Show Bible Commentary For A Bible Verse

Click here to show/hide instructions.

Selected Verse: 1 Samuel 22:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Sa 22:1	Strong Concordance	David [01732] therefore departed [03212] thence, and escaped [04422] to the cave [04631] Adullam [05725]: and when his brethren [0251] and all his father's [01] house [01004] heard [08085] it, they went down [03381] thither to him.
	King James	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.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

Open All | Close All Open All | Close All

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
DAVID'S KINDRED AND OTHERS RESORT TO HIM AT ADULLAM. (Sa1 22:1-8) David . . . escaped to the cave Adullam--supposed to be that now called Deir-Dubban, a number of pits or underground vaults, some nearly square, and all about fifteen or twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, in the soft limestone or chalky rocks. They are on the borders of the Philistine plain at the base of the Judea mountains, six miles southwest from Beth-lehem, and well adapted for concealing a number of refugees. his brethren and all his father's house . . . went down--to escape the effects of Saul's rage, which seems to have extended to all David's family. From Beth-lehem to Deir-Dubban it is, indeed, a descent all the way.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

DAVID'S KINDRED AND OTHERS RESORT TO HIM AT ADULLAM. (Sa1 22:1-8)

David . . . escaped to the cave Adullam--supposed to be that now called Deir-Dubban, a number of pits or underground vaults, some nearly square, and all about fifteen or twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, in the soft limestone or chalky rocks. They are on the borders of the Philistine plain at the base of the Judea mountains, six miles southwest from Beth-lehem, and well adapted for concealing a number of refugees.

his brethren and all his father's house . . . went down--to escape the effects of Saul's rage, which seems to have extended to all David's family. From Beth-lehem to Deir-Dubban it is, indeed, a descent all the way.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
To the cave Adullam - Or rather "of Adullam." Adullam was the name of a town of Judah in the "Shephelah," not far from Bethlehem, and below it. Innumerable caverns, one nearly 100 feet long, are excavated in the soft limestone hills in the neighborhood of Beit-Jibrin. (The cave is placed by Ganneau and Conder on the hill (500 feet high) over 'Aid el Ma or Miyeh.) David's brethren and kinsmen joined him partly from sympathy with him, and partly because their own lives were in jeopardy front Saul's furious enmity.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Having been driven away by Achish, the Philistian king at Gath, David took refuge in the cave Adullam, where his family joined him. The cave Adullam is not to be sought for in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, as some have inferred from Sa2 23:13-14, but near the town Adullam, which is classed in Jos 15:35 among the towns in the lowlands of Judah, and at the foot of the mountains; though it has not yet been traced with any certainty, as the caves of Deir Dubban, of which Van de Velde speaks, are not the only large caves on the western slope of the mountains of Judah. When his brethren and his father's house, i.e., the rest of his family, heard of his being there, they came down to him, evidently because they no longer felt themselves safe in Bethlehem from Saul's revenge. The cave Adullam cannot have been more than three hours from Bethlehem, as Socoh and Jarmuth, which were near to Adullam, were only three hours and a half from Jerusalem (see at Jos 12:15). Sa1 22:2 There a large number of malcontents gathered together round David, viz., all who were in distress, and all who had creditors, and all who were embittered in spirit (bitter of soul), i.e., people who were dissatisfied with the general state of affairs or with the government of Saul, - about four hundred men, whose leader he became. David must in all probability have stayed there a considerable time. The number of those who went over to him soon amounted to six hundred men (Sa1 23:13), who were for the most part brave and reckless, and who ripened into heroic men under the command of David during his long flight. A list of the bravest of them is given in 1 Chron 12, with which compare Sa2 23:13. and Ch1 11:15. Sa1 22:3-5 David proceeded thence to Mizpeh in Moab, and placed his parents in safety with the king of the Moabites. His ancestress Ruth was a Moabitess. Mizpeh: literally a watch-tower or mountain height commanding a very extensive prospect. Here it is probably a proper name, belonging to a mountain fastness on the high land, which bounded the Arboth Moab on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, most likely on the mountains of Abarim or Pisgah (Deu 34:1), and which could easily be reached from the country round Bethlehem, by crossing the Jordan near the point where it entered the Dead Sea. As David came to the king of Moab, the Moabites had probably taken possession of the most southerly portion of the eastern lands of the Israelites; we may also infer this from the fact that, according to Sa1 14:47, Saul had also made war upon Moab, for Mizpeh Moab is hardly to be sought for in the actual land of the Moabites, on the south side of the Arnon (Mojeb). אתּכם ... יצא־נא, "May my father and my mother go out with you." The construction of יצא with את is a pregnant one: to go out of their home and stay with you (Moabites). "Till I know what God will do to me." Being well assured of the justice of his cause, as contrasted with the insane persecutions of Saul, David confidently hoped that God would bring his flight to an end. His parents remained with the king of Moab as long as David was בּמּצוּדה, i.e., upon the mount height, or citadel. This can only refer to the place of refuge which David had found at Mizpeh Moab. For it is perfectly clear from Sa1 22:5, where the prophet Gad calls upon David not to remain any longer בּמּצוּדה, but to return to the land of Judah, that the expression cannot refer either to the cave Adullam, or to any other place of refuge in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The prophet Gad had probably come to David from Samuel's school of prophets; but whether he remained with David from that time forward to assist him with his counsel in his several undertakings, cannot be determined, on account of our want of information. In Ch1 21:9 he is called David's seer. In the last year of David's reign he announced to him the punishment which would fall upon him from God on account of his sin in numbering the people (Sa2 24:11.); and according to Ch1 29:29 he also wrote the acts of David. In consequence of this admonition, David returned to Judah, and went into the wood Hareth, a woody region on the mountains of Judah, which is never mentioned again, and the situation of which is unknown. According to the counsels of God, David was not to seek for refuge outside the land; not only that he might not be estranged from his fatherland and the people of Israel, which would have been opposed to his calling to be the king of Israel, but also that he might learn to trust entirely in the Lord as his only refuge and fortress.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Having been driven away by Achish, the Philistian king at Gath, David took refuge in the cave Adullam, where his family joined him. The cave Adullam is not to be sought for in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, as some have inferred from Sa2 23:13-14, but near the town Adullam, which is classed in Jos 15:35 among the towns in the lowlands of Judah, and at the foot of the mountains; though it has not yet been traced with any certainty, as the caves of Deir Dubban, of which Van de Velde speaks, are not the only large caves on the western slope of the mountains of Judah. When his brethren and his father's house, i.e., the rest of his family, heard of his being there, they came down to him, evidently because they no longer felt themselves safe in Bethlehem from Saul's revenge. The cave Adullam cannot have been more than three hours from Bethlehem, as Socoh and Jarmuth, which were near to Adullam, were only three hours and a half from Jerusalem (see at Jos 12:15).

Sa1 22:2

There a large number of malcontents gathered together round David, viz., all who were in distress, and all who had creditors, and all who were embittered in spirit (bitter of soul), i.e., people who were dissatisfied with the general state of affairs or with the government of Saul, - about four hundred men, whose leader he became. David must in all probability have stayed there a considerable time. The number of those who went over to him soon amounted to six hundred men (Sa1 23:13), who were for the most part brave and reckless, and who ripened into heroic men under the command of David during his long flight. A list of the bravest of them is given in 1 Chron 12, with which compare Sa2 23:13. and Ch1 11:15.

Sa1 22:3-5

David proceeded thence to Mizpeh in Moab, and placed his parents in safety with the king of the Moabites. His ancestress Ruth was a Moabitess. Mizpeh: literally a watch-tower or mountain height commanding a very extensive prospect. Here it is probably a proper name, belonging to a mountain fastness on the high land, which bounded the Arboth Moab on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, most likely on the mountains of Abarim or Pisgah (Deu 34:1), and which could easily be reached from the country round Bethlehem, by crossing the Jordan near the point where it entered the Dead Sea. As David came to the king of Moab, the Moabites had probably taken possession of the most southerly portion of the eastern lands of the Israelites; we may also infer this from the fact that, according to Sa1 14:47, Saul had also made war upon Moab, for Mizpeh Moab is hardly to be sought for in the actual land of the Moabites, on the south side of the Arnon (Mojeb). אתּכם ... יצא־נא, "May my father and my mother go out with you." The construction of יצא with את is a pregnant one: to go out of their home and stay with you (Moabites). "Till I know what God will do to me." Being well assured of the justice of his cause, as contrasted with the insane persecutions of Saul, David confidently hoped that God would bring his flight to an end. His parents remained with the king of Moab as long as David was בּמּצוּדה, i.e., upon the mount height, or citadel. This can only refer to the place of refuge which David had found at Mizpeh Moab. For it is perfectly clear from Sa1 22:5, where the prophet Gad calls upon David not to remain any longer בּמּצוּדה, but to return to the land of Judah, that the expression cannot refer either to the cave Adullam, or to any other place of refuge in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The prophet Gad had probably come to David from Samuel's school of prophets; but whether he remained with David from that time forward to assist him with his counsel in his several undertakings, cannot be determined, on account of our want of information. In Ch1 21:9 he is called David's seer. In the last year of David's reign he announced to him the punishment which would fall upon him from God on account of his sin in numbering the people (Sa2 24:11.); and according to Ch1 29:29 he also wrote the acts of David. In consequence of this admonition, David returned to Judah, and went into the wood Hareth, a woody region on the mountains of Judah, which is never mentioned again, and the situation of which is unknown. According to the counsels of God, David was not to seek for refuge outside the land; not only that he might not be estranged from his fatherland and the people of Israel, which would have been opposed to his calling to be the king of Israel, but also that he might learn to trust entirely in the Lord as his only refuge and fortress.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The cave Adullam - This was in the tribe of Judah, and, according to Eusebius and Jerome, ten miles eastward of what they call Eleutheropolis.

Top

¹ David [01732] therefore departed [03212] thence, and escaped [04422] to the cave [04631] Adullam [05725]: and when his brethren [0251] and all his father's [01] house [01004] heard [08085] it, they went down [03381] thither to him.
² And every one [0376] that was in distress [04689], and every one [0376] that was in debt [05378], and every one [0376] that was discontented [04751] [05315], gathered [06908] themselves unto him; and he became a captain [08269] over them: and there were with him about four [0702] hundred [03967] men [0376].
³ And David [01732] went [03212] thence to Mizpeh [04708] of Moab [04124]: and he said [0559] unto the king [04428] of Moab [04124], Let my father [01] and my mother [0517], I pray thee, come forth [03318], and be with you, till I know [03045] what God [0430] will do [06213] for me.
⁴ And he brought [05148] them before [06440] the king [04428] of Moab [04124]: and they dwelt [03427] with him all the while [03117] that David [01732] was in the hold [04686].
⁵ And the prophet [05030] Gad [01410] said [0559] unto David [01732], Abide [03427] not in the hold [04686]; depart [03212], and get [0935] thee into the land [0776] of Judah [03063]. Then David [01732] departed [03212], and came [0935] into the forest [03293] of Hareth [02802].
⁶ When Saul [07586] heard [08085] that David [01732] was discovered [03045], and the men [0582] that were with him, (now Saul [07586] abode [03427] in Gibeah [01390] under a tree [0815] in Ramah [07414], having his spear [02595] in his hand [03027], and all his servants [05650] were standing [05324] about him;)
⁷ Then Saul [07586] said [0559] unto his servants [05650] that stood [05324] about him, Hear now [08085], ye Benjamites [01145]; will the son [01121] of Jesse [03448] give [05414] every one of you fields [07704] and vineyards [03754], and make [07760] you all captains [08269] of thousands [0505], and captains [08269] of hundreds [03967];
⁸ That all of you have conspired [07194] against me, and there is none that sheweth [01540] [0241] me that my son [01121] hath made a league [03772] with the son [01121] of Jesse [03448], and there is none of you that is sorry [02470] for me, or sheweth [01540] [0241] unto me that my son [01121] hath stirred up [06965] my servant [05650] against me, to lie in wait [0693], as at this day [03117]?

²⁹ Now the acts [01697] of David [01732] the king [04428], first [07223] and last [0314], behold, they are written [03789] in the book [01697] of Samuel [08050] the seer [07200], and in the book [01697] of Nathan [05416] the prophet [05030], and in the book [01697] of Gad [01410] the seer [02374],

¹¹ For when David [01732] was up [06965] in the morning [01242], the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] came unto the prophet [05030] Gad [01410], David's [01732] seer [02374], saying [0559],

⁹ And the LORD [03068] spake [01696] unto Gad [01410], David's [01732] seer [02374], saying [0559],

⁵ And the prophet [05030] Gad [01410] said [0559] unto David [01732], Abide [03427] not in the hold [04686]; depart [03212], and get [0935] thee into the land [0776] of Judah [03063]. Then David [01732] departed [03212], and came [0935] into the forest [03293] of Hareth [02802].

⁴⁷ So Saul [07586] took [03920] the kingdom [04410] over Israel [03478], and fought [03898] against all his enemies [0341] on every side [05439], against Moab [04124], and against the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and against Edom [0123], and against the kings [04428] of Zobah [06678], and against the Philistines [06430]: and whithersoever he turned [06437] himself, he vexed [07561] them.

¹ And Moses [04872] went up [05927] from the plains [06160] of Moab [04124] unto the mountain [02022] of Nebo [05015], to the top [07218] of Pisgah [06449], that is over against [06440] Jericho [03405]. And the LORD [03068] shewed [07200] him all the land [0776] of Gilead [01568], unto Dan [01835],

³ And David [01732] went [03212] thence to Mizpeh [04708] of Moab [04124]: and he said [0559] unto the king [04428] of Moab [04124], Let my father [01] and my mother [0517], I pray thee, come forth [03318], and be with you, till I know [03045] what God [0430] will do [06213] for me.
⁴ And he brought [05148] them before [06440] the king [04428] of Moab [04124]: and they dwelt [03427] with him all the while [03117] that David [01732] was in the hold [04686].
⁵ And the prophet [05030] Gad [01410] said [0559] unto David [01732], Abide [03427] not in the hold [04686]; depart [03212], and get [0935] thee into the land [0776] of Judah [03063]. Then David [01732] departed [03212], and came [0935] into the forest [03293] of Hareth [02802].

¹⁵ Now three [07969] of the thirty [07970] captains [07218] went down [03381] to the rock [06697] to David [01732], into the cave [04631] of Adullam [05725]; and the host [04264] of the Philistines [06430] encamped [02583] in the valley [06010] of Rephaim [07497].

¹³ Then David [01732] and his men [0582], which were about six [08337] hundred [03967] [0376], arose [06965] and departed [03318] out of Keilah [07084], and went [01980] whithersoever [0834] they could go [01980]. And it was told [05046] Saul [07586] that David [01732] was escaped [04422] from Keilah [07084]; and he forbare [02308] to go forth [03318].

² And every one [0376] that was in distress [04689], and every one [0376] that was in debt [05378], and every one [0376] that was discontented [04751] [05315], gathered [06908] themselves unto him; and he became a captain [08269] over them: and there were with him about four [0702] hundred [03967] men [0376].

¹⁵ The king [04428] of Libnah [03841], one [0259]; the king [04428] of Adullam [05725], one [0259];

³⁵ Jarmuth [03412], and Adullam [05725], Socoh [07755], and Azekah [05825],

¹³ And three [07969] [07970] of the thirty [07970] chief [07218] went down [03381], and came [0935] to David [01732] in the harvest time [07105] unto the cave [04631] of Adullam [05725]: and the troop [02416] of the Philistines [06430] pitched [02583] in the valley [06010] of Rephaim [07497].
¹⁴ And David [01732] was then in an hold [04686], and the garrison [04673] of the Philistines [06430] was then in Bethlehem [01035].