The Meaning of 1 Samuel 22:1 Explained

1 Samuel 22:1

KJV: 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.

YLT: And David goeth thence, and is escaped unto the cave of Adullam, and his brethren hear, and all the house of his father, and go down unto him thither;

Darby: And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brethren and all his father's house heard it, and they went down thither to him.

ASV: David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Samuel 22:1 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 22:1-10 - Captain Of An Outlawed Band
What a striking analogy there is between the gathering of these outlawed men to David, and the attraction of publicans and sinners, in all ages, to Christ! He also is outlawed by "the prince of this world." To find Christ, we must go outside the camp, where He has set up the standard of His cross. How many of those who were in distress or in debt, or who were "bitter of soul," 1 Samuel 22:2, r.v. margin, have gathered to Him and have been received! Rejected by all others, they have found an asylum in his heart of love, and out of such refugees He is founding a kingdom that can never be moved, and forming an army that will break forever the power of evil.
Notice David's care for his parents. Our love to God should make us not less but more attentive to those to whom we are bound by nature's ties. It is probable that David's descent from Ruth, the Moabitess, may have suggested Moab as a suitable asylum; but in any case it was a wise precaution to shield the aged pair in the land of a neutral nation. In our experience, the warning of the prophet Gad has its counterpart in the gracious impressions of the Holy Spirit. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 22

1  Companies resort unto David at Adullam
3  At Mizpeh he commends his parents unto the king of Moab
5  Admonished by Gad, he comes to Hareth,
6  Saul going to pursue him, complains of his servants' unfaithfulness
9  Doeg accuses Ahimelech
11  Saul commands to kill the priests
17  The footmen refusing, Doeg executes it
20  Abiathar escaping, brings David the news

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 22:1 mean?

therefore departed David from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam and when heard [it] his brothers and all house of his father and they went down to him there
וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ דָּוִד֙ מִשָּׁ֔ם וַיִּמָּלֵ֖ט אֶל־ מְעָרַ֣ת עֲדֻלָּ֑ם וַיִּשְׁמְע֤וּ אֶחָיו֙ וְכָל־ בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֔יו וַיֵּרְד֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו שָֽׁמָּה

וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ  therefore  departed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
דָּוִד֙  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
מִשָּׁ֔ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
וַיִּמָּלֵ֖ט  and  escaped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
מְעָרַ֣ת  the  cave 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מְעָרָה  
Sense: cave, den, hole.
עֲדֻלָּ֑ם  of  Adullam 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲדֻלָּם  
Sense: a town of the Canaanites allotted to Judah and lying in the lowlands; site of the cave where David hid.
וַיִּשְׁמְע֤וּ  and  when  heard  [it] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֶחָיו֙  his  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
בֵּ֣ית  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
אָבִ֔יו  of  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וַיֵּרְד֥וּ  and  they  went  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
אֵלָ֖יו  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).