Bible Commentaries
1 Samuel 20

Verses 1-42

1 Samuel 20:19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.

1 Samuel 20:19 “come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand” - Comments - This refers to the place where Saul and Jonathan had a conversation about David, when the same matter was under inquiry earlier (1 Samuel 19:2-3).

1 Samuel 19:2-3, “But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.”

1 Samuel 20:19 Word Study on “Ezel” Strong says the Hebrew name “Ezel” (H237) means, “departure.” This could have been a particular milestone named Ezel that directed travellers along a route, as Strong suggests, it was a memorial stone. David was to find a hiding spot near this stone. This is the only place in the Scriptures where the name Ezel is used.

1 Samuel 20:25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

1 Samuel 20:25 “even upon a seat by the wall” Comments - Why did Saul sit against a wall? Perhaps the reason was so no one could sneak up behind him and slay him.

1 Samuel 20:27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?

1 Samuel 20:27 Comments - Why would Saul ask Jonathan of David’s whereabouts? Because Saul new there close friendship. This is why Saul tries to convince Jonathan that he should not be David’s friend in 1 Samuel 20:30-31.

1 Samuel 20:30-31, “Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.”

1 Samuel 20:31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

1 Samuel 20:31 Comments - Saul knew that the kingdom had been taken from Saul and given to David. He knew this by the anointing that flowed in David's life, which ceased to flow in Saul's life (1 Samuel 24:20-21).

1 Samuel 24:20-21, “And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. 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 father's house.”

1 Samuel 20:34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

1 Samuel 20:34 “So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger” Comments - Jonathan was angry because he had been shamed by his father in front of his peers, provoking him to anger (Ephesians 6:4).

Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

1 Samuel 20:41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.

1 Samuel 20:41 “until David exceeded” Comments - NASB says, “But David wept the more.” David cried the hardest. He must have been a man of intense emotion. Actually, this appears to describe a weeping by the move of the Spirit of God upon David. It proceeded from the Spirit of God rather than from David’s natural emotions.