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1 Samuel 22:5

in 1 Samuel 22

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the stronghold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hereth.

KJV

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.

This verse in 1 Samuel 22

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
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. For later notices of him see marginal references. The forest of Hareth is unknown.

This site's exposition

the prophet Gad said

The prophet Gad is named here for the first time, sent to tell David to go into the land of Judah. Wesley reads the command as training for the throne. Gad is still at David's side decades later, naming his sin at the threshing floor in 2 Samuel 24.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

The prophet Gad said to David: Do not remain in the stronghold, etc. Prophecy speaks to Christ, which has not omitted to sing of his sacraments, that, with the fullness of the Gentiles entering, his faith should no longer strive to protect itself with the …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Abide not - Do not shut up thyself here. Judah - Go and shew thyself in the land of Judah, that thou mayest publicly put in thy claim to the kingdom after Saul's death; and that thy friends may be invited and encouraged to appear on thy behalf. Hereby also God would exercise David's faith, and wisdom, and courage; and so prepare him for the kingdom.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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?

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

And the prophet Gad said unto David,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Get thee into the land of Judah - Gad saw that in this place alone he could find safety.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • גָּ֨דGad

    gadH1410 →

  • הַנָּבִ֜יאthe prophet

    hanavi'H5030 →314 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • דָּוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • לֹ֤אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תֵשֵׁב֙you must remain

    teshevH3427 →1079 times

  • בַּמְּצוּדָ֔הin the stronghold

    bametzudahH4686 →21 times

  • לֵ֥ךְgo

    lekhH1980 →1546 times

  • וּבָֽאתָ־and you will go

    uvata-H935 →2568 times

  • לְּךָ֖for <the> yourself

    lekha

  • אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of

    ʾeretzH776 →2504 times

  • יְהוּדָ֑הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וַיֵּ֣לֶךְand he went

    vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times

  • דָּוִ֔דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וַיָּבֹ֖אand he came

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • יַ֥עַר[the] forest of

    yaarH3293 →59 times

  • חָֽרֶת׃ סHereth

    charetH2802 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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,

    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.)

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 21:9–11

      And the LORD instructed Gad, David’s seer,

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 21:9

    And the LORD instructed Gad, David’s seer,

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 24:11

      When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 29:25

    Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command…

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 8:14

      In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests…

    • 1 Chronicles 23:5

      4,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”

    • 1 Chronicles 9:33

      Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.

    • 1 Chronicles 25:1–7

      Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.