The Slippery Rock

David The Fugitive

In one scene, David is hiding on the side of a mountain in the wilderness. As Saul’s army closes in on David by approaching from the back of the mountain, a miracle happens. At the last minute, just before he captures David, Saul is called back home to fight the Philistines. The story ends by telling us that the name of this famous mountain where David was delivered from death is the “Rock of Escape.” 

Multiple Layers of Meaning

In the original Hebrew this is Sela HaMaḥlekot סֶלַע הַמַּחְלְקוֹת, a name which is far more interesting than the translation indicates. The word Maḥlekot comes from the root ḤLK חלק which means “to divide”. But the same root also means “slippery.” Which meaning is correct? In fact, both are. This mountain was the dividing border separating two armies. But this mountain is also where David, with the help of God, once again slipped through Saul’s fingers.
    

The Power of the Hebrew source

Hebrew - the original language of the Bible - compresses deep meaning into each verse of Scripture. The power of reading the Bible in the Hebrew is that you don’t need to pick one translation, you no longer depend on footnotes and commentaries to unpack theses rich layers of meaning. Enroll in our live online Biblical Hebrew course and read the authentic text of Scripture, just as it was initially intended to be read.