1 Samuel 23:19

“Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, etc.] Who though he had been out in quest of David, yet was now returned to Gibeah, the place of his residence, and where he kept his court; and hither came the Ziphites, the inhabitants of Ziph, in the wilderness of which David hid himself, with a proposal to deliver him to Saul; for though they were of the same tribe with David, yet being terrified with what Saul had done to Nob, they thought it best for their own security to inform Saul where he was, and make an offer to deliver him to him. Some interpreters, as Kimchi, think that this was done before Jonathan was with Saul, and should be rendered, “the Ziphites had come up to Saul”; and hence…”

“SAUL PURSUES HIM. (Sa1 23:19-29) Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us?--From the tell of Ziph a panorama of the whole surrounding district is to be seen. No wonder, then, that the Ziphites saw David and his men passing to and fro in the mountains of the wilderness. Spying him at a distance when he ventured to show himself on the hill of Hachilah, "on the right hand of the wilderness," that is, the south side of Ziph, they sent in haste to Saul, to tell him of the lurking place of his enemy [VAN DE VELDE].”

“(Hachilah is thought by Conder to be the long ridge called El Kolah). For Jeshimon, see the margin and Numbers 21:20. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Ziphites - Who were of David's own tribe tho' for this their unnatural carriage to him, he calls them strangers, Psa 54:3. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 23:25”

“23:19 Hakilah was a hill in the wilderness region of Ziph (23:14). • The term Jeshimon is sometimes translated as “wasteland” rather than as a place name. It refers here to a specific wasteland located north of the Dead Sea, on both banks of the Jordan River (see Num 21:20).”

“the Ziphites: Sa1 22:7, Sa1 22:8, Sa1 26:1; Psa 54:1 \*title Psa 54:3, Psa 54:4; Pro 29:12 Hachilah: Calmet states, that Hachilah was a mountain about ten miles south of Jericho, where Jonathan Maccabeus built the castle of Massada, west of the Dead Sea, and not far from En-gedi. Sa1 26:1, Sa1 26:3 on the south: Heb. on the right hand Jeshimon: or, the wilderness, Eusebius places Jeshimon ten miles south of Jericho, near the Dead Sea; which agrees extremely well with the position of Hachilah, as stated by Calmet. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 23:20”