how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”
Parallel translations
- WEB How he entered into God’s house when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?”
- KJV 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?
- BSB During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”
- NKJV how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”
- NLT He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus cites David eating the consecrated bread to show that human need can rightly take precedence over ceremonial rule. It matters because it grounds his defense of the disciples in Scripture itself.
Overview
Answering the Pharisees' charge that his disciples broke the Sabbath, Jesus appeals to 1 Samuel 21, where David and his men ate the showbread reserved for priests. The argument shows that the law was never meant to crush genuine need, and that mercy is consistent with God's intent. As David's greater Son, Jesus speaks with an authority that interprets the law's true purpose, pointing forward to the One who fulfills it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 2 Sam 8:17Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, Seraiah was scribe,
- 1 Sam 21:1Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no man with you?”
- Lev 24:5–9“You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenths of an ephah shall be in one cake.
- 1 Chr 24:6Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, the princes, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers’ house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.
- 1 Kgs 2:26–27To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the Lord Yahweh’s ark before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.”
- 1 Sam 22:20–22One of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
- Exod 29:32–33Aaron and his sons shall eat the meat of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Kgs 2:22King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.”
- 2 Sam 15:35Don’t you have Zadok and Abiathar the priests there with you? Therefore whatever you hear out of the king’s house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.
- 2 Sam 15:24Behold, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God; and they set down God’s ark; and Abiathar went up, until all the people finished passing out of the city.
- 1 Kgs 1:7He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest; and they followed Adonijah and helped him.
- 1 Sam 23:9David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”
- 1 Kgs 4:4Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
- 2 Sam 15:29Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried God’s ark to Jerusalem again; and they stayed there.
- 2 Sam 20:25Sheva was scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests,
- 1 Sam 23:6When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.
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Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
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