1 Samuel 22:4

4 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 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
English Standard Version (ESV)
4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 So David’s parents stayed in Moab with the king during the entire time David was living in his stronghold.
The Message Bible (MSG)
4 David left his parents in the care of the king of Moab. They stayed there all through the time David was hiding out.
American Standard Version (ASV)
4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the stronghold.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
4 He brought them to the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was living in his fortified camp.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
4 So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
4 So David left his parents with the king of Moab. They stayed with him as long as David was in his usual place of safety.

1 Samuel 22:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 22:4

And he brought them before the king of Moab
Having leave from him for it, and left them with him; so the Targum,

``caused them to remain before him:''

and they dwelt with him all the whole time that David was in the hold;
either in the cave of Adullam, as some think; or rather at Mizpeh in Moab, which might be a fortified place; or the sense may be, while he was in any hold in those parts, as he might go from one to another; what became of David's parents afterwards, we nowhere else read. The Jews F26 say the king of Moab slew his father and his mother, and his brethren, all but one, whom Nahash the Ammonite preserved; and is the kindness David speaks of, ( 2 Samuel 10:2 ) ; and if this was the case, now it was that his father and mother forsook him, and God took him up, ( Psalms 27:10 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Bemnidbar Rabba, sect. 14. fol. 212. 1. Tanchuma apud Jarchium in loc.

1 Samuel 22:4 In-Context

2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?”
4 So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
5 But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.
6 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul was seated, spear in hand, under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing at his side.

Cross References 1

  • 1. S Genesis 19:37
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