Bible Strands
1 Samuel 22:18
So the king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests himself. On that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul commands Doeg the Edomite to turn and strike the priests after his own guards refuse to carry out the killing. This occurs immediately after Saul accuses the priests of secretly knowing David's flight and failing to report it.
The words — The Hebrew verbs סֹב (so, "turn round") and פְּגַע (pega, "fall upon/strike") structure the king's command and Doeg's immediate compliance. Doeg personally turns and executes the order himself.
The thread — The linen ephod worn by the slain priests recalls Samuel's youth in 1 Samuel 2:18 and the priestly garments detailed in Exodus 28:40. The violent suppression of religious figures aligns with Paul's later persecution of believers in Acts 26:10.
Why it lands — The text records a direct royal command followed by a subordinate's willing execution of sacred officials. It requires the reader to observe how political paranoia translates into sanctioned violence against those designated for religious service.
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
And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.
Cross-references
- Acts 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them.
- Exodus 28:40 Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor.
- 1 Samuel 2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
- 1 Samuel 2:28 And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.
- 1 Samuel 2:36 And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”
- 1 Samuel 3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.
- 2 Chronicles 24:21 But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD.
- Hosea 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.
- Hosea 7:3 They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.
- Micah 6:16 You have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”