1 Samuel 22:5

The prophet Gad. This sudden appearance of the prophet suggests Stahelin's question, How came he among such people? But, in the first place, David's followers were not all of the sort described in 1 Samuel 22:2 ; and, next, this must be regarded as a declaration of the prophetic order in his favour. As we have a summary of David's proceedings in 1 Samuel 22:4 , extending over some time, during which the massacre of the priests at Nob took place, we may well suppose that Saul had alienated from him the minds of all religious people, and that Gad, probably by Samuel's command, came to be David's counsellor. The advice he gives is most important—Abide not in the hold. I.e. do not remain in the land of Moab. Had David done so he probably would never have become king. By remaining in Judah, and protecting the people from the Philistines, which Saul could no longer do, David grew in reputation and power, and from the list of those who joined him at Ziklag ( 1 Chronicles 12:1-22 ) it is evident not only that such was the case, but that there was a strong enthusiasm for him throughout not merely Judah, but all Israel. In the happier times which followed Gad became David's seer ( 2 Samuel 24:11 ), was God's messenger to punish David for numbering the people ( ibid. 1 Samuel 22:13 ), and finally wrote a history of his life ( 1 Chronicles 29:29 ). As he thus survived David, he must have been a young man when he joined him, and possibly had been a companion of David in the prophetic schools at Naioth in Ramah. The forest of Hareth. Or, rather, Hereth. "This lay on the edge of the mountain chain (of Hebron), where Kharas now stands, surrounded by the thickets which properly represent the Hebrew yar, a word wrongly supposed to mean a woodland of timber trees" (Conder, 'Tent Work,' 2:88). Yar is translated forest here. Hereth was about three miles from Adullam (see on 1 Samuel 22:1 ).

MASSACRE OF THE PRIESTS AT NOB ( 1 Samuel 22:6-19 ).