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1 Samuel 21:1-6

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

1. Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, 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 any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed [my] servants to such and such a place. 3. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give [me] five [loaves of] bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4. And the priest answered David, and said, [There is] no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least 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, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and [the bread is] in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6. So the priest gave him hallowed [bread]: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

1 Samuel 21:1-6 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on 1 Samuel 21:1

Theological / Devotional

Nob. This is the first reference in the Scriptures to this site. It is mentioned only six times in the entire OT, four of these occurring in chapters 21 and 22. In none of these is any definite relationship to other well-known sites given. However, in Nehemiah 11:32, Nob is mentioned immediately after Anathoth, a town about 2 1/2 miles northeast of the Temple area in Jerusalem. In Isaiah’s vision of the Assyrian host approaching Jerusalem from the north, Nob is mentioned as being between Anathoth and Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:30-32). But in that vision two other towns are mentioned between Anathoth and Nob. The Assyrian is seen to shake his hand against Mt. Zion when he reaches Nob. The main road to Shechem passes from Jerusalem north over Mt. Scopus, whence the last view of the city is to be had. To the right of this road near the top of Mt. Scopus is a plateau that some think could well be the site of Nob. This position would be not quite halfway from Jerusalem to Anathoth. Others think that Nob was on the Mt. of Olives. It was to Nob that the tabernacle had been removed from Shiloh after the ark had been taken by the Philistines. As yet the ark was still in the house of Abinadab in Kirjath-jearim. David later removed the ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:2, 3). Because the ark was not in the tabernacle at this time, the services were probably conducted in much the same way as in Christ’s day when the most holy place of the Temple was empty.

Ahimelech. See on 2 Samuel 8:17.

The priest. Evidently the high priest, in charge of the sanctuary. The presence of the shewbread (see verse 6) shows that the tabernacle was now at Nob (see PP 656).

Was afraid. Literally, “trembled.” Anxiety and fear were on David’s face. Ahimelech knew that something was radically wrong. David’s whole attitude was so different from what it had been previously that Ahimelech was perplexed to know what move to make.

By SdaBc