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1 Samuel 21:6

in 1 Samuel 21

So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before Jehovah, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

KJV

So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 21

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

On Isaac and the Soul, 6.56 · Written before 397.

on 1 Samuel 21:3-6

Even if they accuse, yet Christ excuses, and he makes the souls that he wishes, that follow him, similar to David, who ate the loaves of proposition outside of the law—for even then he foresaw in his mind the prophetic mysteries of a new grace.

This site's exposition

the vessels of the young men are holy

on 1 Samuel 21:5-6

David answers that his men have kept from women and that their vessels are holy, satisfying the condition, and the priest hands over the bread that had just been taken from before the Lord and replaced with fresh loaves. This is the showbread of Exodus 25:30, lawful only for the priests to eat under Leviticus 24:9, given here to a fugitive and his hungry men. Jesus cites this exact episode by name at Matthew 12:3-4, arguing from David's case that mercy outweighs the ceremonial law when real need is at stake.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 5.24 · Written before 373.

Our Lord put forward the clear example of David, who was not accused either over this, as he was over something else. It was not permissible, he said, for David to eat [the holy bread] since he was not a priest. However, he was a …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
So the priest gave him hallowed bread,.... Being satisfied with the account he gave of himself, and his young men, and of the lawfulness of it in case of necessity, acts of mercy being to be preferred to ritual services.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

So the priest gave him hallowed bread - To this history our Lord alludes, Mar 2:25, in order to show that in cases of absolute necessity a breach of the ritual law was no sin. It was lawful for the priests only to eat the shew-bread; but David and his companions were starving, no other bread could be had at the time, and therefore he and his companions ate of it without sin.

The words behind it

21 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּתֶּן־and he gave

    vaiyiten-H5414 →2011 times

  • ל֥וֹto <the> him

    lo

  • הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priest

    hakohenH3548 →750 times

  • קֹ֑דֶשׁa holy thing

    kodeshH6944 →469 times

  • כִּי֩for

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הָ֨יָהit was

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • שָׁ֜םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • לֶ֗חֶםbread

    lechemH3899 →298 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • אִם־except

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • לֶ֤חֶם[the] bread of

    lechemH3899 →298 times

  • הַפָּנִים֙the presence

    hapanimH6440 →2123 times

  • הַמּֽוּסָרִים֙which had been removed

    hamusarimH5493 →299 times

  • מִלִּפְנֵ֣יfrom to before

    milifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • יְהוָ֔הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • לָשׂוּם֙to put

    lasumH7760 →584 times

  • לֶ֣חֶםbread of

    lechemH3899 →298 times

  • חֹ֔םheat

    chomH2527 →10 times

  • בְּי֖וֹםon [the] day

    beyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הִלָּקְחֽוֹ׃was taken away it

    hilakechoH3947 →966 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Luke 6:3–4Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?10 worksLeviticus 24:5–9You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,7 worksMatthew 12:3–4Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?7 worksMark 2:25–27Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?6 works1 Samuel 21:4“There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.”3 worksLeviticus 22:10No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it.3 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Leviticus 24:9It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever.”3 worksExodus 25:30And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.2 works

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies2

On this verse

On this chapter

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 21 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Isaac and the Soul, 6.56; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 5.24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in 1 Samuel 21 →