1 Samuel 23:26

1Sa 23:26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them.

Ver. 26. And David made haste.] After that he had first said in his haste, "All men" - prophets and all - "are liars." {Psa 116:11} Peter Martyr thinks David made that psalm, as also Psa 31:1-24 Psa 99:1-9 Psa 54:1-7. about this time. Now it was that he was almost forsaken of his hopes; but God was seen in the mount.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

"And David was anxiously concerned to escape from Saul, and Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to seize them; but a messenger came to Saul ... . Then Saul turned from pursuing David." The two clauses, "for Saul and his men" (Sa1 23:26), and "there came a messenger" (Sa1 23:27), are the circumstantial clauses by which the situation is more clearly defined: the apodosis to דּוד ויהי does not follow till ויּשׁב in Sa1 23:28. The apodosis cannot begin with וּמלאך because the verb does not stand at the head. David had thus almost inextricably fallen into the hands of Saul; but God saved him by the fact that at that very moment a messenger arrived with the intelligence, "Hasten and go (come), for Philistines have fallen into the land," and thus called Saul away from any further pursuit of David.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Verse 26. Saul went on this side of the mountain] Evidently not knowing that David and his men were on the other side.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) The mountain.—Conder, in his Tent Life in Palestine, identifies this spot with high probability. Indeed, his whole book is most instructive and trustworthy, and to the reader interested in these scenes in the life of David, as well as in those other many events which have taken place in the Storied Land, his book will form an admirable guide.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. compassed … round about] i.e. encompassed, surrounded. Cp. Psa_5:12.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain,.... Saul with his army came to the very mountain where David and his men were, the one was on one side of it, and the other on the other side; there was only one mountain between them:

and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; he fled on one side of the mountain, while Saul was pursuing him on the other, and hastening to get round unto him:

for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them; he took methods by dividing his troops, and sending them different ways, to surround David and his men, and had very near effected it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Other side, to the south. --- Despaired, without the divine assistance. (Salien) --- Hebrew nechpaz, "feared, or (Du Hamel) made haste to flee." Septuagint, "David was screened to depart." He used all possible precautions not to fall into Saul’s hands, though he knew he should succeed him. He might still experience some fear of ill treatment. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Dividing themselves into several parties, each marching a several way after him.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David… on that side — From his rocky height David watched the approach of his enemy, and by his knowledge of the wilderness and his strategic skill he baffled all the efforts made to entrap him. But the verse implies that David’s plight at this time was a most hazardous one, and his pursuers had well nigh taken him.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hurry and come

The words "hurry" and "come" can be combined into one idea. AT: "Come quickly" (See: Hendiadys)

translationWords

Saul (OT)

David

messenger

Philistines

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Were surrounding. Encircling and surrounding from side to side, like a crown which encircles the head.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.