Saul Reveals His True Colours (1 Samuel 22:6-19).
While David was going through his period of refining, Saul was displaying his true colours. Unlike David he did not learn from his tribulations. He rather used them as a base from which to launch further evils.
It appears that he had had his spies out constantly for David, for at length he learned that David ‘was discovered', that his whereabouts were known, and that he had accumulated a good number of followers. This caused him to panic and he immediately set his mind to establishing his own position, first by promising rewards to those who followed him, and secondly by 1salessly destroying all whom he saw as opposing him, in this case the priests of Nob. The state of his mind comes out in that he even accused Jonathan his own son of plotting against him and of stirring up David to cause him trouble He seems to have thrown off all restraint. The truth was that the thought of David was eating into his soul, sadly at this time to the detriment of the innocent priests of Nob. He was a different man from the young man whom Samuel had anointed to be king so many years before, and in the end it had all come about through one or two major acts of disobedience against YHWH.
a And Saul heard that David was discovered (‘was known'), and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him (1 Samuel 22:6).
b And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites. Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none who discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” (1 Samuel 22:7-8).
c Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of YHWH for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine” (1 Samuel 22:9-10).
d Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob, and all of them came to the king (1 Samuel 22:11).
e And Saul said, “Hear now, you son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord” (1 Samuel 22:12).
f And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” (1 Samuel 22:13).
g Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is given audience with you, and is honourable in your house?” (1 Samuel 22:14).
f “Have I today commenced enquiring of God for him? Be it far from me. Do not let the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father, for your servant knows nothing of all this, less or more” (1 Samuel 22:15).
e And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father's house” (1 Samuel 22:16).
d And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn, and slay the priests of YHWH, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall on the priests of YHWH (1 Samuel 22:17).
c And the king said to Doeg, “Turn you, and fall on the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell on the priests, and he slew on that day eighty five persons who wore a linen ephod. And he smote Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen and asses and sheep, with the edge of the sword (1 Samuel 22:18-19).
b And one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had slain YHWH's priests (1 Samuel 22:20-21).
a And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house. Stay with me, and do not be afraid. For he who seeks my life seeks your life. For with me you will be under protection” (1 Samuel 22:22-23).
Note that in ‘a' Saul was consulting in counsel with his chief courtiers as a result of his discovery about the nefarious activities of the evil David, theoretically judging Israel righteously, whilst in the parallel the same ‘evil David' is talking to the only surviving Priest of YHWH and assuring him of his protection from the illegalities of Saul. (We may seriously ask, who was acting as YHWH's legitimate ‘anointed one' in this case?). In ‘b' Saul is buttering up the Benjaminites and bribing them to remain faithful while charging them with failure to inform him of treasonable activities, while in the parallel David is being informed by an orphaned Abiathar of what this same Saul has done to YHWH's priests, which was worse than treasonable, it was sacrilegious. In ‘c' Doeg the Edomite informs on what he sees as Ahimelech's treachery, and in the parallel he slays Ahimelech and all his relatives for that assumed treachery. In ‘d' Saul calls for all the priests of Nob, and in the parallel orders their slaughter. In ‘e' Saul call on ‘the son of Ahitub' to speak, and in the parallel he tells him that he and all Ahitub's house must die. In ‘f' Saul accuses Ahimelech of enquiring of YHWH on behalf of David, and in the parallel Ahimelech points out that he had not just started doing so, but had been doing it for some time with the knowledge of the king. Centrally in ‘g' the worthiness of David is emphasised and underlined.
‘ And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.'
The passage begins with Saul calling his advisory council together because his spies have discovered the whereabouts of David, and had also brought the news that he has gathered a host around him. It was common in Israel for such activities as Saul's to take place in the opening air under the shade of trees (compare Judges 4:5). In this case it was under ‘the tamarisk tree on the height' where it would be cool. He was sat there carrying his ceremonial spear (all councillors beware), whilst all the councillors were standing around. It was a formal situation, seemingly of the utmost legality. But the passage will end up with an orphaned victim who was holy to God seeking protection from this legality with David, in the light of the slaughter of all YHWH's holy High Priests as a result of a spurious verdict of this same court.
‘ And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites. Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me, and there is none who discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you who is sorry for me, or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” '
Saul then addresses his ‘servants' (his courtiers and commanders). The fact that he calls them ‘Benjaminites' demonstrates how parochial Saul's government has become. He now ruled through his favourites, of whom his son at this moment was clearly not one, and favoured his own tribe. And he points out to them that under the son of Jesse they would lose their special entitlements and honours, for he was not a Benjaminite. It would thus pay them to keep in with him. They were to be good politicians.
But he then demonstrates his paranoia by suggesting that his son Jonathan is in league with David against him and is planning his downfall, and indeed that David is in some way ‘lying in wait' for him. Both were untrue. But he was so obsessed with the idea that David was seeking to take over his kingdom that he could not separate fact from fiction.
Note the threefold description, ‘none have disclosed that his son is in league with David', ‘none of them is sorry for him', ‘none have disclosed what his own son has done in stirring up David against him'. In other words everyone is completely holding back on him, (and that about things that they could not possibly have known anything about).
So everything is wrong about his statement which is simply a revelation of a paranoid ruling badly and unjustly, fulfilling only too literally what Samuel had warned against in 1 Samuel 8:10-18.
‘ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of YHWH for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” '
The only one who replied to his unjust accusations was Doeg the Edomite. All the rest remained quiet with their own thoughts. But Doeg wanted to curry favour with Saul. Indeed we discover what kind of man he was in 1 Samuel 22:18-19. And he informed on Ahimelech. He did not actually lie. But he cannot be acquitted of deliberately feeding Saul's unjustified suspicions without regard for the consequences, and he made no attempt to indicate the real truth concerning what he had seen. He presents no prettier picture than Saul.
Doeg is described as ‘standing by the servants of Saul'. In other words he was a hanger on. He was presumably there because he was Saul's chief shepherd, which would be quite an important post, whilst not making him a member of the inner council composed of court officials and field commanders. He possibly felt both this and his inferiority as an Edomite, and he may even have resented the way in which he had been treated at the Sanctuary as a proselyte. He thus appears happy to vent his spleen by criticising the priests in order to demonstrate that they were not as good as they claimed. It is, however, doubtful if he realised how far Saul would go. But we should note in this regard that when he found out he gladly and heartlessly took advantage of it. So he was an unpleasant character altogether.
‘ Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob, and all of them came to the king.'
Suitably stirred in his suspicions Saul sent for Ahimelech, and along with them ‘all his house'. This last fact already demonstrates that Saul had evil intentions towards them. He was looking for scapegoats. And that in spite of the fact that almost everyone would have recognised that Ahimelech was probably guiltless. Why should he have suspected the king's son-in-law? It is doubtful if the majority of the priests wanted to come. Saul's unaccountable moods were well known. But they had no choice but to obey a royal command, and no doubt came fearfully.
‘ And Saul said, “Hear now, you son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” '
Saul addresses him as ‘you son of Ahitub'. That was not a very promising beginning. To speak of a man in that way was usually seen as insulting, as though he was not worthy of his own name being given. But Ahimelech replied respectfully, and openly. His conscience was clear.
‘ And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread, and a sword, and have enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” '
As with the case of Jonathan in verse 8 Saul links Ahimelech with ‘the son of Jesse' (another insulting expression) as though the two had been conniving together. But the things included in the charge were innocent enough. He had simply provided David with bread and a sword and guidance from YHWH because he had thought that he was there in the service of Saul. These were innocent enough things if provided to someone about whom he had no suspicion.
‘ Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is taken into your council, and is honourable in your house?”
Indeed, Ahimelech made his position clear. Why should he have been suspicious of a man who had served Saul faithfully, who was his son-in-law, who had constant audience with Saul, and had an honoured position in his house? The description is not only intended by the writer to be a defence, but also to be a true description of the character of David. He wanted all to recognise that this really was what David was like, an honourable and trustworthy courtier and commander.
“ Have I today begun to enquire of God for him? Be it far from me. Do not let the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father, for your servant knows nothing of all this, less or more.”
He pointed out further that his enquiring of YHWH on his behalf was not a new thing as though he had not done it before. He had often enquired of YHWH for him, and no one had ever suggested that it was wrong. Thus it was far from the truth to suggest that by it he was in any way conspiring with him. And thus he asked the king not to read anything into it that was not true, both for his own sake, and for the sake of his father's house whom he recognised to be in some danger, otherwise they would not have been there. The propensity of kings for widespread slaughter when they suspected treason was far too well known to be ignored. And he ended up by taking any guilt on himself, while assuring Saul that it would not be justified. The truth was, he urged, that he knew nothing of any conspiracy.