Chapter Twenty-Two
David Goes to the Cave of Adullam and then to Moab
22:1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.
David escaped from the Philistines and traveled east to the cave of Adullam (approximately ten miles from Gath in the Shephelah,[1] just inside Judah’s territory). His family joins him there as they would also be potential targets of Saul, preventing any future claim of royalty.
22:2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
In addition to his family, people from all around Israel come to the cave of Adullam. People who were in distress (possibly those who supported David and were now being hunted or persecuted by Saul), those that were in debt, oppressed by their creditors, possibly due to taxes, and everyone who was bitter in soul (Hebrew mǎr ně’·p̄ěš, “bitter inner being”), essentially anyone dissatisfied with the current conditions. Combined, they made a ‘ragtag’ army of approximately four hundred men.
David wrote two of his psalms while in a cave, Psalm 57 and Psalm 142, both of which could have been written about his time in this cave or during his stay in a different cave later recorded in 1 Samuel 24:1-7. In both Psalms we read how David turned to God and trusted Him for His mercy and turned his situation into praise and thanksgiving. Here are the two Psalms from the ESV side by side:
| Psalm 57 | Psalm 142 |
| TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM SAUL, IN THE CAVE. 1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! 4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! 6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! | A MASKIL OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE CAVE. A PRAYER. 1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! 7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. |
22:3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
David took his family from the cave of Adullam to Mizpeh of Moab. There are a number of locations in the Bible named, or called, Mizpeh (Hebrew transliteration of miṣ·pē(h)’, which means watchtower, lookout), the exact location in Moab is unknown, but the nation of Moab would be significant distance from Adullam (southeast of the Dead Sea). Moab had been enemies with Israel for many years, some believe that since David’s great-grandmother was a Moabite (see Ruth 4:13-17), that there still were some connections with the people of Moab. David left his family with the king of Moab, they stayed there with the king during the time David was in the stronghold (Hebrew meṣû·ḏā(h)’, a net used to hunt prey, or a stronghold for hiding or defense). The location of this stronghold is unknown, but is often thought to be somewhere in Moab, perhaps a reference to Mizpeh itself.
22:5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.
Gad was a prophet of unknown background and is often referred to as “David’s seer” in the Bible (see 2 Samuel 24:11; 1 Chronicles 21:9; 29:29; 2 Chronicles 29:25), he was one of three prophets that David interacted with in his lifetime (Samuel and Nathan are the other two). Here he is instructed to leave the stronghold and go to the land of Judah, so David left and went to the forest of Hereth (another unknown location being a word that is only found this one time in the Bible). The Septuagint reads, “And Gad the prophet said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold. Go and stay in the land of Judah.” So David went, and he came and stayed in the city of Sarich.” (1 Kingdoms 22:5, LXX)[2] However, the city of Sarich doesn’t help much as it is also unknown.
Saul Openly Bemoans His People for Supporting David
22:6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.
When Saul heard that the location of David was determined, he was sitting on some high spot with his spear in his hand under some prominent tamarisk tree in Gibeah, surrounded by his servants.
22:7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.”
Saul addresses the people as being Benjamites, and asks, will “the son of Jesse” give you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders? Is that why everyone has conspired against him? None of you told him that his own son made a covenant with the son of Jesse! None of you felt sorry for him that his own son has encouraged my servant (David) to ambush him (Saul), as he is doing now!
22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
At this time, Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen who witnessed David being at Nob (see 1 Samuel 21:7), tells Saul that he saw the son of Jesse talking to Ahimelech who then gave David provisions and the sword of Goliath. Doeg adds that David had Ahimelech inquire YHWH for him, there is no mention of any inquire of YHWH in the record of David’s discussion with Ahimelech (see 1 Samuel 21:1-9), and no detail is given here.
Saul has Ahimelech Killed and Everyone Else in Nob
22:11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.”
Saul summons Ahimelech and all the priests at Nob, and they all respond. Saul asks Ahimelech why he has conspired against him, both him and the son of Jesse, who he had given him bread, a sword, and inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against him, to lie in wait as he is doing right now. Ahimelech responded to the king’s accusations by asking a series of questions: “Who is more faithful to him?” “Who is the king’s son-in-law?” “Who is the captain of your bodyguard?” “Who is honored in your house?” He then asks, “Is this the first time he has inquired of God for him?” No! “May the king not accuse me and my family in this matter, for I knew nothing at all of any plot against you.” (1 Samuel 22:15b, NLT) As far as Ahimelech understood he knew nothing about any conspiracy or conflict between them, which is true, as David was not truthful to him when he came to Nob, possibly to protect him for this very reason.
22:16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.
Saul then commands the guard who was standing there to go and kill the priests of YHWH, because he was convinced that they conspired against him and did not tell him, regardless of what Ahimelech said. But the guard and none of his servants would do as he commanded. So he turns to Doeg and tells him to kill the priests, which he does, killing eighty-five priests and then went to Nob and killed every man, woman, child, infant, ox, donkey, and sheep. Since Doeg was identified as an Edomite (see verse nine) he had no objection to killing the priests of Israel, even though he may have been a proselyte.
22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”
One of the sons of Ahimelech named Abiathar managed to escape Doeg’s slaughter and fled to David. When he hears about the death of the priests, he blames himself, as he saw Doeg the Edomite there in Nob, and knew that he would likely tell Saul. So he asks Abiathar to stay with him since his life is in danger too, but if he stays with David he will be safe.
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[1] The word 'Shephelah' means "lowlands" or "foothills", it is a transitional area of rolling, fertile hills in south-central Israel, stretching thirty-five miles long and approximately eight miles wide between the flat coastal plain and the mountains. Several east-west valleys cut through the Shephelah, including the Elah Valley. It is also home of an extensive network of caves.
[2] Brannan, R., Penner, K. M., Loken, I., Aubrey, M., & Hoogendyk, I., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Septuagint (1 Kgdms 22:5). Lexham Press. (Note: Not all versions of the Septuagint state Sarich as the location)