1 Samuel 21:7
in 1 Samuel 21Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.
KJV
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Detained before the Lord - Either to fulfill a vow Act 21:23-27, or on account of uncleanness, or under the law of lepers Lev 13:4, Lev 13:11, Lev 13:21, or as a proselyte. It is not impossible that Doeg may have been in custody or in sanctuary for some crime.
This site's exposition
the chiefest of the herdmen
Doeg the Edomite is in the sanctuary that day, detained before the Lord on some errand or vow the text does not name, and he sees everything that has just happened. He is introduced here as Saul's chief herdsman, a servant with every reason to report what he witnessed. The reader is meant to hold the name: it returns at 22:9 as an accusation and at 22:18 as a massacre of the priests of Nob.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now there was there a man of the servants of Saul... and his name was Doeg, etc. There were among the preaching apostles false brothers, the foremost being Judas; indeed within the Church, constituted by the mystery of faith, but moved from the firmness of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Detained - Not by force but by his choice; he fixed his abode there for that day; either because it was the sabbath-day; on which he might not proceed in his journey, or for the discharge of some vow. Before the Lord - That is, at the tabernacle. An Edomite - By birth, but he was proselyted to the Jewish religion.
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Detained before the Lord - Probably fulfilling some vow to the Lord, and therefore for a time resident at the tabernacle. And his name was Doeg - From 1Sa 22:9 we learn that this man betrayed David’s secret to Saul, which caused him to destroy the city, and slay eighty-five priests. We learn from its title that the fifty-second Psalm was made on this occasion; but titles are not to be implicitly trusted.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁ֡ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אִישׁ֩ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵעַבְדֵ֨י | meavdei | one of [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| שָׁא֜וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נֶעְצָר֙ | ne'tzar | [was] detained | H6113 → | 47 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּשְׁמ֖וֹ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| דֹּאֵ֣ג | doeg | [was] Doeg | H1673 → | 5 times |
| הָאֲדֹמִ֑י | haadomi | the Edomite | H130 → | 11 times |
| אַבִּ֥יר | ʾabir | [the] mighty [one] of | H47 → | |
| הָרֹעִ֖ים | haroim | the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לְשָׁאֽוּל׃ | leshaul | [belonged] to Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
וְשָׁ֡םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
אִישׁ֩a man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵעַבְדֵ֨יone of [the] servants of
meavdeiH5650 →799 times
שָׁא֜וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
נֶעְצָר֙[was] detained
ne'tzarH6113 →47 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּשְׁמ֖וֹand name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
דֹּאֵ֣ג[was] Doeg
doegH1673 →5 times
הָאֲדֹמִ֑יthe Edomite
haadomiH130 →11 times
אַבִּ֥יר[the] mighty [one] of
ʾabirH47 →
הָרֹעִ֖יםthe shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לְשָׁאֽוּל׃[belonged] to Saul
leshaulH7586 →402 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 Chronicles 27:29Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 5:16
They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.
- Isaiah 65:10
Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.
- 1 Chronicles 5:16
Through
1 Samuel 22:9But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.
it leads to
- Psalms 52:1–9
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
- Proverbs 19:5
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Ezekiel 22:9
Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.
- 1 Samuel 21:1–15
Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
- 1 Samuel 14:3
including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh. But the troops did not…
- Psalms 52:1–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.