Worthy.Bible » STRONG » 1 Samuel » Chapter 22 » Verse 8-23

1 Samuel 22:8-23 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

8 That all of you have conspired H7194 against me, and there is none that sheweth H1540 H241 me that my son H1121 hath made a league H3772 with the son H1121 of Jesse, H3448 and there is none of you that is sorry H2470 for me, or sheweth H1540 H241 unto me that my son H1121 hath stirred up H6965 my servant H5650 against me, to lie in wait, H693 as at this day? H3117

9 Then answered H6030 Doeg H1673 the Edomite, H130 which was set H5324 over the servants H5650 of Saul, H7586 and said, H559 I saw H7200 the son H1121 of Jesse H3448 coming H935 to Nob, H5011 to Ahimelech H288 the son H1121 of Ahitub. H285

10 And he enquired H7592 of the LORD H3068 for him, and gave H5414 him victuals, H6720 and gave H5414 him the sword H2719 of Goliath H1555 the Philistine. H6430

11 Then the king H4428 sent H7971 to call H7121 Ahimelech H288 the priest, H3548 the son H1121 of Ahitub, H285 and all his father's H1 house, H1004 the priests H3548 that were in Nob: H5011 and they came H935 all of them to the king. H4428

12 And Saul H7586 said, H559 Hear H8085 now, thou son H1121 of Ahitub. H285 And he answered, H559 Here I am, my lord. H113

13 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto him, Why have ye conspired H7194 against me, thou and the son H1121 of Jesse, H3448 in that thou hast given H5414 him bread, H3899 and a sword, H2719 and hast enquired H7592 of God H430 for him, that he should rise H6965 against me, to lie in wait, H693 as at this day? H3117

14 Then Ahimelech H288 answered H6030 the king, H4428 and said, H559 And who is so faithful H539 among all thy servants H5650 as David, H1732 which is the king's H4428 son in law, H2860 and goeth H5493 at thy bidding, H4928 and is honourable H3513 in thine house? H1004

15 Did I then H3117 begin H2490 to enquire H7592 of God H430 for him? be it far from me: H2486 let not the king H4428 impute H7760 any thing H1697 unto his servant, H5650 nor to all the house H1004 of my father: H1 for thy servant H5650 knew H3045 nothing H1697 of all this, less H6996 or more. H1419

16 And the king H4428 said, H559 Thou shalt surely H4191 die, H4191 Ahimelech, H288 thou, and all thy father's H1 house. H1004

17 And the king H4428 said H559 unto the footmen H7323 that stood H5324 about him, Turn, H5437 and slay H4191 the priests H3548 of the LORD; H3068 because their hand H3027 also is with David, H1732 and because they knew H3045 when he fled, H1272 and did not shew H1540 H241 it to me. But the servants H5650 of the king H4428 would H14 not put forth H7971 their hand H3027 to fall H6293 upon the priests H3548 of the LORD. H3068

18 And the king H4428 said H559 to Doeg, H1673 Turn H5437 thou, and fall H6293 upon the priests. H3548 And Doeg H1673 the Edomite H130 turned, H5437 and he fell H6293 upon the priests, H3548 and slew H4191 on that day H3117 fourscore H8084 and five H2568 persons H376 that did wear H5375 a linen H906 ephod. H646

19 And Nob, H5011 the city H5892 of the priests, H3548 smote H5221 he with the edge H6310 of the sword, H2719 both men H376 and women, H802 children H5768 and sucklings, H3243 and oxen, H7794 and asses, H2543 and sheep, H7716 with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719

20 And one H259 of the sons H1121 of Ahimelech H288 the son H1121 of Ahitub, H285 named H8034 Abiathar, H54 escaped, H4422 and fled H1272 after H310 David. H1732

21 And Abiathar H54 shewed H5046 David H1732 that Saul H7586 had slain H2026 the LORD'S H3068 priests. H3548

22 And David H1732 said H559 unto Abiathar, H54 I knew H3045 it that day, H3117 when Doeg H1673 the Edomite H130 was there, that he would surely H5046 tell H5046 Saul: H7586 I have occasioned H5437 the death of all the persons H5315 of thy father's H1 house. H1004

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

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 22

Commentary on 1 Samuel 22 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Verses 1-5

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 2 Samuel 23:13-14, but near the town Adullam , which is classed in Joshua 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 Joshua 12:15).

1 Samuel 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 (1 Samuel 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 2 Samuel 23:13. and 1 Chronicles 11:15.

1 Samuel 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 (Deuteronomy 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 1 Samuel 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 1 Samuel 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 1 Chronicles 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 (2 Samuel 24:11.); and according to 1 Chronicles 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.


Verse 6-7

Murder of the Priests by Saul. - 1 Samuel 22:6. When Saul heard that David and the men with him were known , i.e., that information had been received as to their abode or hiding-place, he said to his servants when they were gathered round him, “ Hear ,” etc. The words, “ and Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk upon the height ,” etc., show that what follows took place in a solemn conclave of all the servants of Saul, who were gathered round their king to deliberate upon the more important affairs of the kingdom. This sitting took place at Gibeah, the residence of Saul, and in the open air “ under the tamarisk .” בּרמה , upon the height , not “under a grove at Ramah” ( Luther ); for Ramah is an appellative, and בּרמה , which belongs to האשׁל תּחת , is a more minute definition of the locality, which is indicated by the definite article ( the tamarisk upon the height) as the well-known place where Saul's deliberative assemblies were held. From the king's address (“ hear, ye Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse also give you all fields and vineyards? ”) we perceive that Saul had chosen his immediate attendants form the members of his own tribe, and had rewarded their services right royally. גּם־לכלּכם is placed first for the sake of emphasis, “ You Benjaminites also ,” and not rather to Judahites, the members of his own tribe. The second לכלּכם (before ישׂים ) is not a dative; but ל tub merely serves to give greater prominence to the object which is placed at the head of the clause: As for all of you, will he make (you: see Ewald , §310, a .).


Verse 8

That you have all of you conspired against me, and no one informs me of it, since my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse .” בּכרת , lit. at the making of a covenant. Saul may possibly have heard something of the facts related in 1 Samuel 20:12-17; at the same time, his words may merely refer to Jonathan's friendship with David, which was well known to him. ואין־חלה , “and no one of you is grieved on my account ... that my son has set my servant (David) as a lier in wait against me,” i.e., to plot against my life, and wrest the throne to himself. We may see from this, that Saul was carried by his suspicions very far beyond the actual facts. “As at this day:” cf. Deuteronomy 8:18, etc.


Verse 9-10

The Edomite Doeg could not refrain from yielding to this appeal, and telling Saul what he had seen when staying at Nob; namely, that Ahimelech had inquired of God for David, and given him food as well as Goliath's sword. For the fact itself, see 1 Samuel 21:1-10, where there is no reference indeed to his inquiring of God; though it certainly took place, as Ahimelech (1 Samuel 22:15) does not disclaim it. Doeg is here designated נצּב , “ the superintendent of Saul's servants ,” so that apparently he had been invested with the office of marshal of the court.


Verses 11-15

On receiving this information, Saul immediately summoned the priest Ahimelech and “ all his father's house ,” i.e., the whole priesthood, to Nob, to answer for what they had done. To Saul's appeal, “ Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread? ” Ahimelech, who was not conscious of any such crime, since David had come to him with a false pretext, and the priest had probably but very little knowledge of what took place at court, replied both calmly and worthily (1 Samuel 22:14): “ And who of all thy servants is so faithful (proved, attested, as in Numbers 12:7) as David, and son-in-law of the king, and having access to thy private audience, and honoured in thy house? ” The true explanation of אל־משׁמעתּך סר may be gathered from a comparison of 2 Samuel 23:23 and 1 Chronicles 11:25, where משׁמעת occurs again, as the context clearly shows, in the sense of a privy councillor of the king, who hears his personal revelations and converses with him about them, so that it corresponds to our “ audience .” סוּר , lit . to turn aside from the way, to go in to any one, or to look after anything (Exodus 3:3; Ruth 4:1, etc.); hence in the passage before us “ to have access ,” to be attached to a person. This is the explanation given by Gesenius and most of the modern expositors, whereas the early translators entirely misunderstood the passage, though they have given the meaning correctly enough at 2 Samuel 23:23. But if this was the relation in which David stood to Saul, - and he had really done so for a long time, - there was nothing wrong in what the high priest had done for him; but he had acted according to the best of his knowledge, and quite conscientiously as a faithful subject of the king. Ahimelech then added still further (1 Samuel 22:15): “ Did I then begin to inquire of God for him this day? ” i.e., was it the first time that I had obtained the decision of God for David concerning important enterprises, which he had to carry out in the service of the king? “ Far be from me ,” sc., any conspiracy against the king, like that of which I am accused. “ Let not the king lay it as a burden upon thy servant, my whole father's house (the omission of the cop . ו before בּכל־כּית may be accounted for from the excitement of the speaker); for thy servant knows not the least of all this .” בּכל־זאת , of all that Saul had charged him with.


Verse 16-17

Notwithstanding this truthful assertion of his innocence, Saul pronounced sentence of death, not only upon the high priest, but upon all the priests at Nob, and commanded his רצים , “ runner ,” i.e., halberdiers, to put the priests to death, because, as he declared in his wrath, “ their hand is with David (i.e., because they side with David), and because they knew that he fled and did not tell me .” Instead of the Chethibh אזנו , it is probably more correct to read אזני , according to the Keri , although the Chethibh may be accounted for if necessary from a sudden transition from a direct to an indirect form of address: “ and (as he said) had not told him .” This sentence was so cruel, and so nearly bordering upon madness, that the halberdiers would not carry it out, but refused to lay hands upon “ the priests of Jehovah .”


Verse 18

Saul then commanded Doeg to cut down the priests, and he at once performed the bloody deed. On the expression “ wearing the linen ephod ,” compare the remarks at 1 Samuel 2:18. 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.


Verse 19

But not content with even this revenge, Saul had the whole city of Nob destroyed, like a city that was laid under the ban (vid., Deuteronomy 13:13.). So completely did Saul identify his private revenge with the cause of Jehovah, that he avenged a supposed conspiracy against his own person as treason against Jehovah the God-king.


Verses 20-23

The only one of the whole body of priests who escaped this bloody death was a son of Ahimelech, named Abiathar, who “ fled after David ,” i.e., to David the fugitive, and informed him of the barbarous vengeance which Saul had taken upon the priests of the Lord. Then David recognised and confessed his guilt. “ I knew that day that the Edomite Doeg was there, that he (i.e., that as the Edomite Doeg was there, he) would tell Saul: I am the cause of all the souls of thy father's house ,” i.e., of their death. סבב is used here in the sense of being the cause of a thing, which is one of the meanings of the verb in the Arabic and Talmudic (vid., Ges. Lex. s. v. ). “ Stay with me, fear not; for he who seeks my life seeks thy life: for thou art safe with me .” The abstract mishmereth , protection, keeping ( Exodus 12:6; Exodus 16:33-34), is used for the concrete, in the sense of protected, well kept. The thought is the following: As no other is seeking thy life than Saul, who also wants to kill me, thou mayest stay with me without fear, as I am sure of divine protection. David spoke thus in the firm belief that the Lord would deliver him from his foe, and give him the kingdom. The action of Saul, which had just been reported to him, could only strengthen him in this belief, as it was a sign of the growing hardness of Saul, which must accelerate his destruction.