1 Samuel 24 KJV
David Spares Saul
1 Samuel Chapter 24: David Spares Saul
David's cutting of Saul's robe hem symbolically appropriates royal authority in ancient Near Eastern culture, where garment edges signified legal identity and covenant status, allowing him to claim kingship without bloodshed.
1nd it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.
2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saulโs robe privily.
5 And it came to pass afterward, that Davidโs heart smote him, because he had cut off Saulโs skirt.
6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORDโs anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.
9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou menโs words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt?
10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORDโs anointed.
11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.
15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.
19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my fatherโs house.
22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.
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Did You Know?
David's cutting of Saul's robe hem symbolically appropriates royal authority in ancient Near Eastern culture, where garment edges signified legal identity and covenant status, allowing him to claim kingship without bloodshed.
The men's citation of an unrecorded divine promise ('the day of which the LORD said unto thee') reveals how prophetic oracles could be invoked or misapplied to justify regicide, testing David's discernment of true divine timing.
Saul's spontaneous weeping and address of David as 'my son' after the confrontation inverts their power dynamic, exposing the deposed king's emotional dependence on the very successor he hunts.
David's conscience-stricken refusal to strike the 'Lord's anointed' even in private establishes a theological precedent against harming divinely designated rulers, influencing later Jewish and Christian views on political authority.
The En-gedi cave episode forms a deliberate literary doublet with the parallel sparing narrative in chapter 26, using repeated motifs of sleep, spear, and mercy to underscore David's consistent character amid escalating threats.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain Saul... went... to seek David... upon the rocks of the wild goats โ Nothing but the blind infatuation of fiendish rage could have led the king to pursue his outlawed son-in-law amoโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on 1 Samuel 24 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: David in a cave at engedi cuts off saul's skirt, but spares his life; He urges thereby his innocency.
- 2
- Saul... went... to seek David... upon the rocks of the wild goats โ Nothing but the blind infatuation of fiendish rage could have led the king to pursue his outlawed son-in-law among those craggy and perpendicular precipices, where were inaccessible hiding places. The large force he took with him seemed to give him every prospect of success. But the overruling providence of God frustrated all his vigilance.
- 3
- he came to the sheepcotes โ most probably in the upper ridge of Wady Chareitun. There a large cave โ I am quite disposed to say the cave โ lies hardly five minutes to the east of the village ruin, on the south side of the wady. It is high upon the side of the calcareous rock, and it has undergone no change since David's time. The same narrow natural vaulting at the entrance; the same huge natural chamber in the rock, probably the place where Saul lay down to rest in the heat of the day; the same side vaults, too, where David and his men were concealed. There, accustomed to the obscurity of the cavern, they saw Saul enter, while, blinded by the glare of the light outside, he saw nothing of him whom he so bitterly persecuted.
Read all 3 notes on 1 Samuel 24 โ