1 Samuel 22:21
in 1 Samuel 22And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain Jehovah’s priests.
KJV
And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the Lord’s priests.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David
on 1 Samuel 22:20-21
Abiathar alone escapes and flees to David with word that Saul has killed the priests of the LORD. Barnes traces this last son of Eli's line until he backs Adonijah and loses the priesthood at 1 Kings 2:26 to 27. That removal closes the word spoken over Eli's house.
This site's exposition
Saul had killed the priests of the LORD
Henry compares the disciples of John, who buried their master and went and told Jesus at Matthew 14:12. Gill thinks David had not yet heard. The news reaches David from the one priest left of Ahimelech's house to carry it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
), as the disciples of John, when their master was beheaded, went and told Jesus, Matt. xiv. And David greatly lamented the calamity itself, but especially his being accessory to it: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the Lord's priests. Of which perhaps he had not as yet heard; though tidings of such a nature generally fly swiftly; and a sorrowful shocking account he had to give, and which was so to David.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
On hearing his sad tale, David declared that he had dreaded such a fatal result from the malice and intriguing ambition of Doeg; and, accusing himself as having been the occasion of all the disaster to Abiathar's family, David invited him to remain, because, firmly trusting himself in the accomplishment of the divine promise, David could guarantee protection to him.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּגֵּ֥ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| אֶבְיָתָ֖ר | ʾevyatar | Abiathar | H54 → | 30 times |
| לְדָוִ֑ד | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָרַ֣ג | harag | he had killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כֹּהֲנֵ֥י | kohanei | [the] priests of | H3548 → | 750 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיַּגֵּ֥דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
אֶבְיָתָ֖רAbiathar
ʾevyatarH54 →30 times
לְדָוִ֑דto David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
כִּ֚יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הָרַ֣גhe had killed
haragH2026 →167 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כֹּהֲנֵ֥י[the] priests of
kohaneiH3548 →750 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
