Saul would naturally refrain from invading hostile territory in order to capture David; such a move would have provoked a war for which he was unprepared. The wording of the text leaves little doubt that, had David remained in Judah, Saul would have forgotten even his latest promise, and pursued him once more. Perhaps Saul hoped this time, as upon a former occasion (1 Sam. 18:17, 25), that David would fall at the hands of the Philistines.