1 Samuel 24:3

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where [was] a cave,.... For the sheep to be led into at noon, to shelter them from the heat: such was the cave of Polyphemus, observed by Bochart (z), in

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. He came to the sheep-cotes by the way, where was a cave.

Some think the sheep cotes to have been caves into which they used to drive their sheep for shelter in tempestuous weather. To cover his feet, i.e. to ease his belly, as this phrase is thought to be used, . The reason whereof is, because the eastern and some other nations of old wore no breeches, but loose and long coats or gowns, like those which women with us wear; but shorter, whence their feet and legs were in a great part uncovered; and sometimes other parts, which also in Scripture are designed by the name of the feet, (of which See Poole ""; See Poole ""; See Poole ""; See Poole "",) were exposed to view. But when they went to perform this office of nature, which obliged them first to lift up their garments, they afterwards disposed them so decently, that all those parts might be covered and kept out of the sight of others. But possibly the words may have another meaning, and it is not to be despised that those ancient and venerable interpreters, the Syriac and Arabic, interpret this place and phrase quite otherwise, that Saul went in to sleep there; which was no uncouth thing to Saul, who being a military man, used to sleep with his soldiers upon the bare ground, as he did . And it is not improbable that Saul, being exceeding weary with his eager and almost incessant pursuit, first of David, then of the Philistines, and now of David again, both needed and desired some sleep God also disposing him thereunto, that David might have this eminent occasion to demonstrate his integrity to Saul, and to all Israel; and, the season possibly being hot, he might choose to sleep in the cave, for the benefit of the shade. But all the question is, how it may appear that this is the meaning of this phrase, and what is the reason and ground of it? To which many things may be said. First, That this phrase is but twice used in Scripture, as far as I remember, here, and , and this sense may conveniently enough agree to both of them; nay, this sense may seem better to agree with that place, Jude 3$, for that summer parlour or summer chamber (for both seem to be the same place, and were apparently for the same use, ,25) seems to be a place far more convenient for sleeping than for easing of nature. And the servants’ long stay and waiting for their lord seems to imply that they judged him gone to sleep, (which might take up a considerable time,) rather than to that other work, which requires but a little time. See Poole "". Secondly, That there are many Hebrew phrases which do confessedly signify several things, albeit the reason of such significations be now utterly unknown to us, though it was doubtless known to the ancient Hebrews.

1 Samuel 24:3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where [was] a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.Ver. 3. And Saul went in to cover his feet.] To ease nature. See Judges 3:24, Alexander Medices, duke of Florence, and son-in-law to Charles V, Emperor, was slain by his near kinsman Laurentius, as he was doing his easement. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.] Here and at this time it was that David said, "I will cry unto God most High, unto God that performeth all things for me," where the Chaldee hath, Unto God who sent the spider to make a web in the mouth of the cave for me. It may very well be that Saul, seeing the entrance of the cave overgrown with cobwebs, might think that no David lurked there. The like providence is reported for the preservation of Felix, a martyr, one time from his persecutors, whereupon Paulinus singeth - “ Sic ubi Christus adest, nobis et aranea muro est: At cui Christus abest, et murus aranea fiet ” Gal, Hist. Epit.

(3) The sheepcotes.—Thomson (The Land and the Book) saw, he says, hundreds of these sheepcotes around the mouth of the caves, of which there are so many in Palestine. In that land and among these Eastern peoples, whose customs change so little, they are as common now as they were then. “These sheepcotes are generally made by piling up loose stones in front of the cave’s entrance in a circular wall, which is covered with thorns as a further protection against thieves and wild animals who would prey on the sheep. During cold storms and in the night the flocks retreat into the cave, but at other times they remain in the enclosed cote. . . . These caverns are as dark as midnight, and the keenest eye cannot see four paces inward; but one who has been long within, and looking outward toward the entrance, can observe with perfect distinctness all that takes place in that direction. David, therefore, could watch Saul as he came in . . . but Saul could see nothing but impenetrable darkness.” From this thorny fence, so universal in the countless sheepcotes of Palestine, was very possibly derived a quaint simile in the strange passage on “Death” in the Talmud:— “The hardest of all deaths is by a disease (some suppose quinsey), which is like the forcible extraction of prickly thorns from wool. . . . The easiest of all deaths is the Divine kiss, which is like the extracting of hair from milk. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam died by this Divine kiss.”—Treatise Berachoth, fol. 8, col.1. Where was a cave.—The well-known traveller Van de Velde wishes to identify the cave in question with an immense cavern in a rock with many side vaults, near the ruins of Chareitum; the difficulty is, however, that this vast cavern is fifteen or twenty miles from Ain-jedy. In this cave all David’s band could well have been gathered: not only his 600 fighting men, but the camp followers and women also. In Pocock we read that the Arabs call this cavern Elmaama (hiding-place), and relate how on one occasion thirty thousand people hid themselves in it to escape an evil wind (the simoom). It is, however, quite possible that the incident about to be related, connected with Saul and David, took place in one of the much smaller caves close to En-gedi. It is not necessary to assume that all David’s band were with him in one cave. A hundred or so of his more special companions were probably with him on this occasion, the remainder of the little army being dispersed in other similar refuges in the immediate neighbourhood. And Saul went in to cover his feet.—The meaning of this disputed passage is quite simple.

Verse 3. The sheep-cotes] Caves in the rocks, in which it is common, even to the present time, for shepherds and their flocks to lodge. According to Strabo there are caverns in Syria, one of which is capable of containing four thousand men: Ὡνἑνκαιτετρακισχιλιουςανθρωπουςδεξασθαιδυναμενον; lib. xvi. p. 1096. Edit. 1707. Saul went in to cover his feet] Perhaps this phrase signifies exactly what the Vulgate has rendered it, ut purparet ventrem. The Septuagint, the Targum, and the Arabic understand it in the same way. It is likely that, when he had performed this act of necessity, he lay down to repose himself, and it was while he was asleep that David cut off the skirt of his robe. It is strange that Saul was not aware that there might be men lying in wait in such a place; and the rabbins have invented a most curious conceit to account for Saul's security: "God, foreseeing that Saul would come to this cave, caused a spider to weave her web over the mouth of it, which, when Saul perceived, he took for granted that no person had lately been there, and consequently he entered it without suspicion." This may be literally true; and we know that even a spider in the hand of God may be the instrument of a great salvation. This is a Jewish tradition, and one of the most elegant and instructive in their whole collection. David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.] This is no hyperbole; we have not only the authority of Strabo as above mentioned, but we have the authority of the most accurate travellers, to attest the fact of the vast capacity of caves in the East. Dr. Pococke observes: "Beyond the valley (of Tekoa) there is a very large grotto, which the Arabs call El Maamah, a hiding place; the high rocks on each side of the valley are almost perpendicular, and the way to the grotto is by a terrace formed in the rock, which is very narrow. There are two entrances into it; we went by the farthest, which leads by a narrow passage into a large grotto, the rock being supported by great natural pillars; the top of it rises in several parts like domes; the grotto is perfectly dry. There is a tradition that the people of the country, to the number of thirty thousand, retired into this grotto to avoid a bad air. This place is so strong that one would imagine it to be one of the strong holds of En-gedi, to which David and his men fled from Saul; and possibly it may be that very cave in which he cut off Saul's skirt, for David and his men might with great ease lie hid there and not be seen by him." - Pococke's Travels, vol. ii., part 1, p. 41.

3. the sheepcotes by the way] Sheepfolds are still formed in the East by building a wall of loose stones round the mouth of a cave, which serves for shelter in case of bad weather. See The Land and the Book, p. 603. to cover his feet] An euphemism for performing the necessities of nature. remained, &c.] Were abiding in the recesses of the cave. Large caves with numerous side passages are found in the district. “They are as dark as midnight, and the keenest eye cannot see five paces inward: but one who has been long within, and is looking outward toward the entrance, can observe with perfect distinctness all that takes place in that direction.” Hence David and his men could watch Saul without being seen.

Remained in the sides - Rather, “were in the sides of the cave dwelling or abiding there.” Some of these caverns are very deep and spacious.

3. The sheepcotes by the way — Not caves in the rocks, but enclosures built by the shepherds in the valley for the purpose of protecting their flocks. These sheep perhaps belonged to Nabal. Compare 1 Samuel 25:7.