1 Samuel 21
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 21
1 Then David departed on his way, while Jonathan went back into the city.
The Holy Bread. 2 David went to Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, who came trembling to meet him. He asked, “Why are you alone? Is there no one with you?”[a](A) 3 David answered the priest: “The king gave me a commission and told me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I have sent you or the commission I have given you.’ For that reason I have arranged a particular meeting place with my men. 4 (B)Now what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves, or whatever you can find.” 5 [b]But the priest replied to David, “I have no ordinary bread on hand, only holy bread; if the men have abstained from women, you may eat some of that.” 6 David answered the priest: “We have indeed stayed away from women. In the past whenever I went out on a campaign, all the young men were consecrated—even for an ordinary campaign. All the more so are they consecrated with their weapons today!” 7 So the priest gave him holy bread, for no other bread was on hand except the showbread which had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by fresh bread when it was taken away.(C) 8 One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord;[c] his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.(D)
The Sword of Goliath. 9 David then asked Ahimelech: “Do you have a spear or a sword on hand? I brought along neither my sword nor my weapons, because the king’s business was urgent.” 10 The priest replied: “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a garment behind an ephod.[d] If you wish to take it, do so; there is no sword here except that one.” “There is none like it,” David cried, “give it to me!”(E)
David a Fugitive. 11 That same day David fled from Saul, going to Achish, king of Gath.(F) 12 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Is it not for him that during their dances they sing out,
‘Saul has slain his thousands,
David his tens of thousands’?”(G)
13 David took note of these remarks and became very much afraid of Achish, king of Gath.[e] 14 So, he feigned insanity in front of them and acted like a madman in their custody, drumming on the doors of the gate and drooling onto his beard. 15 Finally Achish said to his servants: “You see the man is mad. Why did you bring him to me? 16 Do I not have enough madmen, that you bring this one to rant in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?”
Footnotes
- 21:2 Ahimelech realizes that he risks incurring Saul’s anger if David has come to Nob as a fugitive.
- 21:5–6 According to Lv 24:5–9, the showbread consisted of twelve loaves that were replaced each sabbath. Since the old bread was to be consumed by the priests, Ahimelech questions David regarding the ritual purity of his men (see 2 Sm 11:11). David’s answer supposes the discipline of a military campaign under the conditions of “holy war” (Dt 23:10–15).
- 21:8 Detained before the Lord: perhaps to fulfill a ritual obligation. David’s arrival at Nob seems to coincide with a festival day, since the showbread has recently been replaced with fresh bread. Shepherds: i.e., Saul’s palace guard. Cf. 22:9–10, where Doeg has easy access to Saul.
- 21:10 Ephod: here an object or image large enough to conceal Goliath’s sword. Cf. Gideon’s ephod in Jgs 8:27.
- 21:13 Gath: a Philistine city (see note on 5:1–12), the home of Goliath.
1 Samuel 21
Names of God Bible
David at Nob
21 [a]David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech was trembling as he went to meet David. “Why are you alone?” he asked David. “Why is no one with you?”
2 “The king ordered me to do something,” David answered the priest Ahimelech, “and he told me, ‘No one must know anything about this mission I’m sending you on and about the orders I’ve given you. I’ve stationed[b] my young men at a certain place.’” 3 David added, “Now, what do you have to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or whatever you can find.”
4 “I don’t have any ordinary bread,” the chief priest answered David. “But there is holy bread for the young men if they haven’t had sexual intercourse today.”
5 David answered the priest, “Of course women have been kept away from us as usual when we go on a mission. The young men’s bodies are kept holy even on ordinary campaigns. How much more then will their bodies be holy today?”
6 So the priest gave him holy bread because he only had the bread of the presence which had been taken from Yahweh’s presence and replaced with warm bread that day.
7 That same day one of Saul’s servants who was obligated to stay in Yahweh’s presence was there. His name was Doeg. A foreman for Saul’s shepherds, he was from Edom.
8 David asked Ahimelech, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I didn’t take either my spear or any other weapon because the king’s business was urgent.”
9 The chief priest answered, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Elah Valley, is here. It is wrapped in a cloth behind the priestly ephod.[c] If you want to take it, take it. There’s no other weapon here.”
David said, “There’s none like it. Let me have the sword.”
David at Gath
10 That day David left. He was still fleeing from Saul when he came to King Achish of Gath. 11 Achish’s officers asked, “Isn’t this David, the king of his country? He’s the one they used to sing about in the dances:
‘Saul has defeated thousands
but David tens of thousands.’”
12 When David realized what they had said, he was terrified of King Achish of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior when he was in their presence and acted insane as long as he was under their authority. He scribbled on the doors of the city gate and let his spit run down his beard.
14 Achish said to his officers, “Look at him! Don’t you see that he’s insane? Why bring him to me? 15 Do I have such a shortage of lunatics that you bring this man so that he can show me he is insane? Does this man have to come into my house?”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 21:1 1 Samuel 21:1–15 in English Bibles is 1 Samuel 21:2–16 in the Hebrew Bible.
- 1 Samuel 21:2 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek; Masoretic Text “I’ve informed.”
- 1 Samuel 21:9 Ephod is a technical term for a part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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