the cave Adullam. Adullam was a town southeast of Gath and southwest of Jerusalem.

My father and my mother. David's father Jesse was a descendant of the Moabitess Ruth, and perhaps had family and friends in Moab.

king of Moab. Although Moab was a traditional enemy of Israel, David had family ties there through his Moabite great-grandmother Ruth (Ruth 4:21, 22). Because of Saul's campaign against David, David's own family was in jeopardy, and he felt they would be safer out of the country.

in the hold. The “hold” was the stronghold in the cave of Adullam. Psalm 57 was written while David was in the cave. It was also during this time that three of his mighty men undertook to bring him water from the well at Bethlehem (1 Chronicles 11:15-19).

Gad. Gad the prophet was apparently later chosen by David from the “school of the prophets” to be his personal seer (1 Chronicles 21:9).

land of Judah. It was not fitting that the future king of Judah should distrust God's ability to keep him safe in his own land.

Abiathar. Abiathar had apparently been with his father Ahimelech when David and his men received the showbread from them (note Mark 2:26). Abiathar became David's priest, but was later deposed by Solomon (1 Kings 2:27), for he was destined to be the last priest in the line of Eli.

slain the Lord's priests. Saul continues to compound his sin, begun so innocuously by acting as a priest (1 Samuel 13:9), by now murdering an entire city of priests (1 Samuel 22:19). Abiathar was, however, destined to be the last priest in the line of Eli (1 Kings 2:27).

Doeg the Edomite. When Saul's men refused to carry out his unwarranted command to slay all the Lord's priests in Nob, an Edomite unbeliever, caring nothing about the true religion centered in Israel, volunteered to carry out this wicked deed. Not only the priests, but the whole population of the town was executed by this man Doeg. He could hardly have done all this single-handedly, and the account does not say what forces he was able to recruit. He had, for some unknown reason, been “set over the servants of Saul” (1 Samuel 22:9) and even though most of these servants would not comply in this act (1 Samuel 22:17), there were apparently enough who would (perhaps he even had Edomites or other pagans who hated David and David's God in his entourage). Psalm 52 (superscript) was written by David about Doeg's treachery.