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1 Samuel 22:15

in 1 Samuel 22

Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant knew nothing of this whole affair—not in part or in whole.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.

KJV

Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.

This verse in 1 Samuel 22

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Did I then begin to inquire of God for him?.... Was this the first time of inquiring of God for him? no; I have done this many a time, when he has been going upon the king's business, engaging in war with his enemies; he has then consulted the Lord by me, and I have inquired of the Lord for him, as I now did; and which I did as innocently, and as much for the king's service, as ever I did any.

This site's exposition

call Ahimelech the priest

on 1 Samuel 22:11-15

Saul summons Ahimelech and all his father's house from Nob and charges them by name with conspiracy for the bread, the sword, and the enquiry of God given to David. Ahimelech answers that David was, and so far as he knew still was, the most faithful of all Saul's servants, the king's own son in law who went at his bidding and was honourable in his house. He denies this was any new act of allegiance against Saul, for he had enquired of the Lord for David many times before on the king's own business, and knew nothing of a quarrel between them.

This site's exposition

the first time I inquired of God for him

Gill and Clarke read the question as a claim that such inquiries for David were routine on the king's business. Barnes reads it the other way. He hears a solemn denial that Ahimelech inquired for David at all, a duty the priest owed to Saul alone as king.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

For your servant did not know, etc. He responded to what he was accused of by Saul, having helped David, knowing that he was weaving deceit and traps for him, because he knew nothing of this business at that time. But Christian faith also denies …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Could any man plead with more evidences of sincerity? Had he been tried by a jury of honest Israelites, he would certainly have been acquitted, for who can find any fault in him? Saul himself gives judgment against him (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Did I then begin ... - Some lay the stress upon the word “begin,” as though Ahimelech’s justification was that he had often before inquired of the Lord for David when employed on the king’s affairs. But it is much better to understand the words as Ahimelech’s solemn denial of having inquired of the Lord for David, a duty which he owed to Saul alone as king of Israel. The force of the word “begin” lies in this, that it would have been his first act of allegiance to David and defection from Saul.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Did I then begin to inquire of God - He probably means that his inquiring now for David was no new thing, having often done so before, and without ever being informed it was either wrong in itself, or displeasing to the king. Nor is it likely that Ahimelech knew of any disagreement between Saul and David. He knew him to be the king’s son-in-law, and he treated him as such.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Who bows to your bidding. As in "And they turned [ וַיָסֻרוּ ] to him," 6 Bereishis:3. meaning that he is near to service you and to obey your orders. How then was I to know that he was not going on your mission?
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Samuel 22:14:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

25 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.

  • הַיּ֧וֹםthis day

    haiyomH31172304 times

  • הַחִלֹּ֛תִיdid I begin?

    hachilotiH2490143 times

  • לִשְׁאָלto enquire

    leshaol-H7592171 times

  • ל֥וֹfor <the> him

    lo

  • בֵאלֹהִ֖יםby God

    velohimH4302601 times

  • חָלִ֣ילָהfar be it

    chalilahH248621 times

  • לִּ֑יto <the> me

    li

  • אַל־may not

    ʾal-H408724 times

  • יָשֵׂם֩he put

    yasemH7760584 times

  • הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH44282525 times

  • בְּעַבְדּ֤וֹagainst servant his

    beavdoH5650799 times

  • דָבָר֙anything

    davarH16971440 times

  • בְּכָל־against all

    bekholH36055413 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] house of

    beitH10042046 times

  • אָבִ֔יfather my

    ʾaviH11212 times

  • כִּ֠יfor

    kiH35884482 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H38085168 times

  • יָדַ֤עhe knew

    yada'H3045945 times

  • עַבְדְּךָ֙servant your

    ʾavdekhaH5650799 times

  • בְּכָל־in all

    bekholH36055413 times

  • זֹ֔אתthis

    zotH2063603 times

  • דָּבָ֥רanything

    davarH16971440 times

  • קָטֹ֖ןsmall

    katonH6996101 times

  • א֥וֹor

    ʾoH176321 times

  • גָדֽוֹל׃great

    gadolH1419526 times

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

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Corinthians 1:12

    And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom,…

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 2:17

      For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

    • 1 Corinthians 2:13

      And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

    • James 3:13–18

      Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

    • 1 Thessalonians 2:10

      You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

    • 2 Corinthians 8:8

      I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 25:36

    When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 13:23

      Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.

    • 1 Thessalonians 5:7–8

      For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 15:11

    Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 9:13

      As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.