Bible Strands
1 Samuel 21:7
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David arrives at Nob seeking provisions from priest Ahimelech. Doeg, a servant of Saul, is present at the sanctuary that day.
The words — נֶעְצָר (ne'etzar) translates literally as "detained" or "held in attendance," indicating Doeg's official presence before the LORD.
The thread — The text notes this incidental appearance, which directly precedes Doeg's report to Saul in 1 Samuel 22:9 and becomes the historical anchor for Psalm 52:1.
Why it lands — The passage records a specific individual's location without commentary, establishing the factual chain of events that triggers David's flight and Saul's pursuit.
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
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.
- Psalms 52:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of David. After Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.” Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
- 1 Chronicles 27:29 Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.
- Genesis 13:7 And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
- Genesis 26:20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.
- 1 Samuel 11:5 Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
- 1 Samuel 14:47 After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
- Jeremiah 7:9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.