23 Abide H3427 thou with me, fear H3372 not: for he that seeketh H1245 my life H5315 seeketh H1245 thy life: H5315 but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. H4931
And I G2504 give G1325 unto them G846 eternal G166 life; G2222 and G2532 they shall G622 never G3364 G1519 G165 perish, G622 neither G2532 G3756 shall G726 any G5100 man pluck G726 them G846 out of G1537 my G3450 hand. G5495 My G3450 Father, G3962 which G3739 gave G1325 them me, G3427 is G2076 greater than G3187 all; G3956 and G2532 no G3762 man is able G1410 to pluck G726 them out of G1537 my G3450 Father's G3962 hand. G5495 I G1473 and G2532 my Father G3962 are G2070 one. G1520
Wherefore G5105 seeing we also G2532 are G2192 compassed about G4029 G2254 with so great G5118 a cloud G3509 of witnesses, G3144 let G659 us G2249 lay aside G659 every G3956 weight, G3591 and G2532 the sin G266 which doth so easily beset G2139 us, and let us run G5143 with G1223 patience G5281 the race G73 that is set before G4295 us, G2254 Looking G872 unto G1519 Jesus G2424 the author G747 and G2532 finisher G5051 of our faith; G4102 who G3739 for G473 the joy G5479 that was set before G4295 him G846 endured G5278 the cross, G4716 despising G2706 the shame, G152 and G5037 is set down G2523 at G1722 the right hand G1188 of the throne G2362 of God. G2316 For G1063 consider G357 him that endured G5278 such G5108 contradiction G485 of G5259 sinners G268 against G1519 himself, G846 lest G3363 ye be wearied G2577 and faint G1590 in your G5216 minds. G5590
They shall put G4160 you G5209 out of the synagogues: G656 yea, G235 the time G5610 cometh, G2064 that G2443 whosoever G3956 killeth G615 you G5209 will think G1380 that he doeth G4374 God G2316 service. G2999 And G2532 these things G5023 will they do G4160 unto you, G5213 because G3754 they have G1097 not G3756 known G1097 the Father, G3962 nor G3761 me. G1691
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 22
Commentary on 1 Samuel 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
1Sa 22:1-8. David's Kindred and Others Resort to Him at Adullam.
1. 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.
2. every one that was in distress—(See on Jud 11:3).
3. 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 (1Sa 22:4). The king of Moab was an enemy of Saul (1Sa 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.
5. the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold—This sound advice, no doubt, came from a higher source than Gad's own sagacity. It was right to appear publicly among the people of his own tribe, as one conscious of innocence and trusting in God; and it was expedient that, on the death of Saul, his friends might be encouraged to support his interest.
forest of Hareth—southwest of Jerusalem.
6. Saul abode … under a tree in Ramah—literally, "under a grove on a hill." Oriental princes frequently sit with their court under some shady canopy in the open air. A spear was the early scepter.
7, 8. Hear now, ye Benjamites—This was an appeal to stimulate the patriotism or jealousy of his own tribe, from which he insinuated it was the design of David to transfer the kingdom to another. This address seems to have been made on hearing of David's return with his four hundred men to Judah. A dark suspicion had risen in the jealous mind of the king that Jonathan was aware of this movement, which he dreaded as a conspiracy against the crown.
1Sa 22:9-16. Doeg Accuses Ahimelech.
9. Doeg … set over the servants—Septuagint, "the mules of Saul."
10. he inquired of the Lord for him—Some suppose that this was a malicious fiction of Doeg to curry favor with the king, but Ahimelech seems to acknowledge the fact. The poor simple-minded high priest knew nothing of the existing family feud between Saul and David. The informer, if he knew it, said nothing of the cunning artifice by which David obtained the aid of Ahimelech. The facts looked against him, and the whole priesthood along with him were declared abettors of conspiracy [1Sa 22:16, 17].
1Sa 22:17-19. Saul Commands to Kill the Priests.
17, 18. the footmen that stood about him—his bodyguard, or his runners (1Sa 8:11; 2Sa 15:1; 1Ki 1:5; 1Ki 14:28), who held an important place at court (2Ch 12:10). But they chose rather to disobey the king than to offend God by imbruing their hands in the blood of his ministering servants. A foreigner alone (Ps 52:1-3) could be found willing to be the executioner of this bloody and sacrilegious sentence. Thus was the doom of the house of Eli fulfilled [1Sa 2:30-36].
19. Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword—The barbarous atrocities perpetrated against this city seem to have been designed to terrify all the subjects of Saul from affording either aid or an asylum to David. But they proved ruinous to Saul's own interest, as they alienated the priesthood and disgusted all good men in the kingdom.
1Sa 22:20-23. Abiathar Escapes and Flees after David.
20-23. one of the sons of Ahimelech … escaped—This was Abiathar, who repaired to David in the forest of Hareth, rescuing, with his own life, the high priest's vestments (1Sa 23:6, 9). On hearing his sad tale, David declared that he had dreaded such a fatal result from the malice and intriguing ambition of Doeg; and, accusing himself as having been the occasion of all the disaster to Abiathar's family, David invited him to remain, because, firmly trusting himself in the accomplishment of the divine promise, David could guarantee protection to him.