1 Samuel 20 · a question people ask
Was David's Bethlehem story true?
David tells Jonathan what to say if Saul misses him: "David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family" (20:6), and Jonathan tells Saul so (20:28-29). But David's plan was "that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening" (20:5), and "David hid himself in the field" (20:24). The chapter doesn't say whether there was a family sacrifice in Bethlehem that month, and it tells the story without comment. Christians read it in two main ways, as they do Michal's deception in the chapter before (19:14, 19:17) and Rahab's answer to the king of Jericho (Joshua 2:4-6), whose honest questions set those readings out. Both views agree that Saul was seeking David's life: "he shall surely die!" (20:31).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
An untrue answer, and still wrong
Those who hold this view take the story as untrue, since David hid in the field (20:24) rather than going to Bethlehem, and hold that deceiving was still wrong, since God's law says, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16), and "Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 12:22). They note that the chapter reports the story without praising it (20:6, 20:28-29).
1 Samuel 20:24 · Exodus 20:16 · Proverbs 12:22 · 1 Samuel 20:6 · 1 Samuel 20:28-29
Deceiving to save life was right here
Those who hold this view read the story as part of hiding a man whom the king meant to kill: David said that Saul "seeks my life" (20:1), and Saul said, "send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die!" (20:31). They read it as they read Rahab, spared "because she hid the messengers that we sent" (Joshua 6:17), and the Hebrew midwives, who "didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive" (Exodus 1:17), answered Pharaoh (Exodus 1:19), and "God dealt well with the midwives" (Exodus 1:20).
1 Samuel 20:1 · 1 Samuel 20:31 · Joshua 6:17 · Exodus 1:17-20
The verses
“David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to dine with the king; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening. If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’”
“So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon had come, the king sat himself down to eat food.”
“Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. He said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city. My brother has commanded me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.””
“When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.””