1 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?
2 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.
3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.
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.
13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.
14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?
15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
<html><b>And as for the youths, I have sent them ahead.</b> An expression of troubling; the young men who came out with me, I have troubled them to go before me to a secret, hidden place. <b>I have troubled.</b> Similar to, 'And with them he broke [<span>וַידַׁע</span>] the men of Succos.'1<i class=“footnote”> Shoftim 8:16.</i> <b>Certain secret.</b> [<span>אַלְמֹנִי</span> is derived from] '<span>אַלְמוֹן</span>' [=widower], bereft of a name; for I do not want to mention it, because it is a secret matter. <b>Hidden.</b> Similar to <span>כִּי יִפָּלֵא</span> [=will be concealed],2<i class=“footnote”>Devarim 17:8.</i> will be hidden.</html>
<html><b>Or whatever there is.</b> If there are not five,3<i class=“footnote”>Talmud Yerushalmi Succah 5:8 explains why Dovid asked for five loaves of bread. Dovid asked for bread from Achimelech who was a member of the family of kohanim that had just completed its service; and their share was five loaves of the showbread.</i> give me whatever is in your possession.</html>
<html><b>From women.</b> With difficulty, I give them to non-kohanim to eat, but it is impossible to give it to unclean people to eat.</html>
<html><b>Have been kept from us.</b> Withheld from us.4<i class=“footnote”>They seem to have treated even ordinary food as if it were holy food as in above 20:26.</i> <b>The garments of the youths were pure.</b> [Literally 'holy'] pure. <b>Even though it is an ordinary mission.</b> And the bread, once it has been removed from the table, and they have burned the spoonfuls [of frankincense], it is almost common, because it has been excluded from [the prohibition of] <span>מְעִילָה</span> as soon as it becomes permitted for the kohanim [to eat].5<i class=“footnote”>The phrase <span>וְהוּא דֶרֶךְ הֹל</span> can then be translated as ‘it has already been made non-sacred’ referring to the showbreads [not to the mission], that they had lost some of their sanctity once the frankincense had been burnt.</i> <b>Even more so today it will remain sacred in the vessel.</b> Even if today were the beginning of its sanctity on the table, I would be obliged to take it from there and feed ourselves, for a ravenous hunger has seized us, and our lives are in danger. Thus it is explained in [Maseches] Menachos.6<i class=“footnote”></i></html>
<html><b>In order to put hot bread.</b> Other warm bread on the day this was removed. Our Rabbis said, that it was warm on the day it was taken, i.e., it was as warm on the day it was removed as it was on the day it was arranged.7<i class=“footnote”>See Maseches Menachos 96a and Chagigah 26b which describes the miracle of the showbread; it retained its warmth and freshness after lying on the table more than a week. The preservation of warmth and freshness symbolized that <span>ה׳</span> preserves the strength of the Bnei Yisroel and never allows it to fully dissipate.</i></html>
<html><b>Who remained before Adonoy.</b> He tarried before the Tent of Meeting to engage in the study of Torah. <b>Chief of Shaul's shepherds.</b> The head of the tribunal.</html>
<html><b>Perhaps you have in your possession.</b> And if there is here. <b>Urgent.</b> Hurried.</html>
<html><b>Wrapped.</b> It was wrapped, and similarly, 'and he wrapped [<span>וַיָלֶט</span>] his face in his mantle.'8<i class=“footnote”>I Melachim 19:13.</i> <b>Behind the <i>eiphod.</i></b> After having consulted the Urim and Tumim he said this [statement]. And so did Targum Yonoson render, 'after he had consulted the eiphod for him.'9<i class=“footnote”>I.e., <span>אַחֲרֵי הָאֵפוֹד</span> is not part of Achimelech’s reply to Dovid, rather it relates to the sequence of events. Only after asking the Urim and Tumim did Achimelech tell Dovid to take the sword.</i></html>
<html><b>Is this not Dovid, the king of the land.</b> They said to Achish, “There was a stipulation between us: 'If he will be able to fight me and kill me, then we will become your slaves.'10<i class=“footnote”>Above 17:9.</i> You have no choice but to get off your throne and let him become king of this land.”</html>
<html><b>His behavior.</b> His words. <b>And feigned madness.</b> He acted insane.11<i class=“footnote”>The Midrash relates that Dovid said to <span>ה׳</span> that he understood all creation of <span>ה׳</span> with the exception of madness, for which he saw no purpose. <span>ה׳</span> then responded that He will demonstrate to him the value of madness and that Dovid will need it.</i>12<i class=“footnote”>I.e., he wrote in a normal handwriting, irrational statements.</i> <b>He scribbled.</b> He wrote.13<i class=“footnote”>He wrote, ‘Ochish the King of Gas owes me one hundred thousand gold coins and his wife owes me fifty.’</i> <b>His saliva.</b> His saliva; anything which drips is called '<span>ריר</span>' as in, 'in saliva [<span>בְּרִיר</span>] of health',14<i class=“footnote”>Iyov 6:6.</i> and as in, '[whether] his flesh run [<span>דָר</span>]'.15<i class=“footnote”>Vayikra 15:3.</i></html>
<html><b>Should such [a person] come into my house.</b> This is in the form of a question; it is [i.e., the '<span>ה</span>'] therefore punctuated by a <span>חֲטַף פַּתָּח</span> and [the <span>ז</span>] is not punctuated by a <span>דָגֵּשׁ</span>.</html>