1 Samuel 21:2

2 et ait David ad Ahimelech sacerdotem rex praecepit mihi sermonem et dixit nemo sciat rem propter quam a me missus es et cuiusmodi tibi praecepta dederim nam et pueris condixi in illum et illum locum

1 Samuel 21:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 21:2

And David said unto Ahimelech the priest
In reply to his question, and to account for such an appearance he made without an equipage:

the king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, let no
man know anything of the business thereabout I send thee, and what I
have commanded thee;
he pretended he was upon a secret expedition, by the order of Saul, which none were to know of, no, not his own servants, and that was the reason why he came to him alone; which was a downright lie, and was aggravated by its being told only for the sake of getting a little food; and especially told to an high priest, and at the tabernacle of God, and when he was come to inquire of the Lord there; and was attended with a dreadful consequence, the slaughter of the Lord's priests there, which afterwards lay heavy on David's mind, ( 1 Samuel 22:22 ) ; and is the very sin he is thought to refer to in ( Psalms 119:28 Psalms 119:29 ) . This shows the weakness of the best of men, when left to themselves; David who as much hated lying as any man did, fell into it himself:

and I have appointed [my] servants to such and such a place;
to such a place, of such an one, not naming place nor person, that they might not be known; so the Targum calls it a place hidden and kept; and that David had some servants, though not now with him, who ate of the shewbread, appears from ( Matthew 12:3 ) ; whom Jonathan might send after him, to a place agreed on and appointed between them; so that this might be true.

1 Samuel 21:2 In-Context

1 venit autem David in Nobe ad Ahimelech sacerdotem et obstipuit Ahimelech eo quod venisset David et dixit ei quare tu solus et nullus est tecum

2 et ait David ad Ahimelech sacerdotem rex praecepit mihi sermonem et dixit nemo sciat rem propter quam a me missus es et cuiusmodi tibi praecepta dederim nam et pueris condixi in illum et illum locum

3 nunc igitur si quid habes ad manum vel quinque panes da mihi aut quicquid inveneris

4 et respondens sacerdos David ait ei non habeo panes laicos ad manum sed tantum panem sanctum si mundi sunt pueri maxime a mulieribus

5 et respondit David sacerdoti et dixit ei equidem si de mulieribus agitur continuimus nos ab heri et nudius tertius quando egrediebamur et fuerunt vasa puerorum sancta porro via haec polluta est sed et ipsa hodie sanctificabitur in vasis