---
title: "1 Samuel 21 - Study King James Bible with cokes commentary on the holy bible"
description: "Read 1 Samuel 21 with cokes commentary on the holy bible commentary. 1 Then 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"
image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/1-samuel/21"
---

[ Read](/kjv/1-samuel/21)[ Commentary](/study/1-samuel/21)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/1-samuel/21) Audio

 1 Then 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?*

 2 And 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.

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

 4 And 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.

 5 And 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.*

 6 So 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.

 7 Now 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.

 8 ¶ And 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.

 9 And 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.

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

 11 And 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?

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

 13 And 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.*

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

 15 Have 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?
 
[1 Samuel 20](/study/1-samuel/20) [1 Samuel 22](/study/1-samuel/22)

## Commentary

 To verse 1
 
***[1 Samuel 21:1](/kjv/1-samuel/21/1)*****.*****Then came David to Nob*****—** *Nob*was in the tribe of Benjamin, about twelve miles from Gibeath, not far from Anathoth, Neh 11:32 and Jerusalem, [Isaiah 10:32](/kjv/isaiah/10/32). It appears from the 19th verse, of the next chapter, that it was one of the sacerdotal cities; and it is probable that Saul had removed the tabernacle from Shiloh thither. It should be observed, that *Ahimelech*is no where called the *high-priest,*but simply *the priest.*From the whole of this affair it is manifest, that Ahimelech knew nothing of the circumstances of David. He knew nothing of Saul's displeasure against him, or of his determined purpose to destroy him; and therefore, as he was the king's son-in-law, he is surprised to see him without any attendants, and asks him the reason of his being alone. David, concealing the reason, pretends a hasty and secret message from the king, and that he had ordered his attendants to wait for him. This is made use of as a pretence for asking a supply of bread, and after receiving it David requests a supply of arms; still keeping the priest entirely ignorant of the true reason of his being alone and unarmed: a demonstration this, if any thing can be so, that Ahimelech was not in David's secret, and was ignorant that he fled from Saul to escape his indignation.

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