1 Samuel 23:6

And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Abiathar	אֶבְיָתָ֧ר 'ev.ya.Tar	H54	Ebjathar · proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ahimelech	אֲחִימֶ֛לֶךְ 'a.chi.Me.lekh	H288	Achimelek · proper noun, a man's name
fled	בִּ֠בְרֹחַ Biv.ro.ach	H1272	to bolt · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
David	דָּוִ֖ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
Keilah	קְעִילָ֑ה ke.'i.Lah	H7084	Keilah · proper noun, a place name
down	יָרַ֥ד ya.Rad	H3381	to descend (literally · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ephod	אֵפ֖וֹד 'e.Fod	H646	a girdle · noun, common masculine singular absolute
hand	בְּיָדֽוֹ be.ya.Do	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
Exodus 28:30-31 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before th…
1 Samuel 14:3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I-chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And th…
1 Samuel 14:18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
1 Samuel 14:36-37 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. An…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 23:1-6

Now we find why the prophet Gad (by divine direction, no doubt) ordered David to go into the land of Judah, Sa1 22:5. It was that, since Saul neglected the public safety, he might take care of it, notwithstanding the ill treatment that was given him; for he must render good for evil, and therein be a type of him who not only ventured his life, but laid down his life, for those that were his enemies. I. Tidings are brought to David, as to the patron and protector of his country's liberties, that the Philistines had made a descent upon the city of Keilah and plundered the country thereabouts, Sa1 23:1. Probably it was the departure both of God and David from Saul that encouraged the Philistine…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 23:6

an ephod--in which was the Urim and Thummim (Exo 28:30). It had, probably, been committed to his care, while Ahimelech and the other priests repaired to Gibeah, in obedience to the summons of Saul.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 23:6

Came down with an ephod - I think this verse should come immediately after Sa1 23:1 (note).

John Gill on 1 Samuel 23:6

And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah,.... Either when he was there, or near the place: that he came down with an ephod in his hand; not with a linen ephod on his back, which the priests in common wore, but the ephod with the Urim and Thummim in his hand, which was peculiar to the high priest; and his father the high priest being dead, it belonged to him, and therefore he took care to bring it with him; though the words may be literally rendered, "the ephod came down in his hand" (k), as it were by chance, and not with design; and so some Jewish interpreters (l) understand it, that in his fright and flight, among his garments and other things he too…

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The Church Fathers

Moreover, at the time when Abiathar fled, etc. The ephod, as we mentioned above, is a priestly garment, with four most distinguished colors interwoven with gold, and two precious stones on each shoulder, and the sacred names of the twelve patriarchs, which most fittingly corresponds to signify the senses of sublime men. For those fleeing to more and more proclaim the glory of Christ, who escaped the hands of many torturers and persecutors for Him, bear within themselves senses and hearts elevated with the four excellent virtues shining with charity, tempered with precious discretion in adversities and prosperities, and taught and armed by the word and example of the preceding Fathers. And it is well said that the priest, fleeing to David with the ephod, is remembered not to have ascended but descended, according to that which is written: "The greater you are, humble yourself in all things" (Ecclesiasticus 3). But truly, because with the growing devotion of faith, the hatred of the perfidious increases, evidently by the judgment of heaven, so that both the trial examining the whole in faith makes them clearer, and the same also accuses the dissemblers of their levity, it is rightly added:
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abiathar — Father of abundance, or my father excels, the son of Ahimelech the high priest. He was the tenth high priest, and the fourth in descent from Eli. When his father was slain with the priests of Nob, he…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
High priest — Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to this office (Ex. 29:7; 30:23; Lev. 8:12). He wore a peculiar dress, which on his death passed to his successor in office (Ex. 29:29, 30). Besides…
Keilah — Citadel, a city in the lowlands of Judah (Josh. 15:44). David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines (1 Sam. 23:1-8); but the inhabitants proving unfaithful to him, in that they sought to…
Teraphim — Givers of prosperity, idols in human shape, large or small, analogous to the images of ancestors which were revered by the Romans. In order to deceive the guards sent by Saul to seize David, Michal…
Ephod, The · For the high priest: Worn or held by him when consulted — For the high priest: Worn or held by him when consulted
Ingratitude · .Men of Keilah to David — .Men of Keilah to David
Keilah · .David rescues — .David rescues

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 23:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 23:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 23:6

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 23:6

John Gill on 1 Samuel 23:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 23:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 23:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 23:6

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 23:6

John Gill on 1 Samuel 23:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 23:1-14

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 23:6