Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Samuel 22:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Places the parents with Moab's king while David remains in the hold.
Parents are placed with the king of Moab while David waits in a hold
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5
The line at 1 Samuel 22:4 places the parents with Moab's king while David remains in the hold. Its place in 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5 matters because David secures refuge for his parents with Moab's king, waits in a stronghold, then obeys Gad's instruction to enter Judah.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit “David protects his parents and follows Gad's direction” needs this line's precise work: it places the parents with Moab's king while David remains in the hold. The verse remains one part of the scene rather than its complete claim.
What Remains True
Places the parents with Moab's king while David remains in the hold. Within 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5, this contribution supports the unit's enduring claim: Faithful reading of “David protects his parents and follows Gad's direction” keeps truth, power, and human cost together. Family protection does not authorize controlling relatives, and prophetic direction does not erase the risks David's movements impose on others.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5 — David protects his parents and follows Gad's directionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: 1 Samuel 22:3–22:5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 22:3–22:5; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: 1 Samuel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 22:3–22:5
Open source ↗