David's men, exhausted and constantly on the run, react with deep anxiety to the idea of initiating a new battle. They present a highly logical argument based on their already precarious situation. Living within their own tribal territory of Judah, they are already in constant fear of King Saul's relentless pursuit. They question the wisdom of taking on an additional risk by facing an organized, battle-ready enemy army [מצודת ציון]. They know King Saul will certainly not come to their rescue [ביאור שטיינזלץ], and stepping onto a new battlefield could easily leave them trapped and attacked from both sides [מלבי״ם].
Beyond their natural fear, a deeper question arises as to why these men do not simply trust the initial promise God gave them to go and fight. Several complementary explanations clarify their hesitation, all centering on how God first phrased His response. One perspective suggests that the initial answer felt conditional. It indicated that if they fought, they would save the city, but it lacked an explicit guarantee of a decisive victory. This ambiguity reminded the men of a past historical tragedy at Gibeah, where a similar misunderstanding of God's word led to disaster [רלב״ג]. Furthermore, the phrasing of the first message implied that they might only defeat a portion of the enemy forces, leaving them vulnerable to a reorganized counterattack by the Philistines [מלבי״ם]. There was also a lingering fear that even if the city were saved as promised, many of David's own men might die in the process [חומת אנך].
Despite the fears of his men, the primary approach among commentators is that David himself fully trusted God's initial promise. His decision to ask God a second time was driven entirely by his leadership and consideration for his followers, seeking to put their minds at ease. When God answered this second time, He provided an explicit and absolute guarantee, promising to place the Philistines directly into David's hands. This assured them of a complete victory without any loss of life, much like an object being passed safely from one person to another. With this clear reassurance, the men were finally calmed, their faith was restored, and they agreed to follow David into battle [רד״ק, רלב״ג, אברבנאל, חומת אנך].