1 Samuel 22:10
in 1 Samuel 22Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he inquired of Jehovah for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
KJV
And he enquired of the Lord for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 22
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd he inquired of the Lord for him - This circumstance is not related in history; but it is probably true, as David would most naturally wish to know where to direct his steps in this very important crisis.
This site's exposition
the son of Jesse coming to Nob
on 1 Samuel 22:9-10
Doeg the Edomite alone answers Saul's demand, reporting that he saw David at Nob with Ahimelech, who enquired of the Lord for him and gave him bread and the sword of Goliath. This is one of the enquired of the Lord beats that marks both books, and here Doeg turns a priest's ordinary office into evidence of treason. The title standing over Psalm 52 names Doeg as the occasion of that psalm, though this database stores psalm titles apart from the verses themselves and the link cannot be shown from the floor by query.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on 1 Samuel 22:9-10
He ought to have told Saul further that David had made Ahimelech believe he was then going upon the king's business; so that what service he did to David, however it proved, was designed in honour to Saul, and this would have cleared Ahimelech, whom Saul had in his power, and would have thrown all the blame upon David, who was out of his reach.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But they chose rather to disobey the king than to offend God by imbruing their hands in the blood of his ministering servants. A foreigner alone (Ps 52:1-3) could be found willing to be the executioner of this bloody and sacrilegious sentence. Thus was the doom of the house of Eli fulfilled [1Sa 2:30-36].
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁאַל־ | vaiyishal- | and he enquired | H7592 → | 171 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | for <the> him | ||
| בַּֽיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְצֵידָ֖ה | vetzeidah | and food | H6720 → | |
| נָ֣תַן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וְאֵ֗ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֶ֛רֶב | cherev | [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| גָּלְיָ֥ת | galyat | Goliath | H1555 → | 6 times |
| הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖י | hapelishti | the Philistine | H6430 → | 287 times |
| נָ֥תַן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | to <the> him |
וַיִּשְׁאַל־and he enquired
vaiyishal-H7592 →171 times
לוֹ֙for <the> him
lo
בַּֽיהוָ֔הby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְצֵידָ֖הand food
vetzeidahH6720 →
נָ֣תַןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
ל֑וֹto <the> him
lo
וְאֵ֗תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חֶ֛רֶב[the] sword of
cherevH2719 →413 times
גָּלְיָ֥תGoliath
galyatH1555 →6 times
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖יthe Philistine
hapelishtiH6430 →287 times
נָ֥תַןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
לֽוֹ׃to <the> him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 30:8and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 5:19
So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 5:23
So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 30:18
So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
- 1 Samuel 23:2
So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- 2 Samuel 5:19
Through
1 Samuel 23:2So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
it leads to
- Joshua 9:14
Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 23:4
Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 1 Samuel 30:8
and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.”
- Joshua 9:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonEarly monarchyGoliathThe Philistine champion of Gath who defied the armies of the living God for forty days — felled by a shepherd's sling stone and be…
- PersonEarly monarchyAhimelechPriest of Nob who gave the fugitive David the showbread and Goliath's sword, not knowing the king's quarrel; slain with eighty-fiv…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
