Bible Strands
1 Samuel 22:3
From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I learn what God will do for me.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David, fleeing with his band of four hundred men, arrives at Mizpah of Moab and addresses the local ruler. He requests temporary shelter for his father and mother while he remains in the stronghold awaiting divine direction.
The words — The Hebrew וַיֵּלֶךְ (va.yelekh) records David's physical departure from his prior location to Mizpah of Moab. The verb וַיֹּאמֶר (va.yomer) introduces his direct, conditional appeal to the Moabite king for family custody.
The thread — This relocation parallels Joseph's provision of his family in Egypt (Genesis 47:11) and operationalizes the command to honor parents (Exodus 20:12). The place name Mizpah also surfaces in Judges 11:29 as a recognized regional landmark.
Why it lands — The passage documents a tactical request for parental safety during a military retreat, not a spiritual metaphor. It requires readers to observe how practical leadership and family obligation intersect under active threat.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me.
Cross-references
- Genesis 47:11 So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
- Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Judges 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
- Ruth 1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
- Ruth 4:10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
- Ruth 4:17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
- 1 Samuel 3:18 So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
- 1 Samuel 14:47 After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them.
- 2 Samuel 15:25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
- Matthew 15:4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’