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1 Samuel 21

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David Flees to Nob and Deceives the Priest 1–9

1
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? ​
2
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place. ​
3
Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatsoever there is present.
4
And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. ​
5
And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy? ​
6
So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. ​
7
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul. ​
8
And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
9
And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the vale of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it; for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. ​

David Seeks Refuge in Gath 10–15

10
And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ​
11
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands? ​
12
And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
13
And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. ​
14
Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad; wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
15
Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 21

Verse 1

Ahimelech the priest — Nob is later called 'the city of the priests' (22:19), and Ahimelech is 'the son of Ahitub' (22:9). He was 'afraid' (charad, to tremble), as the elders of Bethlehem 'trembled' at Samuel's coming (16:4). His question, 'Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?', is answered in the next verse.

Verse 2

The king hath commanded me a business — The account David gives the priest does not match the narrative, which has him fleeing from Saul (19:10–12; 21:10). He later says of this day that he knew Doeg 'would surely tell Saul', and 'I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house' (22:22).

Verse 4

hallowed bread — Qodesh, set apart for the LORD, against chol, 'common'. The bread is the shewbread, which only the priests might eat (Lev 24:9). The condition that the young men 'have kept themselves… from women' recalls the preparation before Sinai, 'come not at your wives' (Ex 19:15).

Verse 5

women have been kept from us — Atsar, to hold back, the verb used of Doeg 'detained before the LORD' in v.7. David answers the condition of v.4 and counts 'these three days'. David adds that 'the vessels of the young men are holy', and that the bread is 'in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.'

Verse 6

the shewbread — Literally 'bread of the face' (lechem panim), the twelve cakes set 'in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD' (Lev 24:5–6), set in order every sabbath and 'most holy' to Aaron and his sons (24:8–9). Christ points to this event when he answers the charge about the sabbath (Matt 12:3–4).

Verse 7

Doeg, an Edomite — He is 'detained before the LORD' (atsar), the verb of v.5; the reason is not given. His name is next heard when he tells Saul of what he saw (22:9), and Psalm 52 is headed 'when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.'

Verse 9

The sword of Goliath — It was the sword David drew from its sheath to cut off the champion's head (17:51). It now lies 'wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod', the priest's garment of Ex 28:6. David had said in v.8 that he brought no sword, and he answers, 'There is none like that; give it me.'

Verse 10

went to Achish the king of Gath — Gath was Goliath's city (17:4). David is said to flee 'for fear of Saul'. Psalm 56 is headed 'when the Philistines took him in Gath', and Psalm 34 'when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech'. He comes to Achish again in 27:2, with six hundred men.

Verse 11

Is not this David the king of the land? — The servants of Achish quote the women's song of 18:7: 'Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.' The Philistine princes quote it again at 29:5. 'Sing' is anah, the verb for the women's answering in 18:7.

Verse 13

changed his behaviour — Ta'am is literally 'taste', so judgment or discretion; 'changed' is shanah. Psalm 34 is headed with the same words, 'when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away', and Achish's own response follows in vv.14–15: 'Lo, ye see the man is mad.'