Passage Research
1 Samuel 23 — Sermon Preparation
David rescues the town of Keilah from the Philistines but learns the townspeople will betray him, so he moves through the wilderness with Saul in close pursuit. Below is a research summary for 1 Samuel 23, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 28
- verses
- 436 / 147
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 6
- classic sermon excerpts
- 2
- preachers & commentators
1 Samuel 23 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דָּוִד | Dâvid | H1732 | 28 | David |
| שָׁאוּל | Shâʼûwl | H7586 | 23 | Shaul |
| קְעִילָה | Qᵉʻîylâh | H7084 | 14 | Keilah |
| יָלַךְ | yâlak | H3212 | 12 | walk, carry |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּי | Pᵉlishtîy | H6430 | 8 | Pelishtite |
| יָרַד | yârad | H3381 | 8 | descend, go downwards |
| יָד | yâd | H3027 | 9 | hand, open |
How preachers through history handled this text
6 public-domain excerpts on 1 Samuel 23, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“In the midst of his wickedness, Saul affected to speak the language of piety. Such expressions, without suitable effects, can only amuse or deceive those who hear, and those who use them. This mountain was an emblem of the Divine Providence coming between David and the destroyer. Let us not be dismayed at the prospect of future difficulties, but stay ourselves upon Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on 1 Samuel 23:19–30 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Keilah— 1 Sam 23:1
- Wilderness of Ziph— 1 Sam 23:14
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