And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
Hallowed bread, х lechem (H3899) qodesh (H6944)] - consecrated bread. There might be plenty of bread in his house, but it was not at hand, and there was no time to wait for it. The "hallowed bread" was the old showbread (Matthew 6:3-5; Mark 2:25-26; Luke 6:3-4) which had been removed the previous day, and which was reserved for the use of the priests alone (Leviticus 24:9). Before entertaining the idea that this bread could be lawfully given to David and his men, the high priest seems to have consulted the oracle (1 Samuel 22:10) as to the course to be followed in this emergency. A dispensation to use the hallowed bread was specially granted by God himself.