✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

1 Samuel 21

KJV · Chapter 21/31

1Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

2And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.

3Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.

4And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.

5And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.

6So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

8And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.

9And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

10And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

12And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

14Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?

15Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

📖 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.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play