1 Samuel 24:13-14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:9-15

We have here David's warm and pathetic speech to Saul, wherein he endeavours to convince him that he did him a great deal of wrong in persecuting him thus and to persuade him therefore to be reconciled. I. He calls him father (1 Sam. 24:11), for he was not only, as king, the father of his country, but he was, in particular, his father-in-law. From a father one may expect compassion and a favourable opinion. For a prince to seek the ruin of any of his good subjects is as unnatural as for a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:13

As saith the proverb of the ancients ,.... It is an old saying, has been long in use, and may be applied to the present case; or the "proverb of the ancient one"; of the oldest man, the first man Adam, and of all others after him, so Kimchi; or of the Ancient One of the world, the Ancient of days, the Lord himself; so in the Talmud F4 T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 10. 2. : wickedness proceedeth from the wicked ; as is a man, so are his actions; if he is a wicked man, he will do wicked... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:14

After whom is the king of Israel come out ?.... From his court and palace, with an army of men, and at the head of them: after whom dost thou pursue ? with such eagerness and fury: after a dead dog ; as David was in the opinion, and according to the representation of his enemies, a dog, vile, mean, worthless, of no account; a dead dog, whose name was made to stink through the calumnies cast upon him; and if a dead dog, then as he was an useless person, and could do no good, so... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 24:13

Wickedness proceeded from the wicked - This proverb may be thus understood: He that does a wicked act, gives proof thereby that he is a wicked man. From him who is wicked, wickedness will proceed; he who is wicked will add one iniquity to another. Had I conspired to dethrone thee, I should have taken thy life when it was in my power, and thus added wickedness to wickedness. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 24:14

After a dead dog - A term used among the Hebrews to signify the most sovereign contempt; see 2 Samuel 16:9 . One utterly incapable of making the least resistance against Saul, and the troops of Israel. The same idea is expressed in the term flea. The Targum properly expresses both thus: one who is weak, one who is contemptible. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:8-15

Discrimination in relation to men, truth, and vocation. The facts are— 1 . David follows Saul out of the cave and pays him homage. 2 . He remonstrates against Saul heeding the lies of slanderers, and declares to him how he had just spared his life. 3 . Exhibiting the skirt of the robe in evidence of his words, and appealing to God, he protests his innocence of purpose. 4 . He, while admitting his own insignificance, commends his cause to the justice of God, and prays for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:11-13

My father. David thus salutes Saul not because he was actually his father-in-law, but as a title indicative of the respect due from an inferior to his superior ( 2 Kings 5:13 ). So David calls himself Nabal's son ( 1 Samuel 25:8 ). In the rest of the verse he contrasts his refusal to slay Saul, when it might have seemed as if it were Providence that had put him into his power, with Saul's determined pursuit of him. Thou huntest my soul to take it. Thou perpetually usest every artifice... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 24:14-15

Finally, David makes a pathetic appeal to Saul, contrasting him in his grandeur as the king of Israel with the fugitive whom he so relentlessly persecuted. In calling himself a dead dog he implies that he was at once despicable and powerless. Even more insignificant is a flea , Hebrew, "one flea," "a single flea." The point is lost by omitting the numeral. David means that it is unworthy of a king to go forth with 3000 men to hunt a single flea. As the king's conduct is thus both unjust... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 24:14

After whom ... - i. e., was it consistent with the dignity of the king of Israel to lead armies in pursuit of a weak and helpless individual like David? read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 24:13

1 Samuel 24:13. Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked That is, men may be known by their actions; wicked men will do wicked actions; among which, this is one, to kill their sovereign lord and king; and, therefore, if I were so wicked a person as I am represented by thy courtiers to be, I should now have shown it, I should have made no conscience of laying violent hands upon thee. read more

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