וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלַךְ וִיהוֹנָתָן בָּא הָעִיר׃ 21:1
1Sam. 21:1 And he rose and departed and Jonathan went to the city.
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד נֹבֶה אֶל־אֲחִימֶלֶךְ הַכֹּהֵן וַיֶּחֱרַד אֲחִימֶלֶךְ לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַדּוּעַ אַתָּה לְבַדֶּךָ וְאִישׁ 21:2 אֵין אִתָּךְ׃
1Sam. 21:2 And David came to Nob to Achimelech, the priest, and Achimelech was afraid to meet David and said to him, “Why are you by yourself and there is no one with you?”
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ הַכֹּהֵן הַמֶּלֶךְ צִוַּנִי דָבָר וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי אִישׁ אַל־יֵדַע מְאוּמָה אֶת־הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־ 21:3 אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחֲךָ וַאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ וְאֶת־הַנְּעָרִים יוֹדַעְתִּי אֶל־מְקוֹם פְּלֹנִי אַלְמוֹנִי׃
1Sam. 21:3 And David said to Achimelech, the priest, “The king appointed me a task but he said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the task that I am setting you or what I have commanded you,’ and I have instructed the young men to such and such a place.”
וְעַתָּה מַה־יֵּשׁ תַּחַת־יָדְךָ חֲמִשָּׁה־לֶחֶם תְּנָה בְיָדִי אוֹ הַנִּמְצָא׃ 21:4
1Sam. 21:4 “And now, what is there under your hand? Is it five loaves of bread? Give in my hand, or what there is.”
וַיַּעַן הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר אֵין־לֶחֶם חֹל אֶל־תַּחַת יָדִי כִּי־אִם־לֶחֶם קֹדֶשׁ יֵשׁ אִם־נִשְׁמְרוּ הַנְּעָרִים 21:5
אַךְ מֵאִשָּׁה׃
1Sam. 21:5 And the priest answered David and said, “No ordinary bread is under my hand, but holy bread is there, if the young men have indeed kept themselves from women.”
וַיַּעַן דָּוִד אֶת־הַכֹּהֵן וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כִּי אִם־אִשָּׁה עֲצֻרָה־לָנוּ כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשֹׁם בְּצֵאתִי וַיִּהְיוּ כְלֵי־הַנְּעָרִים 21:6 קֹדֶשׁ וְהוּא דֶּרֶךְ חֹל וְאַף כִּי הַיּוֹם יִקְדַּשׁ בַּכֶּלִי׃
1Sam. 21:6 And David answered the priest and said to him, “Surely without a doubt woman was withheld from us for the last three days after I left, so the vessels of the lads were dedicated although it has been a common journey, then how much more than today might there be holy things in the vessels?”
וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ הַכֹּהֵן קֹדֶשׁ כִּי לֹא־הָיָה שָׁם לֶחֶם כִּי־אִם־לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים הַמּוּסָרִים מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה לָשׂוּם לֶחֶם 21:7
חֹם בְּיוֹם הִלָּקְחוֹ׃
1Sam. 21:7 So the priest gave the hallowed thing to him, for there was not bread, but only the show bread that was being removed from before the Lord to put hot bread on the day that he took it.
If this was being done according to the Lord’s commandment, it was the Sabbath (see Levi. 24:5 to 24:8).. This also settles the matter of whether the show bread was unleavened or not. It was evidently leavened.
וְשָׁם אִישׁ מֵעַבְדֵי שָׁאוּל בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא נֶעְצָר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וּשְׁמוֹ דֹּאֵג הָאֲדֹמִי אַבִּיר הָרֹעִים אֲשֶׁר 21:8 לְשָׁאוּל׃
1Sam. 21:8 Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day detained before the Lord, and his name was Doeg, the Edomite, the mighty one of the herdsmen who were Saul's.
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ וְאִין יֶשׁ־פֹּה תַחַת־יָדְךָ חֲנִית אוֹ־חָרֶב כִּי גַם־חַרְבִּי וְגַם־כֵּלַי לֹא־לָקַחְתִּי בְיָדִי 21:9 כִּי־הָיָה דְבַר־הַמֶּלֶךְ נָחוּץ׃
1Sam. 21:9 And David said to Achimelech, “So is there not here a spear or a sword under your hand? For I have not brought either my sword or my weapons in my hand because the business of the king was too urgent.”
וַיֹּאמֶר הַכֹּהֵן חֶרֶב גָּלְיָת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֲשֶׁר־הִכִּיתָ בְּעֵמֶק הָאֵלָה הִנֵּה־הִיא לוּטָה בַשִּׂמְלָה אַחֲרֵי 21:10 הָאֵפוֹד אִם־אֹתָהּ תִּקַּח־לְךָ קָח כִּי אֵין אַחֶרֶת זוּלָתָהּ בָּזֶה וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֵין כָּמוֹהָ תְּנֶנָּה לִּי׃
1Sam. 21:10 And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath, the Philistine, whom you slew in the valley of Elah, behold, it has been wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you would take it for yourself, take, for there is no other beside it in here.” And David said, “There is none like it. Give it to me.”
וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיִּבְרַח בַּיּוֹם־הַהוּא מִפְּנֵי שָׁאוּל וַיָּבֹא אֶל־אָכִישׁ מֶלֶךְ גַּת׃ 21:11
1Sam. 21:11 Then David rose and fled on that day out of fear of Saul, and he went to Achish, king of Gath.
David fled and was now among the Philistines.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ עַבְדֵי אָכִישׁ אֵלָיו הֲלוֹא־זֶה דָוִד מֶלֶךְ הָאָרֶץ הֲלוֹא לָזֶה יַעֲנוּ בַמְּחֹלוֹת לֵאמֹר הִכָּה שָׁאוּל 21:12 (בַּאֱלְפוֹ) [בַּאֲלָפָיו] וְדָוִד (בְּרִבְבֹתוֹ) [בְּרִבְבֹתָיו]׃
1Sam. 21:12 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Do they not sing about this one with dances saying,
‘Saul has slain by his thousands,
And David by his ten thousands?’”
The two-line poem is virtually identical to that in 1Sam. 18:7. Of the two errors in this verse, the first is also evident there. These errors again remind us of the probable haste of the scribe.
וַיָּשֶׂם דָּוִד אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּלְבָבוֹ וַיִּרָא מְאֹד מִפְּנֵי אָכִישׁ מֶלֶךְ־גַּת׃ 21:13
1Sam. 21:13 And David marked those words in his heart and was very afraid before Achish, king of Gath.
וַיְשַׁנּוֹ אֶת־טַעְמוֹ בְּעֵינֵיהֶם וַיִּתְהֹלֵל בְּיָדָם וַיְתַו עַל־דַּלְתוֹת הַשַּׁעַר וַיּוֹרֶד רִירוֹ אֶל־זְקָנוֹ׃ 21:14
1Sam. 21:14 But he disguised himself his sanity in their eyes, as he appeared mad in their hands and he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva fall to his beard.
וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אֶל־עֲבָדָיו הִנֵּה תִרְאוּ אִישׁ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ לָמָּה תָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֵלָי׃ 21:15
1Sam. 21:15 Then Achish said to his servants, “Lo, you can see the man is mad. Why should you bring him to me?”
חֲסַר מְשֻׁגָּעִים אָנִי כִּי־הֲבֵאתֶם אֶת־זֶה לְהִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ עָלָי הֲזֶה יָבוֹא אֶל־בֵּיתִי׃ 21:16
1Sam. 21:16 “Am I lacking madmen that you have brought this one to play the madman by me? Shall the same come in to my house?”
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