Bible Study 1 Samuel 19
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1 Samuel 19 · WEB

Saul Tries to Kill David; David Flees

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.
2Jonathan told David, saying, "Saul my father seeks to kill you. Now therefore, please take care of yourself in the morning, and live in a secret place and hide yourself.
3I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will talk with my father about you; and if I see anything, I will tell you."
4Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, "Don't let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you;
5for he put his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?"
6Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan; and Saul swore, "As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death."
7Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.
8There was war again. David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
9An evil spirit from Yahweh was on Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing music with his hand.
10Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.
11Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you don't save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."
12So Michal let David down through the window; and he went, fled, and escaped.
13Michal took the teraphim and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's hair at its head, and covered it with the clothing.
14When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."
15Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."
16When the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goat's hair at its head.
17Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?'"
18Now David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
19It was told Saul, saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah."
20Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied.
21When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
22Then Saul himself went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu. He asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" Someone said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah."
23He went there to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came on him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24He also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
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Summary

Saul openly declares his intent to kill David, but Jonathan intercedes and temporarily restores peace — until another battle victory renews Saul's jealousy. Saul twice hurls his spear at David, then sends messengers to kill him at home. Michal (David's wife and Saul's daughter) saves David by letting him out a window and deceiving the guards with a decoy. David flees to Samuel at Ramah. Saul's three groups of messengers and then Saul himself are all overtaken by the Spirit of God and begin prophesying — a final ironic act showing that God's Spirit, which has departed from Saul, still overrules him.

Themes

  • The protection of the innocent through unexpected means — Michal, Jonathan, and the Spirit itself
  • Saul's escalating, irrational murderous obsession
  • God's sovereignty overruling even the instruments of violence
  • The cost of loyalty to God's anointed — those who protect David risk everything

Key verses

  • 1 Sam 19:10 — “Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence.”
  • 1 Sam 19:20 — “The Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied.”
  • 1 Sam 19:5 — “He put his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh worked a great victory for all Israel... Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”

Context & background

David and Michal's house was likely in Gibeah (modern Tell el-Ful, northern Jerusalem area, West Bank), where Saul's court was located. Ramah (modern er-Ram, about 8 km north of Jerusalem) was Samuel's home base. Naioth means "dwellings" or "pastures" and was likely a community of prophets near Ramah. The teraphim that Michal used as a decoy were household idols — their presence in David's house raises questions about religious syncretism in Saul's family. The prophetic frenzy that overtook Saul's men — and then Saul himself — is a dramatic display of divine power protecting David.

Cross-references

  • 1 Sam 10:10-12 — The earlier incident of Saul prophesying, also connected to the saying "Is Saul among the prophets?"
  • Acts 5:38-39 — Gamaliel's principle: if a work is of God, nothing can stop it.
  • Gen 31:19, 34 — Rachel also hid teraphim from Laban; household idols appear at key moments of flight in Genesis and Samuel.
  • Prov 21:30 — "There is no wisdom, understanding, or counsel against Yahweh" — illustrated by God overturning every plot against David.
  • Ps 59 (superscription) — "When Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him" — David's prayer from this very situation.

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    How many distinct attempts did Saul make to kill or capture David in this chapter, and who helped David escape?

  2. Observe

    What happened to Saul's messengers — and ultimately Saul himself — when they went to Ramah to capture David?

  3. Interpret

    What does Jonathan's bold defense of David before Saul (vv. 4-5) reveal about his character?

  4. Interpret

    What does the Spirit of God's compelling of Saul and his men to prophesy communicate about the situation?

  5. Apply

    What should believers do when loyalty to a person in authority conflicts with loyalty to what is right?

  6. Apply

    How should a believer respond when they notice a resentment or grudge beginning to shape their decisions?

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