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1 Samuel 21

ARC · Chapter 21/31

1Então veiu David a Nob, ao sacerdote Achimelech; e Achimelech, tremendo, saiu ao encontro de David, e disse-lhe: Porque vens só, e ninguem comtigo?

2E disse David ao sacerdote Achimelech: O rei me encommendou um negocio, e me disse: Ninguem saiba d'este negocio, pelo qual eu te enviei, e o qual te ordenei: quanto aos mancebos, apontei-lhes tal e tal logar.

3Agora, pois, que tens á mão? dá-me cinco pães na minha mão, ou o que se achar.

4E, respondendo o sacerdote a David, disse: Não tenho pão commum á mão; ha porém pão sagrado, se ao menos os mancebos se abstiveram das mulheres.

5E respondeu David ao sacerdote, e lhe disse: Sim, em boa fé, as mulheres se nos vedaram desde hontem: e ante hontem, quando eu sahi, os vasos dos mancebos tambem eram sanctos: e em alguma maneira é pão commum, quanto mais que hoje se sanctificará outro nos vasos.

6Então o sacerdote lhe deu o pão sagrado, porquanto não havia ali outro pão senão os pães da proposição, que se tiraram de diante do Senhor para se pôr ali pão quente no dia em que aquelle se tirasse.

7Estava, porém, ali n'aquelle dia um dos creados de Saul, detido perante o Senhor, e era seu nome Doeg, idumeo, o mais poderoso dos pastores de Saul.

8E disse David a Achimelech: Não tens aqui á mão lança ou espada alguma? porque não trouxe á mão nem a minha espada nem as minhas armas, porque o negocio do rei era apressado.

9E disse o sacerdote: A espada de Goliath, o philisteo, a quem tu feriste no valle do carvalho, eis que aquella aqui está envolta n'um panno detraz do ephod: se tu a queres tomar, toma-a, porque nenhuma outra ha aqui, senão aquella. E disse David: Não ha outra similhante; dá-m'a.

10E David levantou-se, e fugiu aquelle dia de diante de Saul, e veiu a Achis, rei de Gath.

11Porém os creados de Achis lhe disseram: Não é este David, o rei da terra? não se cantava d'este nas danças, dizendo: Saul feriu os seus milhares, porém David os seus dez milhares?

12E David considerou estas palavras no seu animo, e temeu muito diante d'Achis, rei de Gath.

13Pelo que se contrafez diante dos olhos d'elles, e fez-se como doido entre as suas mãos, e esgravatava nas portas do portal, e deixava correr a saliva pela barba.

14Então disse Achis aos seus creados: Eis que bem vêdes que este homem está louco; porque m'o trouxestes a mim?

15Faltam-me a mim doidos, para que trouxesseis a este que fizesse doidices diante de mim? ha de este entrar na minha casa?

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Fleeing from Saul, David receives holy bread and Goliath's sword from the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Seeking refuge among the Philistines at Gath, David feigns madness to escape King Achish with his life.

Explanation

Ahimelech's decision to give David the shewbread, normally reserved exclusively for priests, shows how genuine human need could, under exceptional circumstances, take precedence over rigid ceremonial rules — a principle Jesus himself would cite centuries later in Matthew 12:3-4 in defending his disciples. The silent but ominous presence of Doeg the Edomite, witnessing this encounter, sets the stage for the tragedy that would follow in chapter 22. David's desperate strategy of feigning madness before the Philistine king Achish, even though he was the very man who had killed Goliath (which Achish's servants recognize and remark upon), shows how fear can drive even a courageous hero to resort to humiliating survival tactics.

Fun facts

  • Psalm 34 bears in its title the attribution of having been written by David 'when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech' (another name or title for Achish), reflecting poetically on this episode of feigning madness to escape with his life.
  • Doeg the Edomite, briefly mentioned here as a silent witness, would become the instrument of the tragedy recounted in the following chapter, showing how a seemingly minor detail sets up a much greater turning point in the narrative.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 21:1Ahimelech is immediately puzzled by David’s solitary arrival, with no escort — a detail that already sounds suspicious to the priest even before any explanation.
  2. 1 Samuel 21:2David invents a secret mission ordered by the king to explain his arrival without an escort — the first of several lies he will tell during his flight, with tragic consequences later on.
  3. 1 Samuel 21:3Asking for food urgently reinforces David’s story of carrying out a rushed mission, with no time to properly prepare before leaving.
  4. 1 Samuel 21:4The “hallowed bread” was the bread of the Presence, normally reserved only for the priests — Ahimelech attaches a condition of ritual purity before granting this exception.
  5. 1 Samuel 21:5David claims his men, who in fact do not exist since he is alone, have kept themselves ritually pure — one more piece of the lie built to justify the unusual situation.
  6. 1 Samuel 21:6The bread of the Presence stayed continually on display before the LORD in the sanctuary, and only priests could eat it once it was replaced with fresh loaves — Ahimelech makes an exception for the hungry David, as long as his men were in a state of ritual purity, with no recent sexual relations.
  7. 1 Samuel 21:7Doeg’s presence at this moment, mentioned almost in passing, is the detail that will cost dearly: he will report everything he saw to Saul, setting off the massacre in the next chapter.
  8. 1 Samuel 21:8David keeps the same story of the urgent mission to explain why he arrived without even a weapon — another detail of the fabricated tale meant to justify his unusual situation.
  9. 1 Samuel 21:9Keeping Goliath’s sword at the sanctuary as a memorial trophy explains why it was available there — a symbolic object David immediately recognizes as his best option.
  10. 1 Samuel 21:10Ironically, David seeks refuge in the very hometown of Goliath, the enemy he had killed — a risky choice that nearly costs him his life in the next verse.
  11. 1 Samuel 21:11The same song that provoked Saul’s jealousy in chapter 18 now follows David even into enemy territory — his fame as a warrior makes him recognizable and endangered wherever he goes.
  12. 1 Samuel 21:12Realizing he was already recognized as Goliath’s killer among the Philistines themselves puts David in immediate danger — he needs to act fast so as not to be identified as a threat.
  13. 1 Samuel 21:13Feigning madness — drooling on his beard, scratching at the gates — was David’s only way out to escape the Philistine court alive: a madman posed no political threat and was not worth capturing.
  14. 1 Samuel 21:14Achish’s reaction confirms David’s strategy worked: he would rather get rid of a supposed madman than risk dealing with a dangerous enemy in disguise.
  15. 1 Samuel 21:15Achish’s irritated tone, treating the episode as a mere nuisance, shows how completely David’s performance managed to hide his true, dangerous identity.

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