1 Samuel 23:15

“And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life, etc.] Either he saw him with his bodily eyes from the top of the mountain where he was, (<092314>1 Samuel 23:14); or he perceived, he understood by information given him by his friends, it may be by Jonathan, or by spies he sent to observe his motions: and David [was] in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood; where he and his men could hide themselves among the trees in it; sometimes he was in a mountain in this wilderness, and sometimes in a wood, where he thought himself the safest; thus was this great man obliged to shift about for his safety.”

“life: Heb. nephesh, soul, Gen 44:30 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 23:16”

“David in the Deserts of Ziph and Maon. - The history of David's persecution by Saul is introduced in Sa1 23:15-18, with the account of an attempt made by the noble-minded prince Jonathan, in a private interview with his friend David, to renew his bond of friendship with him, and strengthen David by his friendly words for the sufferings that yet awaited him. Sa1 23:15, Sa1 23:16 are to be connected together so as to form one period: "When David saw that Saul was come out ... and David was in the desert of Ziph, Jonathan rose up and went to David into the wood." חרשׁה, from חרשׁ, with ה paragogic, signifies a wood or thicket; here, however, it is probably a proper name for a district in the…”