Bible Strands

1 Samuel 21:6

So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — David requests provisions from Ahimelech the priest while fleeing from Saul. Ahimelech responds by giving him the consecrated Bread of the Presence because no ordinary bread was available at the sanctuary.

The words — קֹדֶ֑שׁ (Ko.desh) translates literally to "a holy thing," designating the consecrated Bread of the Presence. לֶ֗חֶם (Le.chem) means "bread," yet here specifies the ritual loaves removed from the sanctuary table.

The thread — The event is cited by Jesus in Matthew 12:3 and Luke 6:3 to address disputes over Sabbath regulations. Leviticus 24:5 provides the original regulations for the twelve loaves and their replacement.

Why it lands — The text records a priest providing consecrated bread due to necessity, establishing a precedent for emergency exceptions to ritual law. Readers must account for how divine provisions operate outside standard protocols when survival is at stake.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּתֶּן־va/i.yi.ten-and/ he gaveל֥וֹl/oto <the>/ himהַכֹּהֵ֖ןha./ko.Henthe/ priestקֹ֑דֶשׁKo.desha holy thingכִּי֩kiforלֹא־lo'-notהָ֨יָהHa.yahit wasשָׁ֜םshamthereלֶ֗חֶםLe.chembreadכִּֽי־ki-thatאִם־'im-exceptלֶ֤חֶםLe.chem[the] bread ofהַפָּנִים֙ha./pa.Nimthe/ presenceהַמּֽוּסָרִים֙ha./mu.sa.Rimwhich/ had been removedמִלִּפְנֵ֣יmi./li/f.Neifrom/ to/ beforeיְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehלָשׂוּם֙la./Sumto/ putלֶ֣חֶםLe.chembread ofחֹ֔םChomheatבְּי֖וֹםbe./Yomon/ [the] dayהִלָּקְחֽוֹ׃hi.la.ke.Ch/owas taken away/ it

King James Version

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.

Cross-references