1 Samuel 22:1-4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:1-5

Here, I. David shelters himself in the cave of Adullam, 1 Sam. 22:1. Whether it was a natural or artificial fastness does not appear; it is probable that the access to it was so difficult that David thought himself able, with Goliath's sword, to keep it against all the forces of Saul, and therefore buried himself alive in it, while he was waiting to see (and he says here, 1 Sam. 22:3) what God would do with him. The promise of the kingdom implied a promise of preservation to it, and yet David... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:1

David therefore departed from thence ,.... From Gath, being driven by Achish from his court, and let go by his servants, and glad he was of the deliverance: and escaped to the cave Adullam ; which was no doubt near to a city of the same name in the tribe of Judah, of which See Gill on Joshua 15:35 ; this being a strong place, and in his own tribe, he might hope to be in greater safety; here he penned his hundred forty second psalm, see Psalm 142:1 , and when his brethren and all... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:2

And everyone that was in distress ,.... In straitened circumstances, through the oppression of men, through poverty, and afflictive providences in their families: and everyone that was in debt ; and not able to pay their debts, and whose creditors were pressing upon them: and everyone that was discontented ; with Saul's government and conduct: or "bitter in soul" F24 מר נפש "amarus animo", Pagninus, Montanus. ; distressed and uneasy in their minds, being pinched with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:3

And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab ,.... So called to distinguish it from a place of the same name in the land of Israel; which Junius says is the same with Malle, and signifies a fortified place, and refers to the Apocrypha:"And how that many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim; all these cities are strong and great:' (1 Maccabees 5:26)here he might think himself safer, though in an enemy's country, than in the land of Israel: and he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:4

And he brought them before the king of Moab ,.... Having leave from him for it, and left them with him; so the Targum,"caused them to remain before him:" and they dwelt with him all the whole time that David was in the hold ; either in the cave of Adullam, as some think; or rather at Mizpeh in Moab, which might be a fortified place; or the sense may be, while he was in any hold in those parts, as he might go from one to another; what became of David's parents afterwards, we nowhere else... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 22:1

The cave Adullam - This was in the tribe of Judah, and, according to Eusebius and Jerome, ten miles eastward of what they call Eleutheropolis. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 22:2

And every one that was in distress - debt - 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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 22:3

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. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:1

EXPOSITION COMMENCEMENT OF DAVID 'S LIFE AS AN OUTLAW . The cave Adullam. According to Josephus this was situated near a city of the same name ('Ant.,' 1 Samuel 6:12 , 1 Samuel 6:3 ), which formed one of a group of fifteen in the Shephelah (see on 1 Samuel 17:1 ), and its site has now been recovered by Mr. Conder (see 'Tent Work,' 2:156-160). "The great valley," he says, "of Elah, which forms the highway from Philistia to Hebron, runs down northwards past Keilah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 22:1-2

The cave of Adullam. David knew well that he could nevermore live in safety at the court of Saul. He would not raise a hand against his king and father-in-law, but he would not place himself again within his reach. Better a free life even in deserts and caves of the earth than a life in constant peril in ceiled houses. Behold him then in the cave of Adullam. I. THE CAPTAIN OF THE REFUGEES . No question arises here respecting the right of revolt against a perverse, tyrannical... read more

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