1 Samuel 23:6
in 1 Samuel 23(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
KJV
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseMoreover, at the time when Abiathar fled, etc. The ephod, as we mentioned above, is a priestly garment, with four most distinguished colors interwoven with gold, and two precious stones on each shoulder, and the sacred names of the twelve patriarchs, which most fittingly corresponds …
This site's exposition
fled to David to Keilah
Abiathar is the one priest who escaped Doeg's massacre at Nob in the previous chapter, and he brings the ephod down to David in his own hand. From this point the ephod is David's fixed channel of enquiry, used again here at verse 9 and once more at Ziklag in chapter 30. Adam Clarke, following Houbigant, suggests the verse belongs before verse 1 in the order of events, since it is what makes David's enquiry at verse 2 possible at all.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Ephod - With the Ephod, the high-priest's Ephod, wherein were the Urim and the Thummim, which when Ahimelech and the rest of the priests went to Saul, were probably left in his hand. This gave him the opportunity both of escaping, whilst Doeg the butcher was killing his brethren, and of bringing away the Ephod, which Saul now was justly deprived of.
It was a great comfort to David, in his banishment, that when he could not go to the house of God he had some of the choicest treasures of that house brought to him, the high priest and his breast-plate of judgment. David Escapes from Keilah. 7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah.
And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah,....
The danger he was thereby brought into from the malice of the prince he served and the treachery of the city he saved, and his deliverance, by divine direction, from that danger,
It is our duty, and will be our case and comfort, whatever happens, to acknowledge God in all our ways and to seek direction from him. God appointed him once and again to go against the Philistines, and promised him success: Go, and smite the Philistines,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
an ephod--in which was the Urim and Thummim (Ex 28:30). It had, probably, been committed to his care, while Ahimelech and the other priests repaired to Gibeah, in obedience to the summons of Saul.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Came down with an ephod - I think this verse should come immediately after 1Sa 23:1 (note).
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בִּ֠בְרֹחַ | bivroach | when fled | H1272 → | 63 times |
| אֶבְיָתָ֧ר | ʾevyatar | Abiathar | H54 → | 30 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחִימֶ֛לֶךְ | ʾachimelekh | Ahimelech | H288 → | 16 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| קְעִילָ֑ה | keilah | Keilah | H7084 → | 18 times |
| אֵפ֖וֹד | ʾefod | an ephod | H646 → | 49 times |
| יָרַ֥ד | yarad | it came down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בִּ֠בְרֹחַwhen fled
bivroachH1272 →63 times
אֶבְיָתָ֧רAbiathar
ʾevyatarH54 →30 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֲחִימֶ֛לֶךְAhimelech
ʾachimelekhH288 →16 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
קְעִילָ֑הKeilah
keilahH7084 →18 times
אֵפ֖וֹדan ephod
ʾefodH646 →49 times
יָרַ֥דit came down
yaradH3381 →381 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
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 14:3including 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…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 22:20
But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
- 1 Samuel 2:28
And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I…
- 1 Samuel 4:21
And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
- 1 Samuel 22:20
Through
1 Samuel 22:20But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:7
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,
- 1 Samuel 23:9
When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”
- 1 Kings 2:26–27
Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried…
- 1 Samuel 2:33
And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, your eyes will fail and your heart will grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.
- 1 Samuel 4:12
That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
- 1 Samuel 30:7
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.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- 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; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.