1 Samuel 21:7

Contextual Overview

¹David went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob. Ahimelech was afraid to meet David, so he said to him, “Why are you alone and no one is with you?” ¹ Then came David to Nov to Achimelekh the Kohen: and Achimelekh came to meet David trembling, and said to him, Why are you alone, and no man with you? 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? ¹ Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and he said to him, "Why are you alone and there are no men with you?" ¹ Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" ¹ David went to Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech shook with fear when he saw David, and he asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?" ¹ David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?" ¹Then David went to Nob to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling [in fear] to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" ¹ Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest; and Ahimelech came trembling to meet David and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" ¹ Then came Dauid to Nob, to Ahimelech the Priest, and Ahimelech was astonied at the meeting of Dauid, and saide vnto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

detained: Jeremiah 7:9-11, Ezekiel 33:31, Amos 8:5, Matthew 15:8, Acts 21:26, Acts 21:27

Doeg: 1 Samuel 22:9, Psalms 52:1, *title

herdmen: 1 Samuel 11:5, Genesis 13:7, Genesis 13:8, Genesis 26:20, 1 Chronicles 27:29, 2 Chronicles 26:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 47:6 - rulers 1 Samuel 13:12 - I forced Galatians 1:10 - persuade

Cross-References

Genesis 21:11
The thing was very grievous in Avraham's sight on account of his son.

Genesis 21:11
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

Genesis 21:11
And the matter displeased Abraham very much on account of his son.

Genesis 21:11
This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son.

Genesis 21:11
Sarah's demand displeased Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son.

Genesis 21:11
The situation distressed Abraham greatly because of his son [Ishmael].

Genesis 21:11
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael.

Genesis 21:11
And this thing was very grieuous in Abrahams sight, because of his sonne.

Genesis 21:11
And the matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son.

Genesis 21:11
Abraham was worried about Ishmael.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul [was] there that day,.... When David came to Nob, and asked bread of the priest, and had it, which this man was an eyewitness of, 1 Samuel 22:9;

detained before the Lord; either because it was sabbath day, and so he might not travel, at least no more than two thousand cubits; or by some vow of his, which he was obliged to stay and perform; or on account of some impurity he had contracted, which he came to be cleansed from; or this detention was voluntary, in order to offer sacrifice to the Lord, or pray unto him, or to study the law of God in the tabernacle, pretending to be a very religious man:

and his name [was] Doeg, an Edomite, being by birth an Idumean, but a proselyte to the Jewish religion; or he was of the seed of Israel, but because he had dwelt in Edom, he was called an Edomite, as Kimchi thinks; just as Uriah is called for a like reason the Hittite:

the chiefest of the herdmen that [belonged] to Saul; Saul had his herds and men to look after them, and this man was set over them all, to see that they faithfully discharged their trust. The same officer the Romans called the praefect, or master of the cattle k; 1 Samuel 22:9- :, and 1 Samuel 22:9- :; though this man was not only over the king's cattle, but over those that kept them; and was in the same office as Phorbas was, under Laius king of Thebes l, and Melanthius in Homer m, and Faustulus to Amulius n: but Abarbinel is of opinion that this is to be understood not of the keepers of herds and flocks, but of the shepherds or rulers of the people; and that this man was set over all the other magistrates and rulers of the people, hence said to be "set over the servants of Saul", 1 Samuel 22:9; and so Jarchi calls him "Ab Beth Din", or father of the sanhedrim, or great court of judicature; who was detained in the tabernacle to learn the law there, that he might be the better qualified for his office; but Kimchi interprets it as we do, the chief of the keepers of the herd, and both the Septuagint and Josephus o say that he fed the king's mules.

k Vid. Pignorium de servis, p. 539. l Senecae Oedipus, Act. 4. v. 815, 816, 839. m Odyss. 20. ver. 21. n Aurel. Victor. orig. Gent. Roman. o Antiqu. l. 6. c. 12. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Detained before the Lord - Either to fulfill a vow Acts 21:23-27, or on account of uncleanness, or under the law of lepers Leviticus 13:4, Leviticus 13:11, Leviticus 13:21, or as a proselyte. It is not impossible that Doeg may have been in custody or in sanctuary for some crime.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 21:7. Detained before the Lord — Probably fulfilling some vow to the Lord, and therefore for a time resident at the tabernacle.

And his name was Doeg — From 1 Samuel 22:9 we learn that this man betrayed David's secret to Saul, which caused him to destroy the city, and slay eighty-five priests. We learn from its title that the Psalms 52:1 was made on this occasion; but titles are not to be implicitly trusted.