Bible Strands
1 Samuel 19:18
So David ran away and escaped. And he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Following Saul’s confrontation with Michal in 1 Samuel 19:17, the narrative shifts to David’s flight to the prophet Samuel in Ramah. David arrives to report Saul’s actions, and the two proceed together to Naioth.
The words — The text highlights בָּרַ֜ח (ba.Rach) = he fled and וַ/יַּ֨גֶּד (va/i.Ya.ged) = and he told, marking both David’s physical escape and his verbal report to Samuel.
The thread — Ramah functions throughout Samuel’s ministry as his residential and judicial center (1 Samuel 7:17; 15:34) and later as his burial site (1 Samuel 28:3). David’s flight to this established prophetic base continues the pattern of the monarchy’s growing tension with Samuel’s authority.
Why it lands — The verse documents a coordinated retreat rather than an isolated escape, requiring the reader to track how David’s physical movements map onto Samuel’s geographical and spiritual influence. It demands attention to the text’s explicit pairing of David and Samuel as they relocate together.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
- 1 Samuel 28:3 Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
- Psalms 116:11 In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”
- James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.