1 Samuel 21: David at Nob gets holy bread and Goliath's sword, then acts insane at Gath
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What happens?
David comes to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest, who trembles to meet him and asks why he is alone. David says the king has sent him on secret business, and asks for bread and a weapon. The priest has only holy bread, the bread of the presence, and gives it to him once David says his young men have kept away from women. He also gives him the sword of Goliath, kept behind the ephod. Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, is there that day. David flees to Achish king of Gath, but when Achish's servants call him the king of the land, David is afraid and acts like a madman, and Achish asks why they have brought him a madman.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. No verse is in gold: God speaks no words in this chapter. Ahimelech the priest and David speak together in verses 1 to 5 and 8 to 9; in verse 2 David gives what he says are the king's words. The servants of Achish speak in verse 11, and Achish answers them in verses 14 and 15. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no man with you?”
In plain English: Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, with no one (literally: no man) with you?"
Good to know: Ahimelech is "the son of Ahitub" (, ). names a priest "Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli", wearing an ephod. The text does not say how Ahimelech and Ahijah are related. "Trembling" is from charad, which the dictionary gives as "to shudder with terror; hence, to fear; also to hasten (with anxiety)"; the text does not say why he trembled.
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2David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has commanded me to do something, and has said to me, ‘Let no one know anything about the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you. I have sent the young men to a certain place.’
In plain English: David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has given me an order (literally: has commanded me a matter), and has said to me, 'Let no one know anything about the business I am sending you on, or what I have commanded you. I have sent the young men to a certain place.' (Or: the last sentence is David's own words, not the king's.)
The Hebrew words: "A certain place" is peloni almoni, "so and so", the words explained in the note on . The Hebrew has no quotation marks, so the last words, "I have sent the young men to a certain place", can be read as David's own words or, as this Bible prints them, as part of the king's message.
Good to know: The text does not say whether the king had given David any order. In chapter 20 Jonathan learns that his father is determined to put David to death (), and David goes away ().
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3Now therefore what is under your hand? Please give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever is available.”
In plain English: Now then, what do you have on hand (literally: under your hand)? Please put five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found."
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4The priest answered David, and said, “I have no common bread, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.”
In plain English: The priest answered David, "I have no ordinary (this Bible: common) bread on hand, but there is holy bread, if only the young men have kept themselves away from women."
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5David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us as usual these three days. When I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was only a common journey. How much more then today shall their vessels be holy?”
In plain English: David answered the priest, "Truly, women have been kept from us, as before (this Bible: as usual), these three days. When I set out, the young men's vessels (or: gear) were holy, even though it was an ordinary journey. How much more will their vessels be holy today?"
The Hebrew word: "Vessels" is keli, which the dictionary gives as "something prepared, i.e. any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon)". In verse 8 the same word is "my weapons".
What changes: Read as "vessels" or "gear", David says the young men's things were kept holy. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) speaks of the men themselves: "all the young men were purified".
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6So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the show bread that was taken from before Yahweh, to be replaced with hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
In plain English: So the priest gave him holy bread, because there was no bread there except the bread of the presence (this Bible: show bread), which had been taken from before Yahweh, to be replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.
The Hebrew words: "Show bread" is lechem ha-panim, "the bread of the presence", explained in the note on . The law says this bread "shall be for Aaron and his sons. They shall eat it in a holy place" ().
Good to know: Jesus speaks of this day in and , and , and . In Mark 2:26 he says David "ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests", and that this was "at the time of Abiathar the high priest". Here the priest is Ahimelech, and says Abiathar was his son. Readers explain the two names in different ways.
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7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.
In plain English: Now one of Saul's servants was there that day, held back (this Bible: detained) before Yahweh. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief (literally: the mighty one) of Saul's herdsmen (or: shepherds).
The Hebrew words: "Detained" is from atsar, which the dictionary gives as "to inclose; by analogy, to hold back". The text does not say why Doeg was held there "before Yahweh". "The best of the herdsmen" is word for word "the mighty one of the shepherds". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "Doec the Syrian, tending the mules of Saul". Doeg comes back in .
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8David said to Ahimelech, “Isn’t there here under your hand spear or sword? For I haven’t brought my sword or my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.”
In plain English: David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not a spear or a sword here on hand? I have not brought my sword or my weapons with me, because the king's business was urgent (this Bible: required haste)."
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9The priest said, “Behold, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you would like to take that, take it, for there is no other except that here.” David said, “There is none like that. Give it to me.”
In plain English: The priest said, "Look, the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed (literally: struck down) in the Valley of Elah, is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it, take it, because there is no other here but that one." David said, "There is none like it. Give it to me."
Good to know: David had taken Goliath's sword when he killed him (). The text does not say how it came to Nob. "The ephod" here is something a sword can be kept behind; on the two ways the word is read, a garment or an object, see the note on .
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10David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
In plain English: That day David got up and fled for fear of Saul (literally: from before Saul), and went to Achish the king of Gath.
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11The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David the king of the land? Didn’t they sing to one another about him in dances, saying, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”
In plain English: The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Is he not the one they sang about to one another in their dances, saying, 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"
Good to know: The women's song is in . "The king of the land" is what the servants of Achish call David; the text does not say what they meant by it.
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12David laid up these words in his heart, and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
In plain English: David took these words to heart (this Bible: laid up these words in his heart), and was very afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
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13He changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down on his beard.
In plain English: So he changed his behavior (literally: his sense) in front of them and acted as if he were insane in their hands. He scratched marks (this Bible: scribbled) on the doors of the gate, and let his spit run down onto his beard.
The Hebrew words: "Scribbled" is from tavah, which the dictionary gives as "to mark out, i.e. (primitive) scratch or (definite) imprint". It is in only 2 verses: here and , where this Bible says "set a mark". "Pretended to be insane" is from halal, which the dictionary gives with the meanings "to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "drummed upon the doors of the city".
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14Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why then have you brought him to me?
In plain English: Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you can see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?
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15Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?”
In plain English: Am I short of madmen, that you have brought this man to act like a madman in front of me? Should this man come into my house?"
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