Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?
The Ziphites betray David without being asked, without reward, seeking only to flatter Saul, a dark mirror to their own tribe's ornament fleeing for his life. Their treachery springs from base ambition, and Saul's gratitude reveals a heart where envy has made him miserable and dependent on the cruelty of others.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 23:19-29
Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah,.... Who though he had been out in quest of David, yet was now returned to Gibeah, the place of his residence, and where he kept his court; and hither came the Ziphites, the inhabitants of Ziph, in the wilderness of which David hid himself, with a proposal to deliver him to Saul; for though they were...
SAUL PURSUES HIM. (Sa1 23:19-29) Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us?--From the tell of Ziph a panorama of the whole surrounding district is to be seen. No wonder, then, that the Ziphites saw David and his men passing to and fro in the mountains of the wilderness.