The Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doesn't David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?
Porter stressed some remarkable differences here as contrasted with the event in  1 Samuel 24.  "In the first encounter Saul went alone, unarmed and by chance, into a cave where David and his men were; here David and Abishai were reconnoitering in search of Saul, finding him at night where he was sleeping with Abner his commander.  The first incident happened in the day time, this one at night.  In the first event, David cut off part of Saul's robe; here they took Saul's spear and the jar of water that was beside him. The conclusion supported here is that there were two occasions."[2]  D. F. Payne also supported "The historicity of both accounts."[3]  "Jeshimon is the barren country between the hills of Judah and the dead sea.  The Hill of Hachilah is perhaps El-kolah, six miles west of Ziph and on the eastern edge of the wilderness where it begins to fall toward the Dead Sea."[4]