1 Samuel 21

Chap. XXI. Ver. 1—15. David seeks refuge with Ahimelech, the priest, and afterwards with Achish, king of Gath, from whom he escapes, by feigning insanity.—David having had no time to secure provisions for his flight, applies to Ahimelech, at Nob, a city of the priests, where he was then, and begs some of the sacred bread for himself and the youths that were with him. When we read of the surprise that Ahimelech expressed at seeing him alone, we may suppose that he at first appeared alone, and that the young men that came up after it (1 Sam. 21:2, 50), and David his ten thousands with him, might be designed to pass for Saul’s servants, according as he represents him as saying, (ver. 2.) “I have appointed servants to meet thee at such and such a place;”

by which David seems to wish it to be understood, that these were Saul’s servants. We are sorry to confess, that on the part of David, this was all deception. We are not called upon, however, to justify the faults even of the best of men, but rather to lament them; for “the best of men,” as often has been remarked, “are but men at the best;” men of like passions and infirmities with ourselves. Some have, indeed, pleaded the lawfulness of falsehood in defence of life; and we know that the heathen hesitated not at this. But we have no scriptural authority to defend, in any case, duplicity and falsehood. Christians must not lie, though it were even to support the truth. ((Romans 3:7).) Of that noble army of martyrs which Christianity doth boast, the far greater

Notes on the verses

Ver. 40. His artillery.—Hebrew, “Instruments.” (Rather, weapons, as the word kelim also denotes; and here means the bow, quiver, and arrows. It is probably the only place in our language in which the word artillery is not applied to cannon or ordnance, but simply to weapons of war.)—B.

Chap. XXI. Ver. 1. Nob.—Nob appears to have been a sacerdotal city of Benjamin or Ephraim. Jerome says, that in his time the ruins of it might be seen not far from Diospolis or Lydda. But the Rabbins assert that Jerusalem might be seen from this town. ‘The tabernacle resided sometime at Nob; and after it was destroyed, it was removed to Gibeon; “and the days of Nob and Gibeon were 57 years.”’—Bagster.

Ahimelech.—Called also Ahialli, ch. xiv. 8, and Abiathar, (Mark 2:26).

Ver. 2. [have appointed my servants.—Instead of here supplying the pronoun me, we should rather supply, “to meet thee at such and such a place;” intimating that servants were to meet him here.

Ver. 7. The chief of the herdsmen.—The LXX intimate that he was over the mules, which was an office, perhaps, of similar rank to master of the horse; for it is evident, by (1 Samuel 22:18), that he was in chief command.

Ver. 10, Gath.—Jerome says there was a large town called Gath, in the way from Eleutheropolis to Gaza; and Eusebius speaks of another Gath, four miles from Eleutheropolis towards Lydda, (and consequently different from that mentioned by Jerome;) and also of another Gath, between Jamnia and Antipatris.

It appears to have been the extreme boundary of the Philistine territory in one direction, as Ekron was on the other (ch. vii. 14, 5; xvii. 52), and lay near Mareshah, ((2 Chronicles 11:8); (Micah 1:14)), which agrees pretty well with the position assigned it by Jerome. But Reland and Dr. Wells agree with Eusebius; and the authors of the Universal History (b. i. c. 7.) place it about six miles from Jamnia, four pen [furlongs] south of Joppa, and thirty-two west of Jerusalem.—Bagster.

Ver. 13. Feigned himself mad.—(Or, playeth the madman, (Ecclesiastes 7:7). David is not the only one who has had recourse to such measures. Bashasus, the Arabian, in order to be revenged on those who had killed his brethren, feigned himself mad, till at length he found an opportunity of executing his intended revenge by killing all who had a share in the murder.

(Anthol. Vet. Hamasa, p. 355. edit. Schultens.) Among the Greeks, Ulysses is said to have counterfeited madness, to prevent his going to the Trojan war. Solon, also, the great Athenian lawgiver, practised the same deceit. By appearing in the dress, and with the air of a madman, and singing a song to the Athenians, he carried his point, and got the law repealed that prohibited, under the penalty of death, any application to the people for the recovery of Salamis. (Plutarch, Vit. Solon, p. 82.) The assumed madness of Brutus in the time of the Tarquins is known to every sciolist in history.—But this conduct of David’s was degrading to his character, and proceeded from a want of faith in God’s promises and providence; and cannot be defended on any principle of religion or morality.

—B. The learned professor Dumont, however, contends, that there was no feigning in the case; and he translates the passage thus: “And David was struck to the heart with these words. And he changed his countenance before them, and fell convulsed into their hands: and he leant and marked himself against the posts of the gate, and he frothed on his beard. ‘Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is epileptic: wherefore then have ye brought him to fall into convulsions in my presence?’”—Saurin’s Dissert.