Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 21:2
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.
2. The king, &c.] Again David has, recourse to a lie. See 1Sa 20:6, and note on 1Sa 19:17. The consequences of it were disastrous.
my servants ] The young men, as in 1Sa 21:4. The words are David’s own, not the continuation of Saul’s directions. They were probably true. He must have had friends at court who were prepared to share his flight, and with whom he had made arrangements for a rendezvous.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A fresh instance of Davids unscrupulous readiness of invention (compare 1Sa 20:6).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. The king hath commanded me a business] All said here is an untruth, and could not be dictated by the Spirit of the Lord; but there is no reason to believe that David was under the influence of Divine inspiration at this time. It is well known that from all antiquity it was held no crime to tell a lie, in order to save life. Thus Diphilus: –
, .
“I hold it right to tell a lie, in order to procure my personal safety; nothing should be avoided in order to save life.”
A heathen may say or sing thus; but no Christian can act thus, and save his soul, though he by doing so may save his life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The king hath commanded me a business: this seems to be a plain lie, extorted from him by fear and necessity. But as it was officious for himself, so it was pernicious to all the priests there. Whence David afterwards declares his repentance for this sin of lying, Psa 119:29.
To such and such a place; to a certain place which is not material nor convenient now to mention, because the whole business requires concealment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. The king hath commanded me abusiness, and hath said unto me, Let no man knowThis was adirect falsehood, extorted through fear. David probably supposed,like many other persons, that a lie is quite excusable which is toldfor the sole purpose of saving the speaker’s life. But what isessentially sinful, can never, from circumstances, change its immoralcharacter; and David had to repent of this vice of lying (Ps119:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And David said unto Ahimelech the priest,…. In reply to his question, and to account for such an appearance he made without an equipage:
the king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, let no man know anything of the business thereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee; he pretended he was upon a secret expedition, by the order of Saul, which none were to know of, no, not his own servants, and that was the reason why he came to him alone; which was a downright lie, and was aggravated by its being told only for the sake of getting a little food; and especially told to an high priest, and at the tabernacle of God, and when he was come to inquire of the Lord there; and was attended with a dreadful consequence, the slaughter of the Lord’s priests there, which afterwards lay heavy on David’s mind, 1Sa 22:22; and is the very sin he is thought to refer to in
Ps 119:28. This shows the weakness of the best of men, when left to themselves; David who as much hated lying as any man did, fell into it himself:
and I have appointed [my] servants to such and such a place; to such a place, of such an one, not naming place nor person, that they might not be known; so the Targum calls it a place hidden and kept; and that David had some servants, though not now with him, who ate of the shewbread, appears from Mt 12:3; whom Jonathan might send after him, to a place agreed on and appointed between them; so that this might be true.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) The king hath commanded me.This is one of the sad episodes in a glorious life. Overwhelmed with dismay at his sudden fall, home and wife, friends and rank, all had been taken from him, and he who had been on the very steps of the throne, the darling of the people, strangely successful in all that he had up to this time put his hand to, was now a proscribed exile, flying for his life. These things must plead as his excuse for his falsehood to Ahimelech, and his flight to and subsequent behaviour among the hereditary enemies of his race, the Philistines. But here, as in so many places, the Holy Spirit who guided the pen of the compiler of this true history could not lie, but fearlessly tells the repulsive truth which must ever be deeply damaging to the favourite hero of Israel. The Holy Spirit is become the chronicler of mens foolish, yea, sinful actions. He has narrated the lies of Abraham, the incest of Lot, the simulation of the man after Gods heart.Lange.
I have appointed my servants.This portion of his words to Ahimelech was, no doubt, strictly true. It is unlikely that one in the high position of David at the court of Saul, possessing, too, such powers over mens hearts, would be allowed to go even into exile without any friends or attendants. Those alluded to here probably joined him soon after his parting with Jonathan. Our Lord, in Mar. 2:25-26, speaks of the priest giving the shewbread to David and to those that were with him, when both he and they that were with him were an hungred.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. The king hath commanded me a business The statements of David in this verse, and the addition, in 1Sa 21:8, that the king’s business required such haste that he thought not to bring his weapons, are to be regarded as utter falsehood, pure fabrications, framed for the purpose of deceiving Ahimelech, allaying suspicion, and aiding himself in his escape. Perhaps the presence of Doeg, the Edomite, (1Sa 21:7,) led to his uttering this fictitious plea. This is one of the occasions on which the noble David sinned. We shall meet with other instances in the subsequent history. It should be remembered, however, that according to the morals of that age falsehood, like polygamy and other sins which the ethics of our Gospel system utterly condemn, was not looked upon as criminal. Prevarication and falsehood that did not amount to perjury seem not to have been regarded as violations of the ninth commandment. Accordingly, Otto von Gerlach well observes, in his comment on the ninth commandment, that “although it enjoins, when properly understood, full, entire, and unequivocal truthfulness towards our neighbour in every relation, yet the practical understanding of this meaning was very imperfectly attained to in the Old Testament times, since we find so many servants of God allowing themselves, in their perplexities, to have recourse to lying.” David subsequently deplored the fact that he had occasioned the death of all the priests of Nob, (1Sa 22:22,) but he showed not the least compunction over the falsehood by which he deceived the high priest, not even in the psalm (Psalms 52) which he composed on the occasion, and in which he accuses his enemy of lying.
My servants David probably had a few followers with him, and had left them in the distance while he personally went to the high priest for bread. These were the young men referred to in 1Sa 21:4-5, and mentioned in Mar 2:25-26.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(2) And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything 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.
Let the Reader observe, and observe with concern, not like the carnal triumph of the ungodly over the frailties of good men, whose hearts rejoice in the view, saying, Aha! Aha! So would we have it: but let the Reader observe, how the want of faith and confidence in the Lord, leads men, even true believers, into sin. Had David trusted in Him and his support, who anointed him Saul’s successor, he needed not to have run up and down in such apprehensions for his life. David could, and did, say upon another occasion, my times are in thine hands. Psa 31:15 . I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me. Phi 4:13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 21:2 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.
Ver. 2. The king hath commanded me a business. ] Here David uttereth two lies in a breath, – as before him Jacob had done three, Gen 27:19-20 though lying be a blushful sin, – whereunto he addeth another lie, 1Sa 21:8 and all deliberate. The like he doth to Achish, king of Gath. 1Sa 21:8 ; 1Sa 21:10 If the best man’s faults were written in his forehead, it would make him pull his hat over his eyes, saith the proverb. Some go about to excuse David’s lying here: but that cannot be. The consequents of it were very sad, viz., that bloody massacre of the priests, and all the inhabitants of Nob, 1Sa 23:18-19 which he could not but foresee and suspect, when he saw Doeg – that flatter – present, 1Sa 22:22 and afterwards it made his soul melt for very heaviness, whilst he bewailed it, and begged pardoning and prevailing grace. Psa 119:28-29
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The king: The whole of this is a gross falsehood; and which was attended with the most fatal consequences. It is well known that from all antiquity it was held no crime to tell a lie in order to save life. Thus Diphilon , . “I hold it right to tell a lie for safety: nothing should be avoided to save life.” A heathen may say or sing thus, but no Christian can act thus and save his soul, though he may save his life. 1Sa 19:17, 1Sa 22:22, Gen 27:20, Gen 27:24, 1Ki 13:18, Psa 119:29, Gal 2:12, Col 3:9
Reciprocal: Exo 1:19 – General Jdg 16:7 – If they bind 1Sa 22:14 – goeth 1Sa 27:10 – And David 2Sa 17:20 – They be gone
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 21:2. The king hath commanded, &c. This is a plain lie, extorted from him by fear, and one that was very pernicious to all the priests there. Whence David afterward declares his repentance for it, (1Sa 22:22,) and prays against the sin of lying, Psa 119:29. To such and such a place To certain places which, he insinuates, it was not proper to mention, because the whole business required concealment.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The {b} 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.
(b) These infirmities that we see in the saints of God, teach us that no one has his justice in himself, but receives it from God’s mercy.