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David escapes from Saul and runs to Nob, a city of priests. While at Nob, David asks for food and for a weapon. Ahimelech responds that the only bread available is the holy bread and the only sword available is Goliath\u2019s sword which was kept in the sanctuary. This interaction seems a little odd. Why did David run to Nob if he needed bread and weapons? He should have known that he would have had a more difficult time finding regular bread in a city of priests. Furthermore, he was less likely to find a weapon in the holy city given the edict in Exodus: \u201cAnd if you make for Me an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones; for by wielding your sword upon them you have profaned them\u201d (Ex. 20:22).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Presumably the issue mentioned in chapter 13 that the Philistines had outlawed all weapon making in Israel had been resolved. Perhaps David thought that the priests would most likely assist him as neutral arbiters. However, the fact that David has to lie to Ahimelech seems to invalidate that theory. Perhaps David did not go to Nob with the intention of getting Goliath\u2019s sword. The request for the sword may actually have been precipitated by David seeing Doeg:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now one of Saul\u2019s officials was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, Saul\u2019s chief herdsman. David said to Ahimelech, \u201cHaven\u2019t you got a spear or sword on hand? I didn\u2019t take my sword or any of my weapons with me, because the king\u2019s mission was urgent\u201d (verses 8-9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One can imagine David talking to Ahimelech and then spotting Doeg out of the corner of his eye. Remaining calm for Ahimelech, inside David may have been panicking. He quickly asks Ahimelech for a weapon in case Doeg tries to capture or kill him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In that reading of the text, however, David comes across even worse. He had to have known that if Doeg saw him and he let Doeg go back to Saul then he would be putting Ahimelech at risk, which is eventually what happened. He could have jumped Doeg, but maybe he did not want to draw first blood. Perhaps David\u2019s real goal was to retrieve Goliath\u2019s sword and the request for bread was simply an innocuous conversation opener. He tested the waters with Ahimelech by asking for the bread, and then innocently asked for any weapons knowing full well that Goliath\u2019s sword was the only one that was available in the priestly city. Unfortunately for Ahimelech and David, Doeg was hanging around and noticed David before David saw Doeg.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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By collaborating with community centers to exhibit her work, and drawing upon her experience as both an artist and educator, her art acts as a bridge which connects past and present and viewers with one another.\r\nMichal dedicates her work in memory to her father Shamai Zweigreich z\u201dl and her grandfather Yisrael Zweigreich z\u201dl, who loved studying Bible and Talmud.","short_description":"Michal Nachmany is a self-taught artist and educator","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56635,"alt":"","title":"michal nachmany picture","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","width":157,"height":243,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","medium-width":157,"medium-height":243,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","medium_large-width":157,"medium_large-height":243,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","large-width":157,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","1536x1536-width":157,"1536x1536-height":243,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","2048x2048-width":157,"2048x2048-height":243,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","post_full_size-width":157,"post_full_size-height":243,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/michal-nachmany-picture.jpg","home_baner-width":157,"home_baner-height":243}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"253","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The priest said, \u201cThere is the sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you slew in the valley of Elah","post_main_content_content":"

Mixed-media work by Michal Nachmany, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n

Michal dedicates her work in memory to her father Shamai Zweigreich z\u201dl \u00a0and her grandfather \u00a0Yisrael Zweigreich z\u201dl, who loved studying Bible and Talmud.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":58573,"alt":"","title":"i sam 21","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","width":802,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-768x981.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":981,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-802x1024.jpg","large-width":802,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","1536x1536-width":802,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","2048x2048-width":802,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","post_full_size-width":802,"post_full_size-height":1024,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"I Sam 21:10","tile_main_caption":"The Sword Of Goliath","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you slew in the valley of Elah","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":58573,"alt":"","title":"i sam 21","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","width":802,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-768x981.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":981,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-802x1024.jpg","large-width":802,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","1536x1536-width":802,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","2048x2048-width":802,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21.jpg","post_full_size-width":802,"post_full_size-height":1024,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/i-sam-21-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"253","date":"20260818","wall_id":"253"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":5,"id":"58582","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Soundbite From The Ancient Past ","post_title":"A Soundbite From The Ancient Past","slug":"a-soundbite-from-the-ancient-past","old_id":"58582","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37333,"post_title":"Esther Jilovsky","slug":"esther-jilovsky","old_id":"37333","first_name":"Esther ","last_name":"Jilovsky","description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. A native of Melbourne, Australia, she comes to the rabbinate with a PhD from the University of London in 2011. A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she is the author of Remembering the Holocaust: Generations, Witnessing and Place and co-editor of In the Shadows of Memory: The Holocaust and the Third Generation. \r\n\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr Esther Jilovsky is a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":52868,"alt":"","title":"esther jilovsky.jpeg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","width":3581,"height":5371,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1365,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/esther-jilovsky.jpeg-1-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"253","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Where exactly is this ploni almoni?","post_main_content_content":"

Language is amazing. It gives us labels for objects: \u201ctable\u201d \u2013 a flat board supported by four pillars, one in each corner, \u201cbed\u201d \u2013 the place we sleep at night, \u201chouse\u201d \u2013 the dwelling that we live in. Verbs connect us to things and to each other: \u201csmile\u201d, \u201ccook\u201d, \u201cread.\u201d Adjectives allow us to describe what our senses perceive: \u201csunny\u201d, \u201cdelicious\u201d, \u201cbeautiful.\u201d Adverbs embellish our descriptions: \u201csuddenly\u201d, \u201clovingly\u201d, \u201celegantly.\u201d But language also has tools for when we don\u2019t quite have the words. Sometimes we grasp for the nearest synonym. Sometimes we use generic placeholders when we don\u2019t know or can\u2019t think of the term, like \u201cwhatshisname\u201d, \u201cso-and-so\u201d, \u201csuch and such a place\u201d, \u201cthingamajig.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And just like English, Biblical Hebrew has terms that the authors of the Bible used to denote a specific person or place without using their name. I Samuel 21:3 is the first time in the Hebrew Bible we encounter the phrase <\/span>ploni almoni<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> This rhyming delight signifies someone or something whose name is not specified, a neat little phrase that only appears three times in the Hebrew Bible (the other two instances are found in II Kings 6:8 and Ruth 4:1). David is on the run from King Saul, who is angry with him for not turning up at the new moon festive dinner the night before (I Samuel 20:30). In a conversation with the priest Achimelech, David deploys the turn of phrase \u201cploni almoni<\/em>\u201d. In his frenzied attempt to seek protection and food, David volunteers that the king has sent him on a secret mission and that his men shall meet him at a \u201cploni almoni<\/em>\u201d place (21:3). Here, the phrase \u201cploni almoni<\/em>\u201d is a placeholder in a sentence where the actual location \u2013 in a non-existent mission \u2013 doesn\u2019t matter. The place itself doesn\u2019t need to be specified, since it\u2019s part of a fabricated explanation David creates to obtain what he needs in that moment. It\u2019s a bit like saying \u201cI need to be somewhere\u201d when we want to exit an awkward encounter. The ruse may or may not be true and the place itself is immaterial \u2013 all that matters is leaving the situation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Language is a phenomenal tool that enables us to describe the world. It is often beautiful. The phrase \u201cploni almoni<\/em>\u201d, with its satisfying rhyme and punchy rhythm, gives us a tiny snippet of how our ancestors may have spoken. It\u2019s a beautiful soundbite from the ancient past.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":58583,"alt":"","title":"isam21-where","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where.png","width":1280,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-300x150.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-768x384.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-1024x512.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":640,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-1200x600.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam21-where-840x420.png","home_baner-width":840,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Soundbite From The Ancient Past","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Where exactly is this ploni 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Snapshots","tile_main_caption":"I Samuel 21: David With the Sword of Goliath","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Adam Mintz (sponsored by George S. Blumenthal and filmed by Ardon Bar-Hama)","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/p6RgwqFwT58","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"253","date":"20260818","wall_id":"253"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"369","name":"Visual Arts","old_id":"769"}]},{"order":7,"id":"58579","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Am I Short of Fools? ","post_title":"Am I Short Of Fools?","slug":"am-i-short-of-fools","old_id":"58579","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"253","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"In which we learn that David is pragmatic, audacious, and inventive","post_main_content_content":"

In this brief chapter, we gain additional insight into David\u2019s character. He is pragmatic, audacious, and inventive.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

His pragmatism is on display as he avoided Saul\u2019s posse by seeking refuge with Ahimelech amongst the priests of Nob (2), and he was audacious when he brazenly misrepresented himself to the priest as being on a royal mission (3). He obtained food for his troops\u2014the \u201cshowbread\u201d (7)\u2014and even secured arms, at least for himself (10). It is, indeed, curious that Goliath\u2019s sword was in the possession of Ahimelech. The last we heard of it\u2014and even that, indirectly\u2014was that David had decapitated Goliath, brought his head to Jerusalem, \u201cand his vessels he placed in his tent\u201d (17:54). Assuming the sword was included among the vessels, it is unclear how it got to Nob, although the fact that it was wrapped up with the ephod, a priestly garment, would indicate that it was kept as a holy treasure, as a memento of the miracle in which it had played a role.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The fleeting reference to the unnoticed presence at Nob of Doeg the Edomite, Saul\u2019s head herdsman, serves the literary function of a foreshadowing, whose details are provided in the next chapter (2:9 ff.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David\u2019s inventiveness came to the fore when he took on the appearance and behavior of a fool in order to relieve any suspicions that the Philistines of Gath may have entertained about him. Since he was bound to be recognized (if they had post offices, his photo would no doubt have graced every one of them, emblazoned with the legend: \u201cWanted Dead or Alive\u201d), and, indeed, he was: the Philistines could even recite the words to the song that the Israelite women had composed about him, (12), his only recourse was not to deny his identity but to disguise his true self by acting crazy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The fact that Achish, king of Gath, muttered \u201cAm I short of fools that you have brought this one to act crazy before me?\u201d (16) may indicate that the presence of fools in Gath was SOP and that David had chosen his role well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: The Golden Psalter of St. Gallen (Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 22): David feins lunacy before Achish king of Gath. Psalm 33 (34), late 9<\/span>th<\/span> C., West Francia \/ 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Our chapter continues the extensive narrative of how David fled from Saul. After having fled first to Naiot in Ramah (19:18-24), and then to a place in the South identified as \u201cthe Ezel Stone\u201d (20:19, 41), David now flees to Nob (21:1-10). There he goes to the sanctuary and its high priest, Ahimelech, the great-grandson of Eli, the high priest of Shiloh. Ahimelech is surprised that David, a well-known military leader, has come alone without any accompanying soldiers. David explains this by falsely saying: \u201cThe king sent me on a mission and said to me, \u2018No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on\u2019. As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place\u201d (21:3).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When David asks for food, Ahimelech tells him there is only consecrated bread, which can be eaten by David and his men only if they have \u201ckept themselves from women\u201d. David assures Ahimelech that this is indeed the case. The high priest of Nob then gives David five loaves of consecrated bread, \u201csince there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away\u201d (3-6). To understand this passage, it is helpful to note that according to Leviticus 24:5-9, in a sanctuary, twelve loaves were set out on the \u201cbefore the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath\u2026 It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord\u201d. So, it seems that the five loaves given to David in Nob were what was still left of the previous week\u2019s consecrated bread, that should have been eaten only by priests.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Midrash (\u201cYelammedenu\u201d cited in Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel 130) understands that David received bread that, to his great surprise, was being baked in the sanctuary at Nob on Shabbat (see Menahot 95b) when he arrived. David\u2019s arrival in Nob on Shabbat would normally have been considered a violation of the general prohibition not to travel on a sacred day on which work is forbidden. But in fact it becomes the prooftext for the exception that is granted to save a life (pikuach nefesh<\/em>). In Numbers Rabbah (23:1), the rule is given that fleeing from mortal danger is permitted on Shabbat (see Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 2:5) -- for it was on Shabbat that David fleeing from Saul came to Nob. This Midrashic tradition is in line with the general principle of pikuach nefesh<\/em> \u2013 that the \u201cpreservation of human life\u201d overrides most commandments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Josef A. 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And the servants of Achish said to him, \u201cIs not this David king of the land? Is it not he for whom they call out in dance, saying, \u2018Saul has struck down his thousands and David his tens of thousands.\u2019\u201d (21:12)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentary: The Philistine courtiers, unfortunately, immediately identify David and can even quote the song sung by the Israelite women after his victories. Their characterization of him as \u201cking of the land\u201d is no doubt a tribute to his preeminence on the battlefield but also is an inadvertent confirmation of his clandestine election, of his displacing Saul. Appropriately, through as J.P. Fokkelman notes, they use a somewhat vague designation instead of the more official \u201cking of Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"David - King Of The Land","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Though not yet king of Israel","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"253","date":"20260818","wall_id":"253"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"834","name":"David","old_id":"1234"}]},{"order":11,"id":"58564","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"One Lie Does Not Suffice ","post_title":"One Lie Does Not Suffice","slug":"one-lie-does-not-suffice","old_id":"58564","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56443,"post_title":"Moshe Halbertal","slug":"moshe-halbertal","old_id":"56443","first_name":"Moshe ","last_name":"Halbertal ","description":"Prof. Moshe Halbertal is a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a professor of law at New York University (NYU) and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. 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David is the master of walking the fine line: what it means to defend one\u2019s power by exploiting ambiguity, and by fostering a habitual uncertainty in public perceptions of one\u2019s underlying character and motivations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Attempts to unmask David as nothing but a cynical opportunist fail to do justice to the many ambiguities woven artfully into his story. But it would also be naive to locate David wholly on the side of innocence, piety, and saintliness. He was a thoroughly political being operating in a violently competitive environment. Evading Saul\u2019s attempts on his life and then going on to seize and maintain royal power were essential to his identity as an immensely shrewd and slippery survivor, not simply the fulfillment of a divinely ordained mission. The author of the Book of Samuel narrates some incidents early in David\u2019s political life that reveal his capacity to manipulate the situation to save himself while forcing others to pay the ultimate price.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One such incident is described in detail when David arrived alone, unarmed, and with no supplies at the sanctuary of Nob, not far from Saul\u2019s court. Shocked and apprehensive to see David, a high-ranking officer of the king, traveling alone, Ahimelech was misled by David\u2019s improvised claim to have been sent on an undercover mission by Saul. By making Ahimelech a partner to an alleged state secret, David prevented the priest from double-checking the reliability of his information, since any attempt at verification might well have constituted a dangerous disclosure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here our author reveals another deep truth about political power. The concealed realm that inevitably accompanies power politics unavoidably allowed and even invited deception, crime, and cunning. By invoking the excuse of state secrets, nominally subordinate and obedient political agents can behave in unmonitored and unaccountable ways, because investigating the sincerity of their claims and plans could rend the veil of secrecy that is always presumed to be necessary - because sometimes it really is. Manipulated into supplying David with food and arms, Ahimelech became an inadvertent accomplice to a crime, helping an aspiring usurper escape the punitive hand of the established authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As in many such cases, one lie does not suffice. Pushed by the circumstances at the sanctuary, David had to add other layers of deception, this time instrumentalizing not only the priests discreet respect for state secrets but the sacred itself. The priest, we are told, had only consecrated bread at his disposal and worried about defiling it. David, who needed the whole of the supply for his escape, fabricated the existence of a group of lads who were waiting for him in another place due to the secrecy of his mission, and he vouched as well for their state of ritual purity\u2026. Cozened by these untruths, Ahimelech handed David the consecrated bread.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpts from The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes, Princeton University Press, 2017, pp.38-41. 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\u201cTruth, Lies and everything in between\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Nelly Altenburger: Is truth always the ultimate value?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cDoeg the Edomite\u201d<\/span><\/a> by Michael Howald: Explore this Biblical character.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - I Samuel 21","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"21","chapter_main_number":"253","date":"20260818","wall_id":"253"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"57801","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Samuel 21 ","post_title":"A Lesson on the Daily Chapter- I Samuel 21","slug":"a-lesson-on-the-daily-chapter-i-samuel-21","old_id":"57801","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40936,"post_title":"David Silber","slug":"david-silber-2","old_id":"40936","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Silber ","description":"Rabbi David Silber is the Founder and Dean of Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. 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    1. Doeg the Edomite<\/span><\/i>. One of Saul\u2019s chief courtiers, who overhears David\u2019s conversation with Achimelech. Remember him.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Regards from Goliath - twice\u2026 <\/span><\/i>The weapon that David arms himself with in Nob is the sword of Goliath, the Philistine, which was held in safekeeping in the temple there. With that sword, he flees to Gath, Goliath\u2019s city. Bad judgment? Or a hidden message?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    3. That\u2019s what there is<\/span><\/i>. There\u2019s no regular bread, no regular weapons. David\u2019s rations are holy bread, but puts Achimelech\u2019s mind at ease, by assuring that it will be eaten in holiness. And the sword? David exclaims \u201cthere is none like it!\u201d (v 10).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Who\u2019s the king here? For the Philistines - there isn\u2019t a question: \u201cThe courtiers of Achish said to him, \u201cWhy, that\u2019s David, king of the land!\u201d And they know the songs about him..\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
    5. Do I look like I need more crazies here?<\/span><\/i> Another gem from the author of the Book Samuel. This is Achish\u2019s response to the madman, who he can\u2019t believe is David.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

       <\/p>\r\n

       <\/p>\r\n

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