Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 18:16

"and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe;" — 1 Chronicles 18:16 (ASV)

Zadok, of the line of Eleazar (1 Chronicles 6:4–8). (Compare to 1 Chronicles 12:28; 1 Chronicles 16:39; 2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 15:24; 2 Samuel 19:11; 1 Kings 1:8; 1 Kings 4:4.)

Abimelech the son of Abiathar. —Read Ahimelech the son of Abiathar. Samuel has “Ahimelech the son of Abiathar.” Elsewhere, Zadok and Abiathar figure as the priests of David’s reign (compare to 2 Samuel 15:29; 2 Samuel 15:35). Since Abiathar was a son of the Ahimelech who was slain at Nob by Saul’s orders (1 Samuel 22:20), it has been proposed to read here and in the parallel passage, “Abiathar the son of Ahimelech.”

The correction, however, is far from certain, since an “Ahimelech son of Abiathar,” who was priest in David’s time, is mentioned three times in 1 Chronicles 24:3; 1 Chronicles 24:6; 1 Chronicles 24:31. This Ahimelech may have been acting as locum tenens for his father when this brief list was drawn up.

In the absence of details, it would be arbitrary to alter the text of four different passages of the Chronicles. In Samuel, the Syriac and Arabic read “Abiathar son of Ahimelech,” but here the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic all have “Ahimelech son of Abiathar.”

Abiathar was of the lineage of Ithamar.

Shavsha. —Besides the variants in the margin, 2 Samuel 20:25 has “Shĕva” (Hebrew margin, Shĕya). Seraiah (with which compare Israel) appears to be the original name. (Compare to Syriac and Arabic, “Sarîyâ.”)