שמואל א, פרק כ׳, פסוק כ״ד

The moment of testing arrives as a secret plan is set into motion during the royal feast of the new moon. As the first day of the new month begins [אברבנאל], David goes into hiding exactly as arranged, and the great festive meal commences [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The king takes his usual, honored place at the table where the food is set [אברבנאל]. However, David's absence immediately creates a complication in the seating arrangement. Normally, David sits directly between the king and Jonathan. Without David present, Jonathan finds himself seated right next to his father without any separation. Sitting so close to the king is considered improper and a breach of royal respect [אלשיך, אברבנאל].

To resolve this, Jonathan gets up from his seat [מלבי״ם], allowing Abner to sit down and act as a buffer between him and the king. Jonathan intentionally initiates this shuffling of seats to draw attention away from himself, hoping to hide his own involvement in David's escape [אברבנאל].

Because of this shifting, David's empty seat becomes highly noticeable. Yet, on the first day of the feast, Saul chooses to remain silent. He assumes that David has contracted some form of ritual impurity and is therefore forbidden from participating in the pure royal meal [אלשיך, אברבנאל]. Furthermore, Saul lives in constant fear of David because God is with him. Saul believes that as long as David is ritually impure, Divine providence is temporarily removed from him, leaving David exposed and vulnerable [אלשיך].