1 Samuel 22:3

3 et profectus est David inde in Maspha quae est Moab et dixit ad regem Moab maneat oro pater meus et mater mea vobiscum donec sciam quid faciat mihi Deus

1 Samuel 22:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 22:3

And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab
So called to distinguish it from a place of the same name in the land of Israel; which Junius says is the same with Malle, and signifies a fortified place, and refers to the Apocrypha:

``And how that many of them were shut up in Bosora, and Bosor, and Alema, Casphor, Maked, and Carnaim; all these cities are strong and great:'' (1 Maccabees 5:26)

here he might think himself safer, though in an enemy's country, than in the land of Israel:

and he said unto the king of Moab, let my father and my mother, I pray
thee, come forth;
out of the land of Israel, or out of the cave of Adullam, whither they were come to him:

[and be] with you;
if not with the king of Moab at his court, yet in some part or other of his country, where they might be safe from the rage of Saul:

till I know what God will do for me;
on whose power and providence he wholly relied, and not upon the men that flocked to him, nor upon his own power and policy, courage and wisdom; he knew the promise of God to him, and he put his trust in him for the performance of it; but knew not the time, nor way, and manner, in which it would be performed; and expected in the meanwhile to be obliged to remove from place to place; and considering that his aged parents were not fit for such quick and sudden motions, and long flights, he provided as well as he could for their settlement; which was an instance of his filial affection for them, and piety towards them. His father's name is well known, Jesse, ( Ruth 4:22 ) ( 1 Samuel 17:12 ) but his mother's name is nowhere mentioned; the Jews say her name was Natzbet, the daughter of Adal ^F25.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 91. 1.

1 Samuel 22:3 In-Context

1 abiit ergo inde David et fugit in speluncam Odollam quod cum audissent fratres eius et omnis domus patris eius descenderunt ad eum illuc

2 et convenerunt ad eum omnes qui erant in angustia constituti et oppressi aere alieno et amaro animo et factus est eorum princeps fueruntque cum eo quasi quadringenti viri

3 et profectus est David inde in Maspha quae est Moab et dixit ad regem Moab maneat oro pater meus et mater mea vobiscum donec sciam quid faciat mihi Deus

4 et reliquit eos ante faciem regis Moab manseruntque apud eum cunctis diebus quibus David fuit in praesidio

5 dixitque Gad propheta ad David noli manere in praesidio proficiscere et vade in terram Iuda et profectus David venit in saltum Hareth