The big picture
1 Samuel 22 opens in verse 1 with “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 12 with “And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.”, and closes in verse 23 with “Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me…” Repeated or prominent terms include David, king, Saul, priests, house. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
1 Samuel · King James Version · 231 Samuel 22:1-8
1–8: David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and…
1 Samuel 22:1–8 opens with “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all…” and reaches “That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on 1 Samuel 22 develops its own movement around David, king, Saul, priests, house, with particular weight carried by David, Moab, Saul.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house…” Naming Adullam and David keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee…” Naming Moab and David keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David…” Naming David and Abide keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one…” The number one makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
1 Samuel 22:1-8
King James Version1David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
2And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
3And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
4And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
5And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
6When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;)
7Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
8That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
1 Samuel 22:9-16
9–16: Answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and…
1 Samuel 22:9–16 opens with “Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son…” and reaches “And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on 1 Samuel 22 develops its own movement around David, king, Saul, priests, house, with particular weight carried by king, Ahimelech, house.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 3 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to…” Naming Ahimelech and Ahitub keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were…” Naming Ahimelech and Ahitub keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
1 Samuel 22:9-16
King James Version9Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
10And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
11Then the king sent 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.
12And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.
13And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?
14Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the king’s son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house?
15Did I then begin to enquire 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.
16And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.
1 Samuel 22:17-23
17–23: The king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the…
1 Samuel 22:17–23 opens with “And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD…” and reaches “Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on 1 Samuel 22 develops its own movement around David, king, Saul, priests, house, with particular weight carried by priests, David, Abiathar.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD ; because their hand…” Naming David and Turn keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the…” The number five makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and…” Naming Nob keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
1 Samuel 22:17-23
King James Version17And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD ; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD .
18And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
19And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.
20And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
21And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD’s priests.
22And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house.
23Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 Samuel 22:1 begins with “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.”
Where the chapter turns
1 Samuel 22:11 forms a natural hinge: “Then the king sent 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 final note
1 Samuel 22:23 leaves the reader with “Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words David, king, Saul, priests, house, Ahimelech help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the reader know that Isaac is not told?
The opening identifies a test. That framing matters for the entire account.
What is actually offered?
A ram provided in place of Isaac. Preserve the difference between the threatened act and the outcome.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.