1 Samuel 21:6 kjv
So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
1 Samuel 21:6 nkjv
So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.
1 Samuel 21:6 niv
So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.
1 Samuel 21:6 esv
So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
1 Samuel 21:6 nlt
Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread ? the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the LORD in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
1 Samuel 21 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 24:5-9 | "You shall take fine flour... and set them in two rows, six in each row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be a memorial portion... Every Sabbath day he shall arrange it... for the priests; it is a most holy portion..." | Outlines the law concerning the showbread and its consumption by priests only. |
| Exod 25:30 | "And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me regularly." | Establishes the divine command for the showbread's perpetual presence. |
| Exod 29:32-33 | "Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat... the bread that is in the basket of consecration. They alone shall eat them..." | Specifies that holy food is for priests, establishing the norm David broke. |
| Num 18:8-10 | "All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you... Most holy things... shall be for you and your sons." | Further clarifies that consecrated portions are exclusive to the Levitical priests. |
| 1 Sam 21:1-5 | "David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest... David said to Ahimelech... 'I need quickly five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.'" | Provides the immediate preceding context of David's desperate hunger and deception. |
| Matt 12:3-4 | "He said to them, 'Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him nor for those who were with him to eat, but only for the priests?'" | Jesus uses David's action to justify healing on the Sabbath, upholding necessity over law. |
| Mark 2:25-26 | "He said to them, 'Have you never read what David did... how he entered the house of God... and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests...?'" | Mark's account of Jesus' reference, similarly asserting divine precedence. |
| Luke 6:3-4 | "And Jesus answering them said, 'Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God... and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?'" | Luke's parallel account emphasizing David and his companions. |
| Hos 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." | Principles of mercy and true devotion over mere ritual, echoing God's character. |
| Matt 9:13 | "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." | Jesus directly quotes Hos 6:6, emphasizing mercy's superiority. |
| Matt 12:7 | "If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless." | Jesus applies Hos 6:6 directly to the context of Sabbath law, akin to 1 Sam 21:6. |
| Deut 23:25 | "When you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain." | Another Old Testament example of allowance for basic human need. |
| Num 6:20 | "The priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine." | An instance of priests consuming consecrated food within specific boundaries. |
| 1 Cor 10:3-4 | "and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ." | Connects Old Testament food/drink with Christ, hinting at spiritual provision. |
| John 6:35 | "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.'" | Jesus presents Himself as the ultimate "bread," the true sustenance, transcending ritual food. |
| Heb 9:2 | "For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place." | Describes the physical location of the showbread in the Tabernacle. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | "For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near." | Emphasizes the temporal nature of ritual laws, pointing to a greater spiritual reality. |
| Col 2:16-17 | "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." | Supports the idea that ritual observances, including food laws, were a shadow fulfilled in Christ. |
| Gal 3:24-25 | "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." | Contextualizes the role of the law, suggesting its temporary nature. |
| Rom 13:8-10 | "Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." | Love is presented as the summation and fulfillment of the law, guiding exceptions. |
| 1 Tim 1:8 | "Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully..." | Acknowledges the goodness of the law, implying there is a right way to interpret and apply it, recognizing higher principles. |
| Jas 2:8 | "If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well." | Echoes the priority of love as the core of the law. |
1 Samuel 21 verses
1 Samuel 21 6 Meaning
The priest Ahimelech gave David the consecrated bread, known as the showbread, because it was the only bread available in the sanctuary. This showbread had just been removed from the presence of the Lord and replaced with fresh, hot bread as part of the regular weekly ritual, making the previously holy bread permissible for consumption, ordinarily only by the priests. This act demonstrated a prioritization of human need over strict ceremonial law, an interpretation later upheld by Jesus Christ.
1 Samuel 21 6 Context
1 Samuel chapter 21 details David's desperate flight from King Saul, who seeks to kill him. David, accompanied by a small group of men, arrives at Nob, where the Tabernacle was located and Ahimelech the priest resided. David, in dire need of provisions and feigning a secret royal mission, requests food and weapons. The only bread available is the sacred showbread, which according to the Mosaic Law (Lev 24:5-9), was to be eaten only by the priests. This verse marks the moment Ahimelech, assessing David's purported urgent need and confirming his and his men's ritual cleanness, makes an extraordinary exception, giving David the bread that had just been replaced. This event highlights the tension between strict adherence to ceremonial law and the pressing realities of human necessity and mercy.
1 Samuel 21 6 Word analysis
- "So the priest gave him": Refers to Ahimelech, acting in his priestly capacity but outside the strictest interpretation of the law. This action signifies an act of mercy and discretion.
- "the holy bread": The Hebrew term lechem ha-kodesh (לֶחֶם הַקֹּדֶשׁ) literally means "bread of holiness" or "consecrated bread." This bread was set apart for sacred use, making it inherently holy.
- "for there was no bread there but the showbread": This phrase (kī-ʾên šām leḥem kī ʾim-leḥem hap-pānîm) emphasizes the exigency of the situation. It highlights the principle of necessity – no other options were available.
- "showbread": The Hebrew lechem ha-panim (לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים), meaning "bread of the presence" or "bread of the face," referring to its constant presence before the face of the Lord in the Tabernacle. It was an offering of twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
- "which was taken from before the LORD": This signifies the completion of its weekly sacred duty. It had fulfilled its role as an offering and was now being cycled out, but was still considered holy.
- "to put hot bread in its place": This describes the ritual of renewal performed every Sabbath, where fresh, hot loaves replaced the old ones. The old loaves were then permitted for the priests to eat.
- "on the day it was taken away": Pinpoints the precise timing of the event – on the very Sabbath day when the old bread was removed and replaced, thereby aligning it with the weekly priestly consumption schedule, albeit by a non-priest due to exceptional circumstances.
- "the holy bread... showbread... which was taken from before the LORD": This group of phrases cumulatively underscores the extreme sacredness and ceremonial regulation surrounding this particular bread. Its removal signified a transition from direct presentation to consecrated food for consumption by designated personnel (priests).
- "for there was no bread there but the showbread... to put hot bread in its place": These phrases combined delineate the unique circumstances and the ritual context. There was a direct void that needed filling, both for David's hunger and the Tabernacle's continuous ritual, forcing an interaction with the only available sacred food.
1 Samuel 21 6 Bonus section
The concept of ritual purity played a role in Ahimelech's decision, as he first inquired about the cleanliness of David and his men, specifically if they had abstained from women (1 Sam 21:4). This indicates that while he was making an exception regarding the "who" could eat the bread, he still maintained some aspects of ritual propriety concerning "how" one should approach holy things. The act of eating the showbread on the Sabbath, implied by the weekly renewal cycle, further underlines the intersection of different Mosaic laws and how God's higher principles, such as mercy, take precedence in extenuating circumstances. This incident thus serves as an important case study for understanding the spirit versus the letter of the law within God's covenant with Israel.
1 Samuel 21 6 Commentary
1 Samuel 21:6 marks a pivotal instance where urgent human necessity transcends the strictures of ceremonial law. The showbread, or "bread of the presence," was one of the most sacred elements of the Tabernacle service, representing Israel's communion with God and exclusively reserved for priestly consumption. Ahimelech's decision to give this bread to David, who was neither a priest nor ritually performing temple service, was a profound act of compassion. This passage is significant not only for revealing God's priority of mercy over rigid adherence to ritual, but also because Jesus Himself later uses this very account to defend His disciples for breaking Sabbath law to satisfy hunger (Matt 12:3-4). Jesus' argument, implicitly rooted in Hosea 6:6 ("I desire mercy, not sacrifice"), elevates the principle of lovingkindness and human well-being above religious formalism, particularly when the letter of the law would result in unnecessary suffering or hardship. It demonstrates that the law was made for humanity, not humanity for the law, especially in cases of life-sustaining need and acts of genuine compassion.