22:10, 15, appears to have "inquired of the Lord," through the high-priest - whatever the exact terms of that

inquiry may have been. In this also there was nothing strange, since David had done so on previous

occasions, probably before entering on dangerous expeditions (22:15).

But already David's secret was betrayed. It so happened in the Providence of God, that on this special

Sabbath, one of Saul's principal officials, the "chief over the herdsmen," was in Nob, "detained before

Jehovah." The expression implies that Doeg was obliged to remain in the sanctuary in consequence of some

religious ceremony - whether connected with his admission as a proselyte, for he was by birth an Edomite,

or with a vow, or with some legal purification. Such a witness could not be excluded, even if David had

chosen to betray his secret to the priest. Once committed to the fatal wrong of his falsehood, David had to

go on to the bitter end, all the while feeling morally certain that Doeg was his enemy, and would bring report

of all to Saul (22:22). His feelings as connected with this are, as we believe, expressed in Psalm 7.196

At first sight it may seem strange that on his further flight from Nob, David should have sought shelter in

Gath, the city of Goliath, whom he had killed in single combat. On the other hand, not only may this have

been the place most readily accessible to him, but David may have imagined that in Gath, especially, the

defection of such a champion from the hosts of Saul would be hailed as a notable triumph, and that

accordingly he would find a welcome in seeking its protection. The result, however, proved otherwise. The

courtiers of Achish, the king, - or, to give him his Philistine title, the Abimelech (my father king) of Gath

(comp. Genesis 20:2; 26:8) - urged on him the high position which David held in popular estimation in Israel,

and his past exploits, as presumably indicating what not only his real feelings but his true policy towards

Philistia must be, however differently it might suit his present purpose to bear himself (comp. 1 Samuel 29:3-

5). The danger which now threatened David must have been very great. In fact, to judge from Psalm 56:1, the

Philistine lords must have actually "taken" him, to bring him before Achish, with a view to his imprisonment,

if not his destruction. We are probably warranted in inferring that it was when thus led before the king, and

waiting in the court before being admitted to the audience, that he feigned madness by scribbling197 on the

doors of the gate, and letting his spittle fall upon his beard. The device proved successful. The Philistine

lords with true Oriental reverence for madness as a kind of spiritual possession, dared not harm him any

more; while Achish himself, however otherwise previously disposed (comp. 27:2, 3), would not have him in

his house, under the apprehension that he might "rave against"198 him, and in a fit of madness endanger his

And as Psalm 56 described the feelings of David in the hour of his great danger, so Psalm 34 expresses

those on his deliverance therefrom. Accordingly the two should be read in connection. Indeed the eight

Psalms which date from the time of the persecutions by Saul (59, 7, 56, 34, 57, 52, 142, 54199 ) are closely

connected, the servant of the Lord gradually rising to full and triumphant anticipation of deliverance.

They all express the same trustfulness in God, the same absolute committal to Him, and the same sense of

undeserved persecution. But what seems of such special interest, regarding, as we do, the history of David

in its typical aspect, is that in these Psalms David's view is always enlarging, so that in the judgment of his

enemies he beholds a type of that of the heathen who oppose the kingdom of God and its King (comp. for

example, Psalm 56:7; 7:9; 59:5); thus showing that David himself must have had some spiritual understanding

of the prophetic bearing of his history.

And now David was once more a fugitive - the twofold lesson which he might have learned being, that it

needed no subterfuges to ensure his safety, and that his calling for the present was within, not outside the

land of Israel. A comparatively short distance - about ten miles - from Gath runs "the valley of the

terebinth," the scene of David's great combat with Goliath. The low hills south of this valley are literally

burrowed by caves, some of them of very large dimensions. Here lay the ancient city of Adullam (Genesis

38:1; Joshua 12:15; 15:35, and many other passages), which has, with much probability, been identified with

the modern Aid el Mia (Adlem). In the largest of the caves close by, David sought a hiding-place. What his

feelings were either at that time, or later, in similar circumstances (1 Samuel 24), we learn from Psalm 57.