1Sa 22:1 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.
To the cave Adullam - Adullam was the name of a town of Judah in the “Shephelah,” not far from Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah , and below it. Innumerable caverns, one nearly 100 feet long, are excavated in the soft limestone hills in the neighborhood of Beit-Jibrin. 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. Here he penned his hundred forty second psalm, Psalms 142:1 An Instruction of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cried to the LORD with my voice; with my voice I prayed to the LORD.
To the cave Adullam - 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. The cave Adullam is not to be sought for in the neighborhood of Bethlehem , 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;
1Sa 22:2 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.
Everyone that was discontented - The phrase here denotes those who were exasperated by Saul’s tyranny.
Everyone that was discontented - It is very possible that these several disaffected and exceptionable characters might at first have supposed that David, unjustly persecuted, would be glad to avail himself of their assistance that he might revenge himself upon Saul, and so they in the mean time might profit by plunder, etc. But if this were their design they were greatly disappointed, for David never made any improper use of them. They are never found plundering or murdering; on the contrary, they always appear under good discipline, and are only employed in services of a beneficent nature, and in defense of their country.
And everyone that was in distress - In straitened circumstances, through the oppression of men, through poverty, and afflictive providences in their families:
gathered themselves unto him - to help him, or rather to be helped by him; hoping in time things would take a favouable turn with him, and he should be advanced to the throne, and so their circumstances would be mended thereby:
he became a captain over them - he might not know the circumstances of those in debt, nor of any of them thoroughly, nor their views in joining him; however he meant not to shelter them from paying their just debts if able, nor to encourage them in disloyalty to their king, only to make use of them for his own preservation for the present. In this he was a type of Christ, who receives sinners distressed with a sense of sin, discontented in their present state, and in debt, and, unable to pay their debts; see Mat_11:28,
he became a captain over them - The number of those who went over to him soon amounted to six hundred men (1Sa_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 2Sa_23:13. and 1Ch_11:15.
1Sa 22:3 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.
Mizpeh of Moab - 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 .
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.
Till I know what God will do for me - 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.
Mizpeh of Moab - 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 1Sa_14:47, Saul had also made war upon Moab.
1Sa 22:4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
He brought them before – 1 Sam 22:4 And he persuaded the King of Moab, and they dwell with him continually, while David was in the hold. (Septuagint) What became of David's parents afterwards, we nowhere else read.
In the hold - Where David was after he left the cave of Adullam , probably in the land of Moab .
all the while - would indicate that David sojourned a considerable time in Moab .
1Sa 22:5 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.
The prophet Gad - Mentioned here for the first time. One may conjecture that Samnel had sent him privately from Naioth to tell David not to abide in the hold. Whether he stayed with David or returned to the College of the prophets does not appear. In 1Ch_21:9 And the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, 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 2Sa_24:11-12 And David rose up in the morning. And the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and say to David, So says the LORD, I offer you three things . Choose one of them, so that I may do it to you. and according to 1Ch_29:29 And the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, he also wrote the acts of David.
The prophet Gad - Who either accompanied him in his exile, or was sent unto him on this account, being one of the company of the prophets, over whom Samuel was president, 1Sa_19:20,
get thee into the land of Judah - this seems to confirm it that the hold David was in was not the cave of Adullam, because that was in the tribe of Judah; but rather some hold in the land of Moab, which he is directed by the prophet to leave, and go into the country of Judah, his own tribe,
get thee into the land of Judah - Hereby also God would exercise David's faith, and wisdom, and courage; and so prepare him for the kingdom. 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.
1Sa 22:6 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;)
Under a tree in Ramah - Rather, “under the tamarisk-tree on the high place,” where he always held such meetings. It was a kind of parliament in the open air, and all his tribesmen gathered round him. This was not Ramah where Samuel dwelt
Saul heard that David was discovered - That it was known where David was, and what number of men were gathered to him, and that they now openly appeared in the tribe of Judah; for some time Saul had heard nothing of him, but now a report had reached his ears that David was in arms, and at the head of a number of men; which now greatly alarmed Saul, and possessed him with fears and jealousies of his people, and all about him:
1Sa 22:7 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;
Ye Benjamites - Showing how isolated the tribes still were, and how for the most part Saul was surrounded by his own tribesmen only.
will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards - as Saul had done, or was capable of doing, and would do if they were faithful to him; whereas it was not in the power of David, whom in contempt he calls the son of Jesse, to do it; and even should he ever be king, and in his power to make such donations, it cannot be thought he would give them to them, but to the favorites of his own tribe:
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.
1Sa 22:8 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?
There is none that showeth me - He conjectured that Jonathan had made a league with David to dethrone him, and he accuses them of disloyalty for not making the discovery of this unnatural treason. Now it was impossible for any of them to show what did not exist, no such league having ever been made between David and Jonathan. Saul did not know this certainly, he only suspected it from the strict and close friendship between them, and imagined that some of his servants were acquainted with it, though they kept it from him; whereas none knew of it but Jonathan and David themselves:
That all of you have conspired against me - For though they had not revolted from him, and been guilty of overt acts of treason, yet since they did not discover to him what he supposed they knew, and showed no concern for the circumstances in which he was, he interpreted this a conspiracy against him:
none of you that is sorry for me - concerned, troubled, and grieved, that he should be in such circumstances, his own son and his son-in-law in league against him:
1Sa 22:9 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.
set over the servants of Saul - In 1Sa_21:7 he is said to be the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul, and the Septuagint implies that he was over the mules of Saul. Probably he was what we call the king’s groom.
I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob - in imitation of Saul, he calls David by way of contempt the son of Jesse; and signifies that what he had to say of him was not by report, but he himself was an eyewitness of his coming to Nob.
1Sa 22:10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
He inquired of the Lord – Ahimelech denies this occurred, but Ahimelech’s going to fetch the sword from behind the ephod might have given occasion to the belief on Doeg’s part that he had put on the ephod to inquire of the Lord for David.
he inquired of the Lord for him - This circumstance is not related in history; but it is probably true, as David would most naturally wish to know where to direct his steps in this very important crisis.
he inquired of the Lord for him - Which not being expressed before, some have taken it to be a lie of Doeg's, he being charged with lying by David, Psa_52:1-4 To the Chief Musician. A contemplation. A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Why do you boast yourself in evil, O mighty man? The mercy of God endures forever. Your tongue devises evil, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, and lying more than to speak righteousness. Selah. You love all devouring words, O deceitful tongue. According to the Jewish writers Doeg meant by this to prove a charge of treason both against David and Ahimelech; that the former made himself king, and the latter owned him to be so, since inquiry by Urim and Thummim was not made for a private person, but for a king.
And gave him food - All this was true, but then he acted the deceitful part, with which he is charged in the above psalms, in not declaring how David had imposed upon the priest, by pretending he was sent in haste on the king's business; which was the reason he was so ill provided with servants, food, and armor; which if Doeg had reported faithfully, as he ought to have done, would have saved the credit and life of the priest, and of his family.
1Sa 22:11 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.
all his father's house - the family of Eli, which God had threatened to destroy, and now the time was hastening on: 1Sa_2:31 Behold, the days come when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that no old man shall be in your house.
the priests that were in Nob - in which dwelt none but priests, at least these were the chief of the inhabitants, and therefore called the city of the priests, 1Sa_22:19,
1Sa 22:12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
hear now, thou son of Ahitub - The charge exhibited against him; in contempt of him, he does not so much as call him by his name, nor give him the title of his office, as high priest;
he answered, here I am, my lord - giving due honor to Saul, though he received none from him, and appearing with great boldness, as having a clear conscience, and so ready to hear what was to be said unto him.
1Sa 22:13 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?
why have ye conspired against me - No less than treason and rebellion is he charged with, in conjunction with David;
hast inquired of God for him - inquired of the Lord for him by Urim and Thummim, to know his mind in this affair, and thereby encouraged him to rise up in rebellion against him, and to lie in wait, as he did at the present time, watching for an opportunity to seize his crown and kingdom.
1Sa 22:14 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?
who is so faithful amongst thy servants as David - I considered him, as if he should say, as a servant of thine, upon an errand of thine, and doing thy business; and as a faithful one, none more so, and as such I valued and regarded him, not as a rebel to thee, having no such thought of him:
1Sa 22:15 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.
Did I then begin - He probably means that his inquiring now for David was no new thing, having often done so before on the king’s business, and without ever being informed it was either wrong in itself, or displeasing to the king. Nor is it likely that Ahimelech knew of any disagreement between Saul and David. He knew him to be the king’s son-in-law, and he treated him as such.
thy servant knew nothing of all this - was entirely ignorant of this affair; which plain, honest, account of things, one might have thought, would have been satisfying to Saul; but it seems it was not.
1Sa 22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house.
And the king said, thou shalt surely die - He pronounces the sentence himself, without taking the opinion and advice of others, or further time; which was an act of arbitrary power, and upon an innocent person, which was an act of great injustice:
all thy father's house - more unrighteous still; but God suffered him to do this to fulfill his will, and execute his threatenings against the house of Eli, which was this priest's father's house, for former wickedness; but this is no excuse for, nor extenuation of the sin of, Saul. This sentence was so cruel, and so nearly bordering upon madness, that the footmen would not carry it out, but refused to lay hands upon “the priests of Jehovah.”
1Sa 22:17 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.
But the servants of the king would not - They dared to disobey the commands of the king in a case of such injustice, inhumanity, and irreligion. Their consciences would not suffer them to do it; they refused to obey the king's orders, and chose rather to expose themselves to his resentment, than to be guilty of such a crime.
slay the priests of the Lord - he owns them to be the priests of the Lord, and calls them so, and yet gave orders to put them to death, though innocent; one would have thought this their character would have flown in his face, and stung his conscience, and deterred him from so foul a deed:
1Sa 22:18 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.
Fourscore and five persons – 1 Sam 22:18 And the king said to Doec, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests: and Doec the Syrian turned, and slew the priests of the Lord in that day, three hundred and five men, all wearing an ephod. (Septuagint) Josephus has three hundred and eighty-five men. Possibly the eighty-five were priests; the three hundred, the families of the priests; three hundred and eighty-five being the whole population of Nob.
That did wear a linen ephod - That is, persons who did actually administer, or had a right to administer, in sacred things. The linen ephod was the ordinary clothing of the priests. Not the ephod of Urim and Thummim, which was only worn by the high priest, but a garment wholly linen, worn by common priests. The allusion to the priestly clothing, like the repetition of the expression “priests of Jehovah,” serves to bring out into its true light the crime of the bloodthirsty Saul and his executioner Doeg. The very dress which the priests wore, as the consecrated servants of Jehovah, ought to have made them shrink from the commission of such a murder.
And the king said to Doeg - For determined he was they should die; if one would not put them to death, another should, and who so fit for this bloody work as the false accuser of them, and false witness against them?
Doeg the Edomite - This is noted to wipe off the stain of this butchery from the Israelitish nation, and to show, why he was so ready to do it, because he was one of that nation which had an implacable hatred against all Israelites, and against the priests of the Lord.
1Sa 22:19 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.
Both men and women - The language employed in the case of the Amalekites 1Sa_15:3 and of Jericho Jos_6:21. Nothing could be more truculent than Saul’s revenge. Saul, who was so tender hearted and merciful in the case of the Amalekites, when his orders from the Lord were utterly to destroy them, 1Sa_15:2, that he spared their king, and the best of their cattle, 1Sa_15:7; yet now so cruel to a city of the priests, as to destroy all the inhabitants of it, and cattle in it; Now Saul was the more severe this city, to deter others from joining with David, who, if they did, must expect the same treatment.
smote he with the edge of the sword - Either Doeg or Saul. This is one of the worst acts in the life of Saul; his malice was implacable, and his wrath was cruel, and there is no motive of justice or policy by which such a barbarous act can be justified.
Both men and women - In all the life of Saul, there is no wickedness to be compared to this. He appears now to be wholly under the power of that evil spirit which had long tormented him. And this destruction could not but go to the heart of every pious Israelite, and make them wish a thousand times, they had been content with the government of Samuel.
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 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
Abiathar - He may have remained at Nob to take care of the sanctuary when the other priests went to Saul, and so escaped. He continued David’s faithful friend throughout his reign 1Sa_23:9; 1Sa_30:7; 2Sa_15:24, 2Sa_15:29, 2Sa_15:35, but gave offence by taking Adonijah’s part against Solomon 1Ki_1:7, 1Ki_1:19, 1Ki_1:42, and in consequence was deprived of the high priesthood 1Ki_2:26-27. In Mar_2:26, he is spoken of as the High Priest who gave the showbread to David. Perhaps he was the instigator of this act of kindness to David; and for this cause, as well as his constancy to David, is mentioned by our Lord instead of Ahimelech. It is also possible that, as sagan to his father, he may have performed most of the priestly functions, as Hophni and Phinehas did in the lifetime of Eli. Abiathar did not actually join David until he went to Keilah.
1Sa 22:21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests.
1Sa 22:22 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.
that he would surely tell Saul - David knew he was a spiteful mischievous man; that he was a true Edomite, though a proselyte, and bore hatred and enmity in his mind against an Israelite, and especially an Israelite indeed, as David was:
I have occasioned the death - or have been the cause of all the evils that befell them, and the death they were put unto, not with design, but by accident; and it grieved him that he should be any ways an accessory thereunto, though without intention. David greatly lamented the calamity. It is great trouble to a good man to find himself any way the cause of evil to others. He must have been much pained, when he considered that his falsehood was one cause of this fatal event. David speaks with assurance of his own safety, and promises that Abiathar should have his protection.
1Sa 22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
He that seeketh my life seeketh thy life - The characteristic generosity of David’s disposition breaks out in these words. He never forgot a friend. David acknowledges that Saul’s enmity against Abiathar is the consequence of his enmity against himself, and therefore David makes common cause with him. They have the same common enemy, and therefore it is best and safest to be together;
Abide thou with me, fear not - He appeared to be in a fright; which is not to be wondered at, as not knowing what to do, and where to go and provide for his safety; when, to allay his fears, and make him easy, David invites and encourages him to stay with him, and not be afraid of Saul, nor any other:
