1 Samuel 22:3
in 1 Samuel 22From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I learn what God will do for me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 22
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Mizpeh of Moab - A good conjecture connects it with “Zophim” (a word of the same root as Mizpeh) on the top of Pisgah Num 23:14. 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. Come forth, and be with you - The construction of the Hebrew is very strange.
This site's exposition
Mizpeh of Moab
on 1 Samuel 22:3-4
David sends his father and mother to the king of Moab for safekeeping, till I know what God will do for me, and Barnes reads the choice of asylum as owing something to David's own descent from Ruth the Moabitess four generations back. The same Bethlehem line that opened at Ruth 4:17 now buys Jesse a place of refuge among his ancestress's own people. Gill notes that Scripture never says what became of David's parents afterward; the silence stands as it was left.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And David departed from there to Mizpah, etc. The law went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isa. II), and it reached, growing towards the Church of the Gentiles, established on the highest peak of faith and virtues. Mizpah indeed …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It was at this time that David penned Psalm cxlii. , which is entitled, A prayer when David was in the cave; and there he complains that no man would know him and that refuge failed him, but hopes that shortly the righteous would compass him about.
And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab,....
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
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab--"Mizpeh" signifies a watchtower, and it is evident that it must be taken in this sense here, for it is called "the hold" or fort (1Sa 22:4).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֧לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דָּוִ֛ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מִשָּׁ֖ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| מִצְפֵּ֣ה | mitzpeh | Mizpah of | H4708 → | |
| מוֹאָ֑ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מוֹאָ֗ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| יֵֽצֵא־ | yetze'- | let him go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אָבִ֤י | ʾavi | father my | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמִּי֙ | veimi | and mother my | H517 → | 220 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֔ם | ʾitekhem | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| עַ֚ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֵדַ֔ע | ʾeda' | I will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יַּֽעֲשֶׂה־ | yaaseh- | will he do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִּ֖י | li | for <the> me | ||
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיֵּ֧לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
דָּוִ֛דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
מִשָּׁ֖םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
מִצְפֵּ֣הMizpah of
mitzpehH4708 →
מוֹאָ֑בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מוֹאָ֗בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
יֵֽצֵא־let him go out
yetze'-H3318 →1067 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אָבִ֤יfather my
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
וְאִמִּי֙and mother my
veimiH517 →220 times
אִתְּכֶ֔םwith you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
עַ֚דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֵדַ֔עI will know
ʾeda'H3045 →945 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יַּֽעֲשֶׂה־will he do
yaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לִּ֖יfor <the> me
li
אֱלֹהִֽים׃God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
Judges 11:29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:25
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…
- Judges 3:10
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against…
- Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
- 1 Samuel 16:13–15
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…
- Judges 10:17
Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
- Numbers 11:25
Through
1 Samuel 14:47After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 10:6
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah…
- 1 Samuel 14:52
And the war with the Philistines was fierce for all the days of Saul. So whenever he noticed any strong or brave man, Saul would enlist him.
- 2 Samuel 10:6
Through
Ruth 4:17The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
it leads to
- Luke 1:58–63
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.
- Luke 1:58–63
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.