1 Samuel 22 4

1 Samuel 22:4 kjv

And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.

1 Samuel 22:4 nkjv

So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

1 Samuel 22:4 niv

So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.

1 Samuel 22:4 esv

And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

1 Samuel 22:4 nlt

So David's parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.

1 Samuel 22 verses

1 Samuel 22 4 Meaning

This verse describes David’s profound concern and proactive care for his aging parents, Jesse and his wife. As David was a fugitive from King Saul, he made arrangements to secure their safety by bringing them to the king of Moab for refuge. They resided there for the entire period David himself was in hiding in a stronghold, demonstrating his practical efforts to protect his family from the dangers of his persecution.

1 Samuel 22 4 Context

Chapter 22 of 1 Samuel depicts David's continued flight from King Saul, who is relentless in his pursuit to kill David. After escaping Gath, David finds refuge in the cave of Adullam, where his family (father and mother) and a company of distressed and discontented men gather around him. Realizing the vulnerability of his elderly parents in his precarious existence, David takes the proactive step of seeking safe haven for them. The decision to entrust his parents to the care of the King of Moab, a foreign nation with historical tensions with Israel, highlights the extreme circumstances and David's pragmatic yet compassionate leadership. After this arrangement, David remains a fugitive, dwelling in "the hold" (which is then specified by the prophet Gad as Mizpeh of Moab, before instructing him to return to Judah, to the forest of Hereth), leading a band of men. Saul's paranoia reaches its peak in this chapter, culminating in the horrific slaughter of the priests of Nob due to their perceived aid to David, showing a stark contrast between David's character and Saul's.

1 Samuel 22 4 Word analysis

• And he brought them (וַיַּבִּיאֵם - vayyavvi'em): The Hebrew verb is in the Hiphil imperfect, indicating a causative action – "he caused them to come" or "he led them." This emphasizes David's deliberate and active role in securing his parents' safety, demonstrating his sense of filial duty and leadership in providing for his household amidst his own distress.

• before the king of Moab (לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב - liphnei melekh Mo'av):

  • Mo'av: Moab was a kingdom east of the Dead Sea, historically both allied with and hostile towards Israel. A critical ancestral connection exists: Ruth, David's great-grandmother, was a Moabite. This relationship may have facilitated David's appeal for asylum, providing a cultural or familial basis for the king of Moab's willingness to host David's parents, despite the broader historical tensions (e.g., Num 22-24, Judg 3:12-30). This demonstrates David's strategic use of connections and a pragmatic reliance on diplomacy to protect his most vulnerable kin, even from a nation that traditionally was an adversary. This choice can also be seen as indirectly polemical against narrow ethno-centrism, showing divine providence operating even through "outsider" kindness.

• and they dwelt with him (וַיֵּשְׁבוּ עִמּוֹ - vayyeshvu 'immo): This implies a formal, secure, and sustained residence for David's parents. The verb means "to sit," "to remain," or "to dwell," suggesting a peaceful stay and fulfilled agreement. It was not a temporary hiding but an arranged lodging for a period.

• all the time that David was in the hold (כָּל יְמֵי הֱיוֹת דָּוִד בַּמְּצוּדָה - kol yemey heyoth Dawid bammeṣudāh):

  • yemey: "days of" or "period of." Signifies the duration of his stay as a fugitive.
  • bammeṣudāh (בַּמְּצוּדָה): "in the stronghold" or "in the fortress." The word meṣudāh often refers to a natural fortress, like a mountain pass or cave system (such as the cave of Adullam or later places like En Gedi), which provided defensible refuge from enemies. It powerfully conveys David's constant state of being hunted and his life as a fugitive, hence the necessity of a different, more stable place for his parents.

• He brought them... King of Moab: This entire phrase encapsulates David's diligent and self-sacrificial character. Despite his own severe plight, he prioritizes the well-being of his aged parents, actively seeking out and arranging their protection in a foreign, yet potentially hospitable, kingdom. It highlights his humane leadership and sense of responsibility.

• Dwelt with him all the time... in the hold: This grouping emphasizes the dual aspects of David's life as a fugitive: while he lived in perilous "holds," his parents were in relative safety. It shows a period of sustained exile for David and stable refuge for his family, demonstrating God's providence even in complex, seemingly desperate, situations.

1 Samuel 22 4 Bonus Section

• David's willingness to seek asylum for his parents in Moab illustrates his trust in God to open doors, even in nations historically antagonistic to Israel. This move could be viewed as a God-given pragmatic solution for survival and care, demonstrating that God can provide safety through diverse and even surprising means.
• This act also implicitly reveals David's confidence in God's protective hand over his family line. While seeking human refuge, he ultimately trusted in God's overarching plan for him and his descendants (2 Sam 7:12-16).
• The detail of "all the time that David was in the hold" stresses the prolonged period of David's exile and constant danger, allowing readers to grasp the depth of his trials and God's sustained faithfulness in preserving him during those years.

1 Samuel 22 4 Commentary

1 Samuel 22:4 portrays David as a responsible and compassionate leader, prioritizing his family's welfare even while facing existential threats himself. His decision to entrust his parents to the King of Moab was a practical step, likely leveraging the ancestral connection through Ruth, his Moabite great-grandmother. This action reflects the honoring of parents (Exo 20:12) and highlights David's character in stark contrast to King Saul's increasingly tyrannical and murderous behavior. It demonstrates David's wise reliance on both human connection and divine providence in desperate times, finding refuge for his loved ones in an unexpected place. The verse underlines the harsh reality of David's fugitive life in "the hold" and the enduring commitment of a man after God's own heart to those entrusted to his care.