Summary: David travels to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest (v.1), and he asks for food (v.3). David gets a weapon off of Ahimelech, telling him that he’s on official kingly business for Saul (v.8). Remember, this all happened before cell phones; one phone call to Saul could’ve ruined David’s entire rouse! David took Goliath’s sword and brought it to Gath (v.11). He pretended to be crazy so that the men there wouldn’t kill him (v.13).
David cannot go home to his wife, his home, or his job.
He goes to the Tabernacle. He flees to God.
Shew bread is in Leviticus 24.
David was trying to use his ingenuity—not trusting God.
(21:1) Ahimelech was “trembling” when he meets David—probably because David’s reputation preceded him.
(21:2) David lies to Ahimelech. One way of understanding this is that David was lying in order to save a life (a case of “Prioritized Ethics”). Another way to understand this passage is to understand David as slyly calling God the “king” who had commissioned him.[] Note that David doesn’t mention Saul by name—only an anonymous “king.”
David had a cadre of mighty men that were loyal to him, and he was their “captain” or “leader” (1 Sam. 22:2).
(21:3) Only five loaves was a meager amount. David wanted the bare necessity to keep his men going.
(21:4-5) The priest is likely referencing passages like Exodus 19:14-15 or Leviticus 15:18. An example for this can be found in Uriah, who refused to sleep with Bathsheba while on military duty (2 Sam. 11:11).
(21:6) Jesus addresses this passage as a case of prioritized ethics (Mt. 12:1-8; Mk. 2:23-28; Lk. 6:1-5). Human life has more moral weight than ceremonial laws.
(21:7) Doeg the Edomite later comes up in the following chapter, as the man who maliciously kills a number of priests (1 Sam. 22:18-19).
(21:8-9) Earlier, David was asking for food, but now, he’s asking for weapons. David must have left this sword with the priests after keeping it in his own tent for a while (1 Sam. 17:54).
(21:10) David flees to Gath, which was Goliath’s hometown. He had killed their champion, and now, he comes to their city with Goliath’s own sword. Imagine how scared you would feel to be “public enemy number one” in this hostile city.
“Welcome to Gath… Home of Goliath!” And David is holding Goliath’s sword. David loved this song earlier, but not anymore.
The men know that he killed Goliath and he widowed hundreds of the people.
Psalm 56.
(21:11) David’s reputation had preceded him in Gath. They had even heard the songs written about him (1 Sam. 18:7). They call him “king of the land.” This could be “belittling his importance,”[] or it could be a sign that even the Gentiles were recognizing the fact that God’s anointing had shifted from Saul to David.
(21:12) David is scared to death of Achish. Will he fight Achish? Try to create a coup on the Gath government? Attempt a political assassination?
(21:13) No, David pretends to be mentally insane. This expression is used of the behavior of drunkards (Jer. 25:16) or being reckless (Jer. 46:9; Nah. 2:4). David achieves a complete disguise by acting mentally incompetent.
(21:14-15) David’s ploy works. In a sense, Achish says, “I’ve got enough crazy around here… I don’t need any more!”
Writes Psalm 34. David was amazed with gratitude to God.
Psalm 142. He’s coming down from his spiritual high.
This story shows prioritized ethics. Jesus picks up on this in the NT (Mt. 12:3-4), where he argues that the priests were not supposed to give consecrated bread to regular men. But they (righteously) did so in this situation. Is it more important to keep a ceremonial law, or save a life and feed the hungry? Also David lies to the king of Gath by acting mentally disabled. But this was right to do in this situation, because his life was at stake.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 727.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 731.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
