AND COME, FOR THE PHILISTINES HAVE INVADED THE LAND. -- See here how opportunely God comes to the aid of His faithful in their straits and delivers them from dangers, which is commonly called a "deus ex machina." Whence Philo, sent by the Jews to the Emperor Gaius to prevent him from forcing the Jews to worship him as a god, when he was scorned by Gaius, turned to his companions and said: "Take heart, friends; for God's help is nearest when human help is lacking." And so it happened, for shortly afterward Gaius perished, as Philo himself reports in his Embassy to Gaius.
Behold here David, surrounded on every side by Saul and about to be captured by him, is freed by God in a marvelous way -- namely, by sending Saul a message and thought about repelling the Philistines, thus diverting him from David and turning him to pursue the Philistines. God therefore acted just as the Spaniards do in a bullfight: for while the bull furiously pursues someone to gore him, immediately another person from behind pricks the bull with a goad and forces it to turn around. So God did here to Saul, who was raging against David like a bull.
Hear St. Chrysostom, homily 46 on Genesis: "The greatest security and the impregnable wall is the grace of God. Let us see how David, passing from place to place and wandering like a vagrant, was protected by the hand from above; while Saul, though he was in the midst of cities and led so great an army with him, and had guards and armor-bearers, daily feared and trembled at the plots of his enemies. And he indeed, who was alone, did not need human protection; but the other, crowned and clad in purple, needed his aid; the king needed the shepherd's service; the one wearing the diadem needed the help of a private man."