Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 22:3

"And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, [and be] with you, till I know what God will do for me." — 1 Samuel 22:3 (ASV)

Mizpeh.—This particular Mizpeh is mentioned nowhere else. The word means a watch tower; it was probably some mountain fortress in Moab. It has been suggested that it was the same as Zophim, a word of the same root as Mizpeh . David evidently sought hospitality among his kin in Moab. Jesse, his father, was the grandson of Ruth the Moabitess. The distance from the south of Judah where the fugitives were wandering was not great.

Till I know what God will do for me.—This memory of David’s words to the King of Moab shows that the old trust and love, which in his first moments of care and sorrow had failed him, had returned to the son of Jesse. It is interesting to note that David, when addressing the Moabite sovereign, speaks of “God” (Elohim), not of Jehovah.

This was probably out of deep reverence; an idolater had nothing to do with the awe-inspiring name by which the Eternal was known to His covenant people—a Name whose pronunciation, as originally uttered, has now passed from the earth. We read the mystic four letters, but no one, Jew or Gentile, can pronounce the Name of Names. The “Name,” however, was not unknown in Moab, for the mystic letters that compose it occur in the inscription of Mesha, dating about 150 years from the days of David’s exile.