David and Jonathan devise a critical test to uncover King Saul’s true intentions, using an upcoming state dinner to gauge the king's reaction to David's absence. The chosen time for this test is the new moon. Commentators agree that this event is treated as a formal holiday, where everyone who regularly dines at the king's table is obligated to attend the festive meal. While missing a standard weekday dinner might pass without notice, an absence on the new moon is impossible to ignore [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד].
The primary approach among commentators is that David points out his constant, ongoing routine of sitting near the king and eating alongside the royal family [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Because of this regular presence, his failure to appear on such a central occasion will immediately stand out and provoke the king's curiosity [רד״ק, רלב״ג]. Other perspectives offer different layers to David's situation. Some suggest David is expressing a genuine desire to maintain his place at the table, knowing that an unapproved absence would brand him as a rebel against the crown [מלבי״ם]. Conversely, another view reads his situation as an expression of fear and disbelief. David wonders how he could possibly sit with the king for the two days of the new moon, placing himself in constant, mortal danger that Saul might strike him down [אלשיך].
Driven by this fear for his life, David needs to avoid the meal. He asks Jonathan for official permission to leave, ensuring he is not viewed as a deserter who fled without authorization [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. His plan is to hide in the field until the evening. The accepted approach is that he intends to remain concealed until the evening hours of the third day from that very moment [רש״י, רד״ק]. Other commentators refine this timeline, explaining that since the new moon celebration lasts for two days, David plans to wait until the evening following the second day. This extended wait guarantees that if Saul overlooks David's absence on the first day, he will certainly notice and ask about it on the second. Once the king's reaction is clear, Jonathan will then be able to safely relay the results of their test to David [מלבי״ם, רלב״ג, אלשיך].