שמואל א, פרק כ״ג, פסוק י״א

Facing a moment of deep uncertainty regarding the loyalty of the leaders of Keilah and the impending threat from Saul, David seeks guidance from God through the Urim and Thummim. He presents a two-part inquiry, asking both whether the lords and leaders of the city will surrender him, and whether Saul will actually march down to capture him [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

God responds with a brief, partial answer, simply confirming that Saul will indeed come down. From this focused reply, a fundamental rule regarding the Urim and Thummim emerges: an individual must not ask two questions simultaneously. When multiple inquiries are made at once, heaven provides an answer to only one of them [רש״י, רלב״ג, מצודת דוד].

The primary approach among commentators suggests that David presented his questions out of their logical and chronological sequence. Naturally, he should have first asked whether Saul was coming, and only then inquired if the townspeople would hand him over. Because the questions were posed out of order, the divine response corrected the sequence by addressing the event that would take place first in time—Saul’s arrival [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Offering a different perspective, others suggest that David structured his questions deliberately. He suspected that Saul might not immediately mobilize his army, but would instead follow the standard procedure for dealing with a rebellion by first sending a messenger to demand his surrender. Therefore, David initially asked if the city leaders would hand him over to such an envoy. Only if the city refused would he need to know if Saul planned to personally descend and attack the town. By answering that Saul would come down himself, God made it clear that no messenger would be sent. This immediate, personal pursuit rendered David's first question irrelevant, as the reality of the situation was entirely encompassed by the answer to the second [מלבי״ם].

Reflecting the distinct separation between David's anxious questions and God's decisive response, certain biblical manuscripts feature a physical space, or a textual break, directly in the middle of the passage, right before God delivers His answer [מנחת שי].