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Selected Verse: 1 Samuel 22:3 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
1Sa 22:3 |
King James |
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. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab--"Mizpeh" signifies a watchtower, and it is evident that it must be taken in this sense here, for it is called "the hold" or fort (Sa1 22:4). The king of Moab was an enemy of Saul (Sa1 14:47), and the great-grandson of Ruth, of course, was related to the family of Jesse. David, therefore, had less anxiety in seeking an asylum within the dominions of this prince than those of Achish, because the Moabites had no grounds for entertaining vindictive feelings against him, and their enmity, to Saul rendered them the more willing to receive so illustrious a refugee from his court. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Mizpeh of Moab - A good conjecture connects it with "Zophim" (a word of the same root as Mizpeh) on the top of Pisgah Num 23:14. It is probable that David's descent from Ruth the Moabitess may have had something to do with his seeking an asylum for Jesse, Ruth's grandson, in the land of her birth. It would be very easy to get to the Jordan from the neighborhood of Bethlehem, and cross over near its embouchure into the Dead Sea.
Come forth, and be with you - The construction of the Hebrew is very strange. The Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic seem to have read "dwell" instead of "come forth." |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
'Till I know, &c. - He expresses his hopes very modestly, as one that had entirely cast himself upon God, and committed his way to him, trusting not in his own arts or arms, but in the wisdom, power and goodness of God. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
He said unto the king of Moab - David could not trust his parents within the reach of Saul, and he found it very inconvenient to them to be obliged to go through all the fatigues of a military life, and therefore begs the king of Moab to give them shelter. The king of Moab, being one of Saul's enemies, would be the more ready to oblige a person from whom he might at least expect friendship, if not considerable services. |
47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.