1 Samuel Chapter 22

David at the Adullam Cave
(1 Samuel 22:1–2)

“David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.”

David’s flight to the cave of Adullam marked one of the lowest points in his life. He had once been Israel’s hero, celebrated for slaying Goliath and favored in Saul’s court. Now he was a fugitive, hunted by the king he had served faithfully. Having faced the high of sudden fame, the joy of marriage, the jealousy of Saul, repeated assassination attempts, and the pain of leaving behind his old life, David reached a moment of complete isolation. Yet even in this low place, the Lord was preparing him.

The name Adullam means refuge, and though David fled there for safety, God did not intend for the cave itself to be his refuge. God Himself was to be David’s true refuge. Cut off from his home, his wife, his prophet, and his closest friend, David could only turn to the Lord. The cave was a dark, lonely place, but it became a meeting ground between a desperate man and a faithful God.

Archaeologists believe the cave was located in the hills of Judah, not far from the Valley of Elah where David had defeated Goliath. It is hard to imagine that David could stand in the same region where he once enjoyed triumph and now find himself a hunted man. Yet God often uses such places of seeming defeat to shape His servants.

David’s time in Adullam inspired two psalms that reveal his spiritual struggle and recovery of faith.

Psalm 142 opens with a cry of despair:

“I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before Him; I showed before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” (Psalm 142:1–4, KJV)

This psalm captures David’s loneliness and the pain of abandonment. Yet it also shows that even when refuge failed him, God knew his path.

Psalm 57, written from the same period, records David’s renewed faith:

“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” (Psalm 57:1, KJV)

Here, David’s heart turned from fear to worship. He prayed, “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me” (Psalm 57:2), and he testified, “My soul is among lions… they have prepared a net for my steps.” (Psalm 57:4, 6) Yet he concluded with praise:

“I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto Thee among the nations. Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Thy glory be above all the earth.” (Psalm 57:9, 5, 11)

The cave was still cold and dark, but David’s heart had turned from despair to worship. God did not have to change David’s location to change his heart; He only had to change David’s focus.

Others Gather to David
(1 Samuel 22:1b–2)

“And when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. And 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.”

The first to come were David’s family. This was an act of divine kindness, for earlier they had scorned him. His father Jesse had overlooked him when Samuel came to anoint a son, and his brother Eliab had mocked him for coming to the battlefield. Yet now they stood beside him. God had turned their hearts toward the man they once underestimated.

Soon others came—men in distress, men in debt, and men discontented. They were society’s castaways: men who had failed, who had lost everything, and who longed for something better. They were not the men David would have chosen, but they were the ones God sent. Every great work of God begins not with perfect people, but with broken ones whom He can remake.

The Hebrew word translated “discontented” means bitter of soul. These were men who had tasted the bitterness of life under Saul’s corrupt rule. Yet their dissatisfaction made them ready to follow God’s chosen king. In the same way, Christ gathers to Himself those who are weary, indebted by sin, and discontented with the world.

David became captain over them, shaping this band of desperate men into mighty warriors. It was not a mob, but an army under God’s anointed leader. A lesser man would have used them for rebellion; David transformed them into men of discipline, courage, and faith. Under his leadership, they became what 1 Chronicles 12:8 describes:

“They were mighty men of valour, men trained for battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains.”

These men joined David when he had nothing to offer but hardship and danger. Later, when he became king, many sought his favor—but these 400 were his true loyalists. They believed in him during exile. Likewise, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, now gathers a company of the rejected and broken who follow Him while He is despised by the world. One day, they will reign with Him when He returns in glory.

David Cares for His Parents
(1 Samuel 22:3–4)

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

Even in exile, David did not forget his duty as a son. Though he was under tremendous pressure and constant threat of death, his concern turned to the safety of his aged parents. David’s actions reveal the heart of a man who honored the fifth commandment:

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12, KJV)

He brought his parents to the land of Moab, seeking asylum for them from Saul’s murderous reach. This decision was not arbitrary. David’s lineage gave him a natural connection to Moab, for his great-grandmother was Ruth the Moabitess. The genealogy in Ruth concludes:

“And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.” (Ruth 4:21–22, KJV)

This Moabite connection likely opened the door for David to approach the Moabite king with a request for protection. David’s family would be safer under a foreign king’s protection than in Israel, where Saul’s paranoia had turned the land into a place of danger.

David humbly said, “Till I know what God will do for me.” These words capture the spirit of faith in uncertainty. David knew that God had chosen and anointed him as Israel’s future king, yet he had no clarity about the path that would bring that promise to fulfillment. Instead of presuming upon God’s plan, he waited to see how the Lord would lead.

This patience is the mark of a man walking by faith. The writer of Proverbs later expressed this same principle:

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5–6, KJV)

David’s time in Moab was not merely about refuge; it was a test of faith, dependence, and submission. He was willing to wait upon the Lord’s timing and direction, not forcing the hand of providence.

David Hears from the Prophet Gad
(1 Samuel 22:5)

“And 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.”

At this critical juncture, the Lord sent the prophet Gad to counsel David. This marks the first mention of Gad in the biblical record. He would later become David’s seer (2 Samuel 24:11) and play an important role in the establishment of temple worship under Solomon. Here, he served as a direct messenger from God to the fugitive king.

The presence of Gad illustrates that David still enjoyed divine fellowship through God’s prophets, unlike Saul, who had cut himself off from the word of the Lord. Scripture later declares of Saul’s decline:

“And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” (1 Samuel 28:6, KJV)

David, on the other hand, listened to God’s voice and obeyed, even when the command went against his own sense of safety. Gad instructed, “Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah.” This would have seemed a perilous directive, for Judah was Saul’s domain, the very territory where David was being hunted. Yet obedience to God’s word always outweighs human caution.

David did not argue or hesitate; he departed immediately and went into the forest of Hareth. This demonstrated not only courage but submission. God was teaching David that faith must operate in the face of danger, not apart from it. He had to trust that the same God who had delivered him from Goliath could now preserve him from Saul.

Matthew Henry notes that this command was both a trial and a training: David’s faith, patience, and courage were being refined for the throne. The Lord was shaping in him the qualities of a righteous ruler. As the commentator Matthew Poole observed, “Hereby also God would exercise David’s faith, and wisdom, and courage; and so prepare him for the kingdom, and uphold and increase his reputation among the people.”

God often calls His servants out of their strongholds to places of risk, not to destroy them, but to strengthen their reliance upon Him. David’s obedience here laid the groundwork for the kind of king he would later become—one who sought and followed the Lord’s direction, even when the path was uncertain.

Saul Murders the Priests
(1 Samuel 22:6–10)

“When 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,) then 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; that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth 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 showeth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” (1 Samuel 22:6–8, KJV)

King Saul sat beneath a tamarisk tree in Gibeah, surrounded by his servants, his spear once again in hand—a recurring symbol of his paranoia and violence. The mention of the spear is not incidental; every time Saul held it, it foreshadowed wrath or murder. What began as a royal scepter had become an instrument of rage, marking the progressive decay of his soul.

When Saul learned that David’s growing band of followers had been discovered, his immediate reaction was not to seek God’s will, but to lash out in self-pity and accusation. Instead of acting as a shepherd over Israel, he became a tyrant obsessed with control. Saul’s words—“Hear now, ye Benjamites”—reveal his political manipulation. Most of his court came from his own tribe, Benjamin, and Saul attempted to secure their loyalty through bribery and guilt.

He asked sarcastically, “Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards?” appealing to their greed and tribal loyalty. To Saul, loyalty could be bought, but to David, it had to be earned through faithfulness and godly character. Notice Saul’s contemptuous tone: he refused even to call David by name, referring to him simply as “the son of Jesse.” This phrase was meant to demean David, reducing him to a mere farmer’s son, erasing his achievements—the slayer of Goliath, the commander of Israel’s armies, and the anointed of the Lord. Pride blinded Saul to David’s divine calling.

In his self-pity, Saul accused everyone around him of conspiracy: “All of you have conspired against me… there is none of you that is sorry for me.” His focus had turned entirely inward. Saul’s insecurity and paranoia had consumed him to the point where he saw treachery in every face. He even accused his own son Jonathan of betrayal, saying, “My son hath stirred up my servant against me.” This was a baseless claim—Jonathan had done no such thing—but Saul’s bitterness toward righteousness made him incapable of discernment.

This moment portrays the tragic unraveling of a man once chosen by God. When a leader becomes self-centered, jealous, and spiritually blind, he turns from service to tyranny, from shepherd to oppressor. Saul’s reign was rotting from within, eaten away by envy and fear.

“Then 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. And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” (1 Samuel 22:9–10, KJV)

Into this scene stepped Doeg the Edomite, a man who had been mentioned earlier in 1 Samuel 21:7. He was an outsider—a foreigner from Edom—yet elevated by Saul to a position of power as chief of the herdsmen. Doeg was ruthless, opportunistic, and dangerous. He embodied the kind of man Saul now surrounded himself with: flatterers, opportunists, and informants.

Doeg seized this chance to elevate himself by turning informant. He recounted how he had seen David at Nob, visiting Ahimelech the priest, and twisted the story to make Ahimelech appear guilty of treason. His report was factual in part—Ahimelech had indeed given David food and the sword of Goliath—but deceitful in intent. He added, “He enquired of the LORD for him,” implying a deliberate alliance between David and the priesthood. In truth, Ahimelech had acted in innocence, unaware of the conflict between Saul and David.

Doeg’s calculated words fanned Saul’s paranoia. He diverted Saul’s fury away from his inner circle and redirected it toward the priests of the LORD. The same manipulative spirit that had once whispered through the serpent in Eden now operated in Doeg—sowing distrust, twisting truth, and igniting bloodshed.

Saul’s court had become a place of fear where truth was dangerous, and deceit was rewarded. As Psalm 52 later reveals, David never forgot Doeg’s treachery:

“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness.” (Psalm 52:1–3, KJV)

Doeg stands as a warning of how ambition, when paired with moral corruption, can make a man an instrument of Satan’s work. He saw an opportunity to climb in Saul’s favor, even if it meant shedding innocent blood.

Saul Accuses Ahimelech of Conspiracy with David
(1 Samuel 22:11–15)

“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 king. And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And 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? Then 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? Did 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.” (1 Samuel 22:11–15, KJV)

Saul summoned Ahimelech the priest and his entire household, accusing them of treason. The scene was solemn and tragic—the priests of the Lord, innocent men who served at the tabernacle, were dragged before a paranoid and deranged king. Saul’s words reveal the depth of his delusion. Once again, he referred to David not by name but with contempt as “the son of Jesse.” This disdain showed Saul’s refusal to acknowledge God’s anointed.

When Saul said, “Why have ye conspired against me,” he revealed his obsession with conspiracy. In his darkened mind, even acts of kindness or obedience were twisted into rebellion. He accused Ahimelech of giving David bread, a sword, and spiritual counsel as if these deeds were treasonous. Yet Ahimelech answered with calm dignity, saying, “Here I am, my lord.” The honesty and courage of his response reflected the integrity of a man with a clear conscience before God.

Ahimelech’s defense was straightforward and truthful. He reminded Saul that David had always been loyal: “Who is so faithful among all thy servants as David?” David was not an outlaw in Ahimelech’s eyes but a hero and the king’s son-in-law. He had every reason to believe David was acting on royal business, for that is what David had told him. Ahimelech added, “Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? Be it far from me.” This meant that it was not the first time he had prayed for David; he had done so often before as part of his priestly duty.

He concluded with humility: “Let not the king impute any thing unto his servant… for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.” His words were sincere, but they fell on deaf ears. Saul’s jealousy had hardened his heart beyond reason. Ahimelech’s innocence, rather than calming Saul, only enraged him further—just as Cain could not endure Abel’s righteousness.

Tragically, Ahimelech’s honesty and praise of David only intensified Saul’s fury. He could not stand to hear David commended, for in his envy, every word in David’s favor sounded like a personal attack. This is the danger of unchecked pride and jealousy: it blinds the heart to truth and turns justice into cruelty.

Saul Commands the Execution of the Priests
(1 Samuel 22:16–19)

“And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. And 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. And 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. And 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.” (1 Samuel 22:16–19, KJV)

Saul’s response was as cold and brutal as it was irrational. Without trial, evidence, or divine counsel, he declared, “Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.” In this command, Saul crossed a terrible line—from disobedience to outright rebellion against God. He now ordered the death of the Lord’s priests, the very men consecrated to serve in His sanctuary.

The contrast could not be starker. When God had commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites, Saul disobeyed and spared King Agag and the best of the flocks (1 Samuel 15:9). But now, without command, Saul eagerly slaughtered the servants of the Lord. His moral compass was inverted—merciful to the wicked, merciless to the righteous. As the commentator John Trapp said, “His anger was bent against the Lord Himself, for taking away his kingdom and giving it to another; and because he could not come at the Lord, therefore he wreaked his rage upon His priests.”

When Saul commanded his guards to execute the priests, “the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.” Though serving under a deranged monarch, they still possessed the fear of God. Their refusal was a silent act of courage and reverence. But Saul found a willing executioner in Doeg the Edomite.

Doeg, an alien to Israel’s covenant and a man of blood, had no such restraint. He carried out Saul’s barbaric command with ruthless efficiency—slaying eighty-five priests who wore the linen ephod, symbols of purity and service. His cruelty did not stop there: he proceeded to destroy Nob, the entire city of the priests, killing men, women, infants, and even animals with the sword.

This atrocity stands among the darkest episodes in Israel’s history. Saul’s madness had led him to commit a massacre that rivaled the pagan cruelties of Canaan’s kings. What Amalek had done in rebellion against God, Saul now did in rebellion against God’s people. The priestly city became a slaughterhouse, and the blood of innocents cried out to heaven.

Psalm 52 records David’s reflection on Doeg’s wickedness:

“Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever.” (Psalm 52:3–5, KJV)

Doeg’s heart had been exposed long before the slaughter. He had been “detained before the LORD” in Nob (1 Samuel 21:7), standing near the holy things, yet remained utterly unrepentant. His presence near God’s house had not changed him; it only hardened him further. This is the tragedy of proximity without transformation—being near the truth without ever receiving it.

Saul’s massacre of the priests marked his complete moral collapse. He had become the very thing he once fought against—a persecutor of the righteous. His rage against David had turned into rage against God Himself. What began as jealousy in the palace ended as bloodshed in the sanctuary.

David Protects Abiathar, the Only Survivor
(1 Samuel 22:20–23)

“And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORD’S priests. 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 the death of all the persons of thy father’s house. Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.” (1 Samuel 22:20–23, KJV)

The massacre at Nob left only one survivor—Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. Having escaped Saul’s slaughter, he fled to David, the very man whom his father had unwittingly helped. When Abiathar reached David’s camp and relayed the grim news that Saul had murdered the priests of the Lord, David was crushed with grief and guilt. The slaughter at Nob was one of the darkest consequences of David’s deception in 1 Samuel 21.

When David said, “I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul,” his words carry both sorrow and conviction. David remembered the moment Doeg had seen him at the tabernacle and knew in his heart that trouble would follow. Psalm 52 captures the full measure of David’s righteous anger toward Doeg’s treachery and his faith in God’s ultimate justice. The psalm’s title reads: “A Maschil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.”

David began that psalm with indignation against Doeg’s evil:

“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.” (Psalm 52:1–4, KJV)

Doeg had used his tongue like a weapon—lying, slandering, and boasting in evil. But David’s faith was not in vengeance; it was in God’s justice. He declared with confidence:

“God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.” (Psalm 52:5, KJV)

Yet even amid judgment, David’s psalm turns to personal trust and worship:

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.” (Psalm 52:8–9, KJV)

Through Psalm 52, we see David’s growth from reaction to repentance, from outrage to renewal. His trust in God’s justice allowed him to remain steadfast even while carrying the burden of guilt.

When David confessed to Abiathar, saying, “I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father’s house,” he meant it in both a moral and practical sense. In the greater sense, David’s mere appearance at Nob had drawn Saul’s suspicion upon the priests. Saul’s hatred for David had turned his jealousy into slaughter, and David’s visit—though innocent in intent—was the spark that set off the tragedy. In the lesser sense, David’s deception of Ahimelech made the priest more vulnerable. Ahimelech had questioned David when he appeared alone, asking, “Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?” (1 Samuel 21:1, KJV), but David lied, claiming to be on secret business from Saul. Had Ahimelech known the truth, he might have stood openly with David and died a martyr for righteousness rather than a victim of deceit.

David’s remorse was genuine. Though forgiven, he saw the bitter consequences of his earlier failure. This moment reflects a recurring biblical principle: forgiveness does not erase the temporal effects of sin. The blood of Nob was on Saul’s hands, but the burden of sorrow fell on David’s heart.

Yet in that sorrow, David turned to compassion. Looking upon the frightened survivor, he said, “Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.” This is the language of restoration. David could not undo the evil that had been done, but he could provide sanctuary for the one who remained. Abiathar’s safety now lay with the Lord’s anointed, not with the king of Israel.

Abiathar’s alliance with David would later prove providential. He became high priest alongside Zadok during David’s reign (2 Samuel 8:17), bearing the ephod and inquiring of God on David’s behalf during times of national crisis (1 Samuel 23:9–12). God preserved Abiathar not by chance but by design—ensuring that the priestly line would remain intact even amid Saul’s apostasy.

David’s final words to Abiathar—“with me thou shalt be in safeguard”—foreshadow Christ Himself, the Son of David. To all who flee from the destruction of this world and come to Him for refuge, the Lord says:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, KJV)

Abiathar found safety with David, but believers find eternal safety in Christ.