1 Samuel 21:6

21:1-9 David, in distress, fled to the tabernacle of God. It is great comfort in a day of trouble, that we have a God to go to, to whom we may open our cases, and from whom we may ask and expect direction. David told Ahimelech a gross untruth. What shall we say to this? The Scripture does not conceal it, and we dare not justify it; it was ill done, and proved of bad consequence; for it occasioned the death of the priests of the Lord. David thought upon it afterward with regret. David had great faith and courage, yet both failed him; he fell thus foully through fear and cowardice, and owing to the weakness of his faith. Had he trusted God aright, he would not have used such a sorry, sinful shift for his own preservation. It is written, not for us to do the like, no, not in the greatest straits, but for our warning. David asked of Ahimelech bread and a sword. Ahimelech supposed they might eat the shew-bread. The Son of David taught from it, that mercy is to be preferred to sacrifice; that ritual observances must give way to moral duties. Doeg set his foot as far within the tabernacle as David did. We little know with what hearts people come to the house of God, nor what use they will make of pretended devotion. If many come in simplicity of heart to serve their God, others come to observe their teachers and to prove accusers. Only God and the event can distinguish between a David and a Doeg, when both are in the tabernacle.

So the priest gave him hallowed bread,.... Being satisfied with the account he gave of himself, and his young men, and of the lawfulness of it in case of necessity, acts of mercy being to be preferred to ritual services. Whether he gave him five loaves, as he desired, is not said; but the reason of his giving him such sort of bread is observed: for there was no bread there; in the tabernacle, whatever might be in the house of the priest: but the shewbread that was taken from before the Lord; from off of the shewbread table; and it seems to have been just taken off, it being sabbath day, and not as yet carried to the house of the priest, and divided among the other priests as usual; and which was then removed, to put hot bread, in the day that it was taken away; that is, new bread, twelve fresh cakes; for when the twelve, that had stood a week on the shewbread table were removed, twelve more were immediately put in their room, and it seems by this they were put hot there; but here arises a difficulty, how they could be put hot there, when it was not lawful to bake on a sabbath day.

About this the Jews are divided; some say they were baked on the sabbath day, but the greater part say that baking did not drive away the sabbath, or it was lawful on the sabbath day; but others say that they were baked on the evening of the sabbath, and kept in the oven until the time of their being set upon the table (h); and, as Abarbinel observes, the mouth of the oven might be stopped up till that time to keep in the heat; but others say (i) this heat was miraculous, or that a miracle was wrought for the sake of it; which is not probable. (h) T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 95. 2.((i) T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 2l. 1. Menachot, fol. 96. 2.

6 . the shewbread ] Lit. “the bread of the Presence” (Sept. ἄρτοι τοῦ προσώπου ), so called because it was solemnly placed as an offering in the Presence of Jehovah. The mention of it implies that the Tabernacle with its furniture was at Nob. The directions for making the Table of Shewbread are given in Exodus 25:23-30 ; and the form of the table, as it existed in Herod’s Temple, is preserved in the sculptures on the Arch of Titus at Rome. For the instructions concerning the bread itself, see Leviticus 24:5-9 . It was to be renewed every Sabbath, and the loaves then removed were to be eaten by the priests in the Holy Place. Our Lord refers to this as an instance of the great principle that where moral and ceremonial obligations come into conflict, it is the latter which must give way, because the rite is only the means and the moral duty the end. The high priest was bound to preserve David’s life, even at the expense of a ceremonial rule. See Matthew 12:3-4 ; Mark 2:25-26 ; Luke 6:3-5 . In St Mark the high priest is called Abiathar , perhaps by an accidental error; perhaps because he was associated with his father as Hophni and Phinehas were with Eli. from before the Lord ] From the table on which they had lain in the Presence of Jehovah in the Tabernacle. It seems probable that the shewbread had just been renewed and consequently that the day was the Sabbath; otherwise there would have been no difficulty in preparing ordinary bread for David’s use. 1 Samuel 21:6

22 . they inquired of the Lord further ] The technical phrase for ascertaining God’s will by means of the Urim and Thummim in the breastplate upon the High-priest’s Ephod ( Exodus 28:30 ; Numbers 27:21 ). See on 1 Samuel 28:6 , and cp. ch. 1 Samuel 14:3 , 1 Samuel 22:10 , 1 Samuel 23:9 , 1 Samuel 30:7 . the stuff ] The baggage of the people who had come to Mizpah from a distance. Compare “Therefore away to get our stuff aboard.” Shakespeare, Com. of Errors , IV. 4.

The vessels of the young men ... - i. e., their clothes Deuteronomy 22:5 or wallets (marginal reference), or other articles which might be Levitically unclean and need cleansing ( Leviticus 13:58 ; Exodus 19:10 , etc.; Mark 7:4 ), as well as the person. And the bread ... - The meaning is; "Though it is treating it like common bread to give it to me and my young men, there is fresh showbread baked and put on the table in place of what you give us;" the day being Friday. as is indicated in the verse following.

Nob was a city of the priests, the high priest resided there, and the tabernacle was pitched there 1 Samuel 21:4 , 1 Samuel 21:6 , 1 Samuel 21:9 ; 1 Samuel 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 the site has not been identified with certainty.

There was no bread there, to wit, in the tabernacle, where David and the priest now were. In the day when it was taken away, which was done upon the sabbath day, Leviticus 24:8 ; for though they might not then kindle a fire to heat the bread in, yet they might and did keep it hot in an oven that had been heated before the sabbath.

The priest then gave him (what was) holy, namely the shew-loaves "that were taken from before Jehovah," i.e., from the holy table, upon which they had lain before Jehovah for seven days (vid., Leviticus 24:6-9 ). - In 1 Samuel 21:7 there is a parenthetical remark introduced, which was of great importance in relation to the consequences of this occurrence. There at the sanctuary there was a man of Saul's servants, נעצר, i.e., "kept back (shut off) before Jehovah:" i.e., at the sanctuary of the tabernacle, either for the sake of purification or as a proselyte, who wished to be received into the religious communion of Israel, or because of supposed leprosy, according to Leviticus 13:4 . His name was Doeg the Edomite, הרעים אבּיר, "the strong one (i.e., the overseer) of the herdsmen of Saul." (Note: The Septuagint translators have rendered these words νέμων τὰς ἡμιόνους, "feeding the mules of Saul;" and accordingly in 1 Samuel 22:9 also they have changed Saul's servants into mules, in accordance with which Thenius makes Doeg the upper herdsman of Saul.

But it is very evident that the text of the lxx is nothing more than a subjective interpretation of the expression before us, and does not presuppose any other text, from the simple fact that all the other ancient versions are founded upon the Hebrew text both here and in 1 Samuel 22:9, including even the Vulgate (potentissimus pastorum); and the clause contained in some of the MSS of the Vulgate (his pascebat mulas Saul) is nothing more than a gloss that has crept in from the Itala; and this is still more obvious in 1 Samuel 22:9, where נצּב והוּא is applicable enough to עבדי, but is altogether unsuitable in connection with פרדי, since נצּב is no more applied in Hebrew to herdsmen or keepers of animals, than we should think of speaking of presidents of asses, horses, etc. Moreover, it is not till the reign of David that we read of mules being used as riding animals by royal princes (2 Samuel 13:29; 2 Samuel 18:9); and they are mentioned for the first time as beasts of burden, along with asses, camels, and oxen, in 1 Chronicles 12:40, where they are said to have been employed by the northern tribes to carry provisions to Hebron to the festival held at the recognition of David as king. Before David's time the sons of princes rode upon asses (vid., Judges 10:4; Judges 12:14).)