Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 21
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Samuel 21
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Samuel 21
"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?" — 1 Samuel 21:1 (ASV)
Nob was a city of the priests; the high priest resided there, and the tabernacle was pitched there (1 Samuel 21:4, 6, 9; 22:10). It was situated on the road from the north to Jerusalem, near Anathoth, and within sight of the holy city (Isaiah 10:32; Nehemiah 11:32). But its site has not been identified with certainty.
"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." — 1 Samuel 21:2 (ASV)
A further instance of David’s unscrupulous inventiveness (Compare to 1 Samuel 20:6).
"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." — 1 Samuel 21:4 (ASV)
Common—as opposed to holy. (See the marginal references and compare the use of the word in Acts 10:14–15 and Acts 10:28.) This gives an idea of the depressed and poor condition of the priesthood at that time, since Ahimelech had no bread at hand except the showbread.
"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?" — 1 Samuel 21:5 (ASV)
The vessels of the young men... This refers to their clothes (Deuteronomy 22:5), wallets, or other articles that could be Levitically unclean and require cleansing (Leviticus 13:58; Exodus 19:10; Mark 7:4), in addition to the person themselves.
And the bread... The meaning is that although giving the bread to David and his men would treat it like common bread, fresh showbread had already been baked and put on the table to replace it. This indicates that the day was Friday, as the following verse suggests.
"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." — 1 Samuel 21:7 (ASV)
Detained before the Lord
- To fulfill a vow (Acts 21:23–27).
- On account of uncleanness.
- Under the law for lepers (Leviticus 13:4, 11, 21).
- As a proselyte.
It is not impossible that Doeg may have been in custody or in a sanctuary for some crime.
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