Literally, “wilderness” (see Deut. 32:10; Ps. 68:7), or “desert” (see Ps. 78:40; 106:14; Isa. 43:19, 20). Whether “Jeshimon” should here appear as a proper name is questionable.

The exact location of this hill is not known. Some have identified it with a long ridge of chalky limestone, running from the Wilderness of Ziph toward the Dead Sea.

The Hebrew does not here use the definite article; hence the phrase might be better translated “some Ziphites.” This suggests that not all the Ziphites sought to betray David. When David heard that he had been betrayed, he composed the 54th psalm.