A Response#21 - Was David alone when asking for the holy bread at Nob?
Response by Dave Marr
The skeptic's problem:
He was alone.
"Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?" 1 Samuel 21:1
He was with others.
"But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?" Matthew 12:3-4
"And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?" Mark 2:25-26
"And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?" Luke 6:3-4
Explanation
David was with other men. To comprehend the meaning of the verse that says he is alone, we must look at more of the passage:
“Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 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.” 1 Samuel 21:1-6
Obviously, there were other men with David, but the question remains, “Why did Ahimelech ask why David was alone?” David had been in the royal court of Saul up until this time, which is the point when he fled into hiding. Therefore, if he were still in favor with Saul, he would have other members of the court with him, not just common men. It disturbed Ahimelech that David was not in Saul’s company; this was a red flag that something was not right in the kingdom. Indeed, Ahimelech’s fear was prudent, because Saul later came and killed Ahimelech and his priests. (1 Samuel 22)
The skeptic's problem:
He was alone.
"Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?" 1 Samuel 21:1
He was with others.
"But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?" Matthew 12:3-4
"And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?" Mark 2:25-26
"And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?" Luke 6:3-4
Explanation
David was with other men. To comprehend the meaning of the verse that says he is alone, we must look at more of the passage:
“Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 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.” 1 Samuel 21:1-6
Obviously, there were other men with David, but the question remains, “Why did Ahimelech ask why David was alone?” David had been in the royal court of Saul up until this time, which is the point when he fled into hiding. Therefore, if he were still in favor with Saul, he would have other members of the court with him, not just common men. It disturbed Ahimelech that David was not in Saul’s company; this was a red flag that something was not right in the kingdom. Indeed, Ahimelech’s fear was prudent, because Saul later came and killed Ahimelech and his priests. (1 Samuel 22)
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