David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh.
Here is, I. David absconding. He abode in a wilderness, in a mountain (Sa1 23:14), in a wood, Sa1 23:15. We must here, 1. Commend his eminent virtues, his humility, modesty, fidelity to his prince, and patient attendance on the providence of his God, that he did not draw up his forces against Saul, fight him in the field, or surprise him by some stratagem...
Commenting on 1 Samuel 23:14-18
And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life,.... Either he saw him with his bodily eyes from the top of the mountain where he was, Sa1 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...
1Sa 23:15-17 David in the Deserts of Ziph and Maon. - The history of David’s persecution by Saul is introduced in 1Sa 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.
Commenting on 1 Samuel 23:15-17