1 Samuel 21
21
David Takes Consecrated Bread
1Then David went to #The city of the priests was located on Mt. Scopus about a mile northeast of Jerusalem.Nob to #Ahimelech was also known as Ahijah.Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling [in fear] to meet David and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commissioned me with a matter and has told me, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you and with which I have commissioned you. I have directed the young men to a certain place.’ 3Now what [food] do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” 4The priest answered David, “There is no ordinary (unconsecrated) bread on hand, but there is #I.e. the bread of the Presence (showbread) was an offering dedicated to God and was to be eaten only by the priests. The ancient rabbis maintained that any law may be superseded to save life, and that David’s life was in danger from hunger.consecrated bread; [you may have it] if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5David answered the priest, “Be assured that #I.e. intimate contact with women.women have been kept from us in these three days since I set out, and the #Lit vessels, a euphemism for the human body.bodies of the young men were consecrated (ceremonially clean), although it was an ordinary (unconsecrated) journey; so how much more will their vessels be holy today?” 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the #Lit Face.Presence which was removed from before the Lord in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.
7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.
8David said to Ahimelech, “Do you not have a sword or spear here on hand? For I brought neither my sword nor my [other] weapons with me, because the king’s business was urgent.” 9Then the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you would take it for yourself, do so. For there is no other here except for it.” And David said, “There is none like that; give it to me.”
10Then David arose and fled from Saul that day, and went to Achish king of #This was a dangerous place to go since it was not only one of the Philistine’s five major cities, but also the former home of Goliath.Gath. 11The servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing in praise of this one as they danced, saying,
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”
12David took these words to heart and was greatly afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So [fearing for his life] he changed his behavior in their sight, and acted insanely in their hands, and he scribbled on the doors of the gate, and drooled on his beard. 14Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see that the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15Do I lack madmen, that you bring this one to behave like a madman in my presence? Shall this one come into my house?”
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1 Samuel 21
21
David Goes to See Ahimelech the Priest
1Then David left and Jonathan went back to the town. David went to the town named Nob#21:1 Nob A city near Ramah where many priests lived. See 1 Sam. 22:19. to see Ahimelech the priest.
Ahimelech went out to meet David. He was afraid of David and asked, “Why are you alone? Why isn’t anyone with you?”
2David answered him, “The king gave me a special order. He told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know about this mission. No one must know what I told you to do.’ I told my men where to meet me. 3Now, what food do you have with you? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever you have to eat.”
4The priest said to David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread here, but I do have some of the holy bread. Your officers can eat it if they have not had sexual relations with any women.”#21:4 Your officers … women This would make the men unclean and not able to eat any food that had been made holy by offering it to God. See Lev. 7:21; 15:1-33.
5David answered the priest, “We have not been with any women. My men keep their bodies#21:5 bodies Literally, “vessels” or “weapons.” holy every time we go out to fight, even on ordinary missions.#21:5 My men … missions See 2 Sam. 11:11 and the rules in Deut. 23:9-14. And this is especially true today.”
6There was no bread except the holy bread, so the priest gave David this bread. This was the bread that the priests put on the holy table before the Lord. Each day they took this bread away and put fresh bread in its place.
7One of Saul’s officers was there that day. He was Doeg the Edomite, the leader of Saul’s shepherds.#21:7 shepherds Or “messengers.” He had been kept there before the Lord.#21:7 kept there before the Lord This might mean that Doeg was there as part of a special promise to God or some other religious reason. Or it might mean he was being held there because of some crime, such as accidentally killing a man.
8David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword here? The king’s business is very important. I had to leave quickly, and I didn’t bring my sword or any other weapon.”
9The priest answered, “The only sword here is the sword of Goliath the Philistine. It is the sword you took from him when you killed him in the Valley of Elah. That sword is behind the ephod, wrapped in a cloth. You may take it if you want to.”
David said, “Goliath’s sword—there’s not another one like it. Give it to me.”
David Runs Away to the Enemy at Gath
10That day David ran away from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. 11Achish’s officers said, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land of Israel? He is the one the Israelites sing about. They dance and sing this song about him:
“Saul has killed thousands of enemies,
but David has killed tens of thousands.”
12David paid close attention to what they said. He was afraid of King Achish of Gath, 13so he pretended to be crazy in front of Achish and his officers. While David was with them, he acted like a crazy man. He spat on the doors of the gate. He let spit fall down his beard.
14Achish said to his officers, “Look at the man! He is crazy. Why did you bring him to me? 15I have enough crazy men. I don’t need you to bring this man to my house to act crazy in front of me. Don’t let this man come into my house again.”
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