Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
Parallel Translations
-
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the rocks of the wild goats.
-
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
-
(24-3) Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 24:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 26:2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.
- 1 Samuel 13:2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people to their own tents.
- Psalms 37:32 The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him.
- Psalms 38:12 They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.
- Psalms 104:18 The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
- Psalms 141:6 Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain A city of Judah, Josh. 15:62.
A city of Judah, Josh. 15:62.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men…
1Sa 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
Ver. 2. Upon the rocks of the wild goats.] Per rupes rupicaprarum: where they ventured their necks at every step almost, so steep and craggy were those cliffs. The wild goats hanging on them, and sometimes falling down, are said to pitch upon their horns without hurt. {a}
Read full note →
{a} Plin., lib. viii. cap. 53.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Which the wild goats use to delight and climb…
Which the wild goats use to delight and climb into. These very rocks are exceeding steep, and full of precipices, and dangerous to travellers, as an eye-witness hath left upon record. And yet Saul was so transported with rage, as to venture himself and his army here, that he might take David, who, as he thought, would judge himself safe, and therefore be secure in such inaccessible places.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of…
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.
Read full note →
(x) Adrichom Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 47. & Brocard. in ib. (y) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 53.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Rocks - Which the wild goats used to delight…
Rocks - Which the wild goats used to delight in and climb over. These very rocks are exceeding steep, and full of precipices, and dangerous to travelers, as an eye-witness hath left upon record. And yet Saul was so transported with rage, as to venture himself and his army here, that he might take David, who, as he thought, would judge himself safe, and therefore be secure in such inaccessible places.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Rocks of the wild goats.] The original…
Verse 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 24:2. Upon the rocks of the wild goats…
1Sa 24:2. Upon the rocks of the wild goats — Which the wild goats used to delight in and climb over. These same rocks are exceeding steep, and full of precipices, and dangerous to travellers, as an eye-witness hath left upon record. And yet Saul was so transported with rage as to venture himself and his army here, that he might take David, who, as he thought, would judge himself safe, and therefore be secure in such inaccessible places.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The rocks of the wild goats - To signify…
The rocks of the wild goats - To signify the craggy precipitous character of the country.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. The rocks of the wild goats — Dr.…
2. The rocks of the wild goats — Dr. Robinson thus speaks of his travels in this region: “As we now came in view of the ravine of the Wady Ghar a mountain goat started up and bounded along the face of the rocks on the opposite side. Indeed, we were now in the wilderness of En-gedi, where David and his men lived among ‘the rocks of the wild goats,’ and where the former cut off the skirts of Saul’s robe in a cave. The whole scene is drawn to the life. On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might then serve as lurking places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) Three thousand chosen men.—This large and carefully selected…
(2) Three thousand chosen men.—This large and carefully selected force is an indication how thoroughly impressed Saul was with the power of David at this juncture. He, indeed, evidently looked on him as a rival king, who must be met by a numerous and disciplined force.
Upon the rocks of the wild goats.—“Ibex rocks,” so called because probably only these ibexes, the chamois of Syria, would find pasturage on them. Some have suggested that this was a proper name. The ibex is still found among the precipitous cliffs in the neighbourhood of Ain-jedy.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Chosen. See on this word 1Sa_9:2. The rocks of…
Chosen. See on this word 1Sa_9:2. The rocks of the wild goats. Apparently this was the proper name of some cliffs near Engedi, so called from their being frequented by the ibex, or Syrian chamois, an animal which, according to Thomson (p. 603) is still found there. It shows Saul"s pertinacious hatred of David, that no sooner was the war with the Philistines over, than he pursues him with 3000 picked warriors into these lonely fastnesses. Comp. Psa_57:4, written, according to the title, upon the occasion recorded in this chapter.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:2 3,000 elite troops: David’s force was outnumbered five…
24:2 3,000 elite troops: David’s force was outnumbered five to one (23:13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.