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1 Samuel 22

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David Gathers Followers at Adullam 1–5

1
David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. ​
2
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. ​
3
And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. ​
4
And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
5
And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. ​

Saul’s Paranoia and Accusations 6–8

6
When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;) ​
7
Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; ​
8
That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ​

Doeg Betrays the Priests of Nob 9–15

9
Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ​
10
And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. ​
11
Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
12
And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
13
And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ​
14
Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house? ​
15
Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. ​

The Massacre of the Priests 16–19

16
And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. ​
17
And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. ​
18
And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. ​
19
And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword. ​

Abiathar Joins David 20–23

20
And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. ​
21
And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.
22
And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house. ​
23
Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 22

Verse 1

the cave Adullam — The headings of Psalm 57, 'when he fled from Saul in the cave', and of Psalm 142, 'A Prayer when he was in the cave', both place a psalm in a cave. David's brothers and 'all his father's house' went down to him. The cave is named again in 1 Chr 11:15, where three of the thirty captains 'went down to the rock to David'.

Verse 2

discontented — Literally 'bitter of soul' (mar nephesh), the phrase for Hannah, 'in bitterness of soul' (1:10), and for Job 3:20, 'bitter in soul'. With 'distress' (matsoq, a narrow place) and 'in debt' (nasha, pressed by a creditor), three kinds of need gather to David, who 'became a captain' (sar) over about four hundred.

Verse 3

Mizpeh of Moab — David places his parents with the king of Moab 'till I know what God will do for me'. Moab was part of his own descent: Obed, 'the father of Jesse' (Ruth 4:17), was born to Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 4:10, 13). The request is for a refuge until God's purpose for him is known.

Verse 5

the prophet Gad — He is first named here and is later called 'the prophet Gad, David's seer' (2 Sam 24:11); 'the book of Gad the seer' is one of the records of David's acts (1 Chr 29:29). His word moves David from 'the hold' (matsud, a stronghold) to 'the land of Judah'. The forest of Hareth is named only here.

Verse 6

his spear in his hand — The Hebrew is chanith, the weapon of 18:10–11, 19:9–10 and 20:33. Saul sits 'under a tree in Ramah' with his servants standing about him when he hears that David 'was discovered' (literally, 'was known'), and the speech of vv.7–8 follows.

Verse 7

ye Benjamites — Saul addresses his own tribe (9:21). Fields, vineyards and 'captains of thousands' are the items Samuel listed in the manner of the king: 'he will take your fields, and your vineyards… and give them to his servants' (8:14) and 'appoint him captains over thousands' (8:12). In vv.7, 8 and 13 Saul calls David only 'the son of Jesse'.

Verse 8

conspired — Qashar, the verb of 18:1, where Jonathan's soul 'was knit' with David's. Saul's complaint is that 'my son hath made a league' (karath, the verb of 'made a covenant' in 18:3) with the son of Jesse, and that no one 'sheweth' him, literally 'uncovers my ear'. Jonathan's covenant is the one made in 18:3 and renewed in 20:16.

Verse 9

Doeg the Edomite — He was 'detained before the LORD' at Nob (21:7) and is here 'set over the servants of Saul'. His report is that he 'saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.' Psalm 52 is headed with the act: 'when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.'

Verse 10

enquired of the LORD for him — Sha'al, to ask, the priestly asking 'after the judgment of Urim before the LORD' (Num 27:21). Doeg adds this to what ch.21 records of the visit. The 'victuals' are the hallowed bread of 21:6, and the sword is the sword of Goliath given to David at 21:9.

Verse 13

Why have ye conspired against me — Saul repeats the verb of v.8 (qashar) and sets out Doeg's three items: 'bread, and a sword', and the enquiry of God. The purpose he names, 'to lie in wait, as at this day', is Saul's own charge. Ch.21 shows David asking for bread and a weapon, and v.14 gives Ahimelech's answer.

Verse 14

who is so faithful among all thy servants as David — Aman, faithful. Ahimelech rests it on three facts: David is 'the king's son in law' (18:27), goes at Saul's bidding, and is 'honourable in thine house'. Jonathan had pleaded David's 'works' in 19:4, and 18:5, 14 and 30 record how David behaved.

Verse 15

Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? — 'Then' is yom, 'day': the question is whether he began that day. Ahimelech asks that the king not 'impute' anything to him or 'to all the house of my father', for he 'knew nothing of all this, less or more'. The sentence in v.16 falls on that house.

Verse 16

Thou shalt surely die — The words Saul spoke to Jonathan at 14:44, 'thou shalt surely die, Jonathan'. The Hebrew doubles the verb there as here (muth). In 14:44 the sentence was for one man; here it covers 'Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house'.

Verse 17

the priests of the LORD — The 'footmen' are literally runners (ruts). The king's command is that they 'Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD', and 'the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon' them. In 14:45 the people had stood against Saul's sentence on Jonathan and 'rescued Jonathan, that he died not'.

Verse 18

fell upon the priests — 'Turn' (sabab) is the king's word in v.17 as well as here, and now Doeg 'turned'. He slew 'fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod'. The ephod is the priestly garment, and the priesthood the LORD had chosen was 'to wear an ephod before me' (2:28).

Verse 19

Nob, the city of the priests — The list of the dead, 'men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep', follows the command against Amalek: 'slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass' (15:3). Saul had spared the best of the animals and Agag then (15:9). The sentence is carried out here on the priests' own town.

Verse 20

Abiathar… escaped, and fled after David — Abiathar comes with an ephod in his hand (23:6), and David asks him for it when he needs to enquire (23:9; 30:7). He remains priest until Solomon 'thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh' (1 Kgs 2:27).

Verse 22

I have occasioned the death — Sabab, to turn, rendered 'occasioned' here; it is the verb of 'Turn' in vv.17–18. David says he 'knew it that day' that Doeg 'would surely tell Saul'. He speaks it to Abiathar, the one son of Ahimelech who had escaped (v.20).

Verse 23

Abide thou with me, fear not — David's offer rests on one fact: 'he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life'. 'Seek the life' (baqash nephesh) is the phrase of 20:1 and 23:15. 'Safeguard' is mishmereth, a watch or custody, and Abiathar later comes to David with the ephod (23:6).