The First Book of Samuel, otherwise called the First Book of the Kings
1 Samuel 22
Chapter XXII · Vol. II, pp. 663–664
1 Companies resort unto David at Adullam. 3 At Mizpeh he commendeth his parents to the protection of the king of Moab. 5 Admonished by Gad, he cometh to Hareth. 6 Saul going to pursue him, complaineth of his servants' unfaithfulness. 9 Doeg accuseth Ahimelech. 11 Saul commandeth to kill the priests. 17 The footmen refusing, Doeg executeth it. 20 Abiathar escaping, bringeth David the news.
1 David therefore adeparted thence, and escaped to the bcave Adullam:1 and when his brethren, and all his father's house, heard it, they went down thither to him.
A.M. 2946. B.C. 1058.
a Ps.34. title,1,2; 56. 3.
b Jos.12.15. 2 Sa. 23. 13,14. Ps.142.title. He. 11.38.
1 The traditional cave of Adullam is situated in a wild ravine about four miles south-east of Bethlehem. It may not be the real cave, but the locality is unquestionably the same. It is in the wilderness of Judah, which was David's favourite-haunt when danger threatened him. It was near his native town, too, where his brothers could easily reach him.—P.
2 And every one cthat was in distress, and every one that dwas in debt, and every one that was ediscontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a fcaptain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
c Ju. 11. 3. Mat. 11. 28.
d Heb. had a creditor, Mat.18.27.
e Heb. bitter of soul, Ps.38.8; 55.8.
f ch.25.15,16. He. 2. 10. Ps. 72. 12-14. Mat. 11.28; 18.11. Jn. 7. 48. 1 Co.1.26,27.
3 And David went thence to gMizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the hking of 2Moab, iLet my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
g Not ch. 7. 5, nor Ge.31.49.
h Ru.1.4; 4.10,22. ch. 14.47.
2 Being of Moabitish descent, through Ruth, he would naturally expect protection for his relatives in Moab.—C.
i Ge.47.11,12. Ex.20. 12.
4 And he brought them before the king of Moab; and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
5 And the kprophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; ldepart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
k 2 Sa.24.11. 1 Ch.21. 9; 29.29.
l Phi.4. 8. Ps. 84. 10; 73.25. De.8.2.
6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a mtree in Ramah,3 having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him,)
m Or, grove in a high place. With ch. 7.17; 19.18.
3 This is an evident contradiction, for Gibeah and Ramah were two different places. The contradiction, however, is not in the original, but in the translation. Ramah is here not a name of the place so called, but should be translated 'hill.' —C.
7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will nthe son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
n ch.20.27,30; 25.10. 1 Ki.12.16.
8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me othat my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse; and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
o ch.18.3; 19.2; 20.7-17,41,42.
9 Then panswered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants4 of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
p Ps.52.title,1-4; 120. 2-4; 140. 3, 11. Je.9.3. Eze.22.9. Pr.29.12; 19. 5,9. ch.21.1-9.
4 Noldius thinks this means, 'who was standing among the servants,' but at ch. 21. 7 he is called the 'chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul,' and the Septuagint intimates that he was over Saul's mules. Saul had probably by this time made large additions to his paternal property in flocks and herds, which constituted the chief wealth of that age. The person therefore who had the general oversight of the whole held an office of great importance. The swineherds and goatherds of Ulysses are represented by Homer as sitting at meat with princes in their master's house. —I.
10 And he qinquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
11 Then the king rsent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
r Ro.3.15. Ps.5.6,9. Is.59.7. Pr.1.15,16; 4.16.
12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I5 am, my lord.
5 Heb. Behold me.
13 And Saul said unto him, sWhy have ye conspired against me,6 thou and the tson of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
s ver.8-10. Ps.119.69.
6 Saul, like other weak and wicked rulers, takes the guilt of Ahimelech for granted, and only questions him to give a show of justice to the cruel sentence already passed in his purpose.—C.
t ver.7-9; ch.20.27,30; 25.10.
14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, uand said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king's son-in-law, and xgoeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?
15 Did I then begin7 to inquire of God for him? be it far from me. Let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.8
7 No, I have often done it when he was occupied in your service.
8 Heb. little or great.
16 And the king said, yThou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and zall thy father's house.9
y Ex.1.12,13. Es.3.8,9. Mat.2.16. Ac.12.1,2. Pr.28.15. Zep.3.3.
z ch.2.30-33; 3.12,14. Ex.20.5.
9 The wickedness of Saul, as a king, is here still more apparent; for even had Ahimelech been guilty of connivance with David in a real, instead of an imaginary conspiracy, this proved no guilt against his father's whole house.—C.
17 And the king said unto the 1footmen2 that stood about him, Turn and slay the priests of the LORD; because their ahand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king bwould not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.
18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And cDoeg the Edomite3 turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did dwear a linen ephod.
3 Though the Jewish rabbins are not willing to allow Doeg to have been an Edomite by descent, but an Israelite born in Edom, this difference of feeling and conduct between him and the footmen seems to prove him an absolute stranger to Israelitish feelings.—C.
d Ex.28.40. ch.2.28.
19 And eNob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, fboth men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.4
e ver.9; ch.21.1. Ne.11.32. Is.10.32.
f ch.15.9. 2 Ki.15.16.
4 This was one of the worst acts in Saul's life. His malice was implacable, and his wrath cruel; there is no motive of justice or policy by which such a barbarous massacre can be justified. It was well said by Justin Martyr, 'Let us pray that kings and rulers may be found having a sober mind.' Saul's unrighteous command fulfilled God's threatening against the house of Eli. 'By the massacre of the priests Saul weakened the power of those whom he had made his enemies, and obtained their possessions to bestow upon his followers. It was a most decided act of defiance to the Most High' (Delany).——'Saul hereby for ever deprived himself of the protection and counsel of Jehovah. Abiathar fled with the ephod in which was the judgment of Urim; and David thereby received the fullest and plainest directions in circumstances of danger and difficulty' (Chandler).—I.
20 And gone of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named hAbiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
21 And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD's priests.
22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned ithe death of all the persons of thy father's house.5
A.M. 2946. B.C. 1058.
i Ps.44.22. ch.21.1-7.
5 Thus terribly was the prediction, ch. 2. 30, brought nigh to fulfilment; Abiathar alone remains of the descendants of Eli, and is spared for a time, hereafter doomed to render the punishment of an unfaithful priesthood still more obvious, and to give warning to all formal churches to repent, lest the Lord remove their candlestick out of his place.—C.
Notes
[Ver. 2. There were with him about four hundred men. David has been much censured by infidels on account of the character of his army. This censure is without reason. A man in distress is not necessarily a wicked man, nor has the original word any such unfavourable meaning. Neither is every man in debt necessarily a dishonest man—and the refugees in debt may have merely fled from slavery to which the law subjected them and their families. Nor is every discontented man necessarily a bad subject—indeed how any wise man could have been otherwise than discontented with the wicked government of Saul is a problem that infidels should solve before they accuse David of affording such men a refuge from Saul's misgovernment. C.]
Reflections.—What terrible disasters attend earthly promotions! But God will certainly take care that his persecuted people may always have some friends: and such as suffer with them shall be glorified together. Yea, God often puts the greatest honour upon the most unlikely objects. And Jesus will in no wise cast out any that come to him. How unsettled is the life of the saints on earth! and often their trials are reserved for old age, when there is least strength to endure them. But it bodes well when children prefer the safety of their parents to their own; and when in trials we expect good at the Lord's hand, and readily take the advice of his servants. How jealousy torments a man's self with its groundless suspicions! It represents the most faithful as seditious, and accuses them of meditating the worst designs. It is very unsafe to trust to wicked men: our most benevolent actions may by them be turned into the worst of crimes, and truth may be reported in a manner more malignant than gross calumny and falsehood. But generous is that mind which will not hurt the character of another, even when truth admits and safety requires it. What a terrible plague is a tyrannical king! What barbarous monsters do some render themselves! But it is painful to a good man to be in any wise the occasion of mischief to others. Here likewise let us observe that, even through this wickedness and rage of Saul, God exactly fulfils his threatenings against Eli; and destroys the remnant of his house. Let us wonder at the depth of his providence and the faithfulness of his word.