1 Samuel 22:6-23

Saul Kills the Priests at Nob

6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under ¹the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.

7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, "Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse ²give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds,

8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me ³when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you ⁴is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, ⁵to lie in wait, as at this day."

9 Then answered ⁶Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, "I saw the son of Jesse ⁷coming to Nob, to ⁸Ahimelech the son of Ahitub,

10 ⁹and he inquired of the LORD for him and ¹⁰gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king.

12 And Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub." And he answered, "Here I am, my lord."

13 And Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and ¹¹have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, ¹²to lie in wait, as at this day?"

14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, "And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over^[a] your bodyguard, and honored in your house?

15 Is today the first time ¹³that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, ¹⁴much or little."

16 And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house."

17 And the king said to ¹⁵the guard who stood about him, "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me." But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

18 Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn and strike the priests." And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, ¹⁶and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.

19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; ¹⁷both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named ¹⁸Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

22 And David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, ¹⁹when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house.

23 ²⁰Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping."

1 Samuel 22:6-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 22

This chapter gives us an account of the flight of David from place to place, from Gath to the cave of Adullam, where his relations came to him; from thence to Mizpeh in Moab, where he got leave of the king of Moab for his father and mother to dwell there; and from thence, by the advice of Gad the prophet, departed into the land of Judah, and came to the forest of Hareth, 1Sa 21:1-5; and of the complaint of Saul to his servants of their unfaithfulness to him, and indolence and unconcern at the behaviour of Jonathan and David to him, 1Sa 22:6-8; when Doeg the Edomite informed him of David being seen by him at Nob, and of his receiving food and a sword from Ahimelech the priest, who inquired of the Lord for him, 1Sa 22:9,10; upon which Saul sent for Ahimelech and all the priests at Nob, and charged them with a conspiracy against him; and notwithstanding the defence the priest made, Saul ordered him and the rest of the priests to be slain by his guards; which they refusing, Doeg became the executioner of them, and of all the inhabitants of the city of Nob, and the cattle in it, 1Sa 22:11-19; only Abiathar a son of Ahimelech escaped and fled to David with the sorrowful news; which greatly affected David, looking upon himself to be the occasion of this sad disaster, and he took Abiathar under his protection, and promised him safety, 1Sa 22:20-23.

Cross References

• 1. [1 Samuel 31:13; Genesis 21:33]
• 2. [1 Samuel 8:14]
• 3. 1 Samuel 18:3
• 4. [1 Samuel 23:21]
• 5. ver. 13
• 6. 1 Samuel 21:7; See Psalms 52
• 7. 1 Samuel 21:1
• 8. [1 Samuel 14:3]
• 9. 1 Samuel 23:2, 4; 1 Samuel 30:8; 2 Samuel 5:19, 23; [Numbers 27:21]
• 10. 1 Samuel 21:6, 9
• 11. [See ver. 10 above]
• 12. ver. 8
• 13. [See ver. 10 above]
• 14. 1 Samuel 25:36
• 15. [2 Kings 10:25; 2 Kings 11:4, 6; 2 Chronicles 12:10]
• 16. [1 Samuel 2:31]
• 17. [1 Samuel 15:3]
• 18. 1 Samuel 23:6, 9
• 19. 1 Samuel 21:7
• 20. [1 Kings 2:26]

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew and has turned aside to