1 Samuel 24:2

Contextual Overview

¹When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.” ¹ It happened, when Sha'ul was returned from following the Pelishtim, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of `En-Gedi. ¹ And 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. ¹ When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, "Look, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi." ¹ When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi." ¹ After Saul returned from chasing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." ¹ When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, "Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi." ¹When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, "Behold, David is in the Wilderness of Engedi." ¹ Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, it was reported to him, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi." ¹ When Saul was turned from ye Philistims, they told him, saying, Behold, Dauid is in the wildernes of En-gedi.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Saul took: 1 Samuel 13:2

and went: Psalms 37:32, Psalms 38:12

the rocks: Psalms 104:18, Psalms 141:6

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 26:2 - three thousand 2 Kings 6:14 - sent he thither horses Job 39:1 - the wild Psalms 17:11 - compassed

Cross-References

Genesis 15:2
Avram said, "Lord GOD, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eli`ezer of Dammesek?"

Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Genesis 15:2
Then Abram said, "O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus."

Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, "Lord God , what can you give me? I have no son, so my slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die."

Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, "O sovereign Lord , what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Genesis 15:2
Abram said, "Lord GOD, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?"

Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, O Lord God, what wilt thou giue me, seeing I goe childlesse, and the steward of mine house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, "O Lord Yahweh, what will You give me, as I go on being childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Genesis 15:2
But Abram answered, " Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,.... Out of his army, with which he had been pursuing the Philistines:

and went to seek David, and his men, upon the rocks of the wild goats; which were in the wilderness of Engedi; those rocks were exceeding high and terrible to look at, full of precipices, and so prominent, that to travellers they seemed as if they would fall into the adjacent valleys, that it even struck terror into them to look at them x; called the rocks of wild goats, because these creatures, called from hence "rupicaprae", or rock goats, see Job 39:1; delighted to be there; and are, as Pliny y says, of such prodigious swiftness, that they will leap from mountain to mountain, and back again at pleasure; these mountains David and his men chose for safety, and the height and craggedness of them did not deter Saul and his men from seeking him there.

x Adrichom Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 47. & Brocard. in ib. y Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The rocks of the wild goats - To signify the craggy precipitous character of the country.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 24:2. Rocks of the wild goats. — The original (צורי היעלים tsurey haiyeelim) is variously understood. The VULGATE makes a paraphrase: Super abruptissimas petras quae solis ibicibus perviae sunt; "On the most precipitous rocks over which the ibexes alone can travel." The TARGUM: the caverns of the rocks. The SEPTUAGINT make the original a proper name; for out of צורי היעלים tsurey haiyeelim, they make Σαδδαιεμ Saddaiem, and in some copies Αειαμειν Aeiamein, which are evidently corruptions of the Hebrew.