Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 23

David at Horesh

1 Samuel 23:15

David was staying at Horesh, which was a few miles south of Hebron. The name ‘Horesh’ means a forest. Although only a little rain falls in that area, some trees still managed to grow there. That is why the place is called both a ‘forest’ and a ‘desert’. At this time, David’s men had only just begun to move into the dry areas of the country. Later they would move further into the desert.

In the meantime, however, they clearly considered that the forests were good places to hide (compare 1 Samuel 22:5).

David had to hide, because Saul was again trying to kill him. With a group of soldiers, Saul was searching across the region to try to find David. However, God was protecting David. So, Saul was unable to find David.

Saul’s latest efforts to catch David were secret. Originally, David knew nothing about them; probably he did not even know that Saul was in the same region. David discovered that while he was at Horesh. However, Saul still could not find David.

We may ask what Jonathan was doing at this time. Clearly, he had not joined Saul’s men to search with him for David. For many years, Saul had told Jonathan about all his (Saul’s) secret plans (20:2). That stopped when Saul began to make plans to kill David. Saul was aware of Jonathan’s friendship with David, so he kept these plans secret from Jonathan (20:3).

Jonathan had discovered Saul’s plans and he told David. Then Jonathan returned to Saul’s town, Gibeah (20:42). Later, Saul told his officials that Jonathan was encouraging David to plot against Saul (22:8). Clearly, that was untrue. However, it shows us that Saul and Jonathan did not have a good relationship at this time. Jonathan still cared about David. In fact, although Saul could not find David at Horesh, Jonathan found David there.

Next part: Jonathan’s last meeting with David (1 Samuel 23:16-17)

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