1 Samuel 22:4
in 1 Samuel 22So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.
KJV
And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
Mizpeh of Moab
on 1 Samuel 22:3-4
David leaves his father and mother with the king of Moab “until I learn what God will do for me”. Barnes reads the refuge as owing to David's descent from Ruth the Moabitess, whose line runs from Ruth 4:17. Gill notes that Scripture never says what became of David's parents.
This site's exposition
the whole time David was in the stronghold
The stronghold is unnamed. Barnes places it in Moab and reads the time as a stay of some length, while Gill weighs Adullam against a fortress at Mizpeh. Wesley takes the word to cover every stronghold David used, so his father and mother stayed in Moab through all his wandering.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hold - In holds; the singular number being put for the plural; as is frequent; that is, as long as David was forced to go from place to place, and from hold to hold, to secure himself: for it concerned David to secure his father, and he did doubtless secure him for all that time; and not only while he was in the hold of Mizpeh, or of Adullam, which was but a little while.
With what a tender concern he provided for his aged parents. It was not fit they should be exposed either to the frights or to the fatigues which he must expect during his struggle with Saul (their age would by no means bear such exposure); therefore the first thing he does is to find them a quiet habitation, whatever became of himself.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He brought them before ... - The Septuagint renders it “he persuaded (the face of) the king.” In the hold - Where David was after he left the cave of Adullam, probably in the land of Moab. The phrase “all the while,” would indicate that David sojourned a considerable time in Moab.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּנְחֵ֕ם | vaiyanchem | and he led them | H5148 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| פְּנֵ֖י | penei | [the] presence of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וַיֵּשְׁב֣וּ | vaiyeshevu | and they remained | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עִמּ֔וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֥י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הֱיוֹת־ | heyot- | [the] being of | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בַּמְּצוּדָֽה׃ ס | bametzudah | in the stronghold | H4686 → | 21 times |
וַיַּנְחֵ֕םand he led them
vaiyanchemH5148 →
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
פְּנֵ֖י[the] presence of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מוֹאָ֑בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וַיֵּשְׁב֣וּand they remained
vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times
עִמּ֔וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֥י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
הֱיוֹת־[the] being of
heyot-H1961 →3559 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בַּמְּצוּדָֽה׃ סin the stronghold
bametzudahH4686 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 11:1In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
it leads to
- Psalms 56:11
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- 1 Samuel 23:14
And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.
- Psalms 25:2
in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
- Luke 13:31
At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.”
- Psalms 56:11
Through
2 Samuel 24:11When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 9:9
(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)
- 1 Samuel 22:5
Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Depart and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:29
Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are indeed written in the Chronicles of Samuel the Seer, the Chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and the Chronicles of Gad the Seer,
- 1 Samuel 9:9
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.