Bible Encyclopedia: Ahimelech

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

AHIMELECH

a-him'-e-lek ('achimelekh, "brother of a king," or, "my brother is king," or, "king is brother"):

(1) The father of David's high priest Abiathar: son of Ahitub, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli (1 Samuel 21:1, 2, 8; 1 Samuel 22:9-20; 23:06; 30:7). Ahijah the son of Ahitub (1 Samuel 14:3, 18) was either the same person under another name, or was Ahimelech's father or brother. See AHIJAH, 3. Ahimelech is an interesting person, especially because he stands for whatever information we have concerning the priestly office in Israel during the period between Eli and David. Whether the Deuteronomic law for a central sanctuary originated with Moses or not, its provisions were very imperfectly carried out during the times of the Judges. This was particularly the case after the capture of the ark by the Philistines, and the deaths of Eli and his sons. From that time to the middle of the reign of David the ark was in the custody of the men of Kiriath-jearim "in the hill," or "in Gibeah" (1 Samuel 7:1 2 Samuel 6:2, 3).

As a general proposition Israel "sought not unto it" (1 Chronicles 13:3), though there is nothing to forbid the idea that it may, on occasion, have been brought out from its seclusion (1 Samuel 14:18). Before and after the accession of Saul some of the functions of the national sanctuary were transacted, of course very incompletely, at Gilgal (1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Samuel 11:14, 15; 13:07; 15:12, 21, 33). Whether there was a priesthood, with Ahitub the grandson of Eli as high priest, is a matter on which we have no information; but we may remind ourselves that the common assumption that such men as Samuel and Saul performed priestly offices is nothing but an assumption. After Saul has been king for a good many years we find Ahijah in his retinue, acting as priest and wearing priestly vestments. A few years later Ahimelech is at the head of the very considerable priestly establishment at Nob. The scale on which it existed is indicated by the fact that 85 robed priests perished in the massacre (1 Samuel 22:18).

They had families residing at Nob (1 Samuel 22:19). They were thought of as priests of Yahweh, and were held in reverence (1 Samuel 22:17). It was a hereditary priesthood (1 Samuel 22:11, 15). Men deposited votive offerings there, the sword of Goliath, for example (1 Samuel 21:9). There seems to have been some kind of police authority, whereby a person might be "detained" (1 Samuel 21:7). It was customary to inquire of Yahweh there (1 Samuel 22:10, 15). A distraction was made between the common and the holy (1 Samuel 21:4-6). The custom of the shewbread was maintained (1 Samuel 21:6). In fine, Jesus is critically correct in calling the place "the house of God" (Mark 2:26). The account does not say that the ark was there, or that the burnt-offering of the morning and evening was offered, or that the great festivals were held. The priestly head of the establishment at Nob is represented to have been the man who had the right to the office through his descent from Aaron. It is gratuitous to assume that there were other similar sanctuaries in Israel, though the proposition that there were none might be, like other negative propositions, hard to establish by positive proof.

(2) A son of Abiathar (2 Samuel 8:17 1 Chronicles 18:16; 1 Chronicles 24:6), and grandson of the above. In a list of the heads of departments under David, a list belonging later than the middle of David's 40 years, and in which David's sons appear, this Ahimelech, the son of David's friend, is mentioned as sharing with Zadok a high position in the priesthood. In this capacity, later, he shared with David and Zadok in the apportionment of the priests into 24 ancestral classes, 16 of the house of Eleazar, and 8 of the house of Ithamar (1 Chronicles 24). In this account Ahimelech is mentioned three times, and with some detail. It is alleged as a difficulty that Abiathar was then living, and was high priest along with Zadok (1 Chronicles 15:11 2 Samuel 15:29; 2 Samuel 19:11; 2 Samuel 20:25 1 Kings 2:27, 35; 1 Kings 4:4, etc.). But surely there is no improbability in the affirmation that Abiathar had a son named Ahimelech, or that this son performed prominent priestly functions in his father's lifetime.

Many regard "Ahimelech the son of Abiathar" (Matthew gives Ahimelech) as an inadvertent transposition for "Abiathar the son of Ahimelech." This is rather plausible in the passage in 2 Samuel 8 and the duplicate of it in 1 Chronicles 18:16, but it has no application in the detailed account in 1 Chronicles 24. One must accept Ahimelech the son of Abiathar as historical unless, indeed, one regards the testimony of Ch to a fact as evidence in disproof of that fact. See ABIATHAR.

(3) A Hittite, a companion and friend of David, when he was hiding from Saul in the wilderness (1 Samuel 26:6).

Willis J. Beecher

Strong's Hebrew

288. Achimelek -- "brother of a king," an Israelite name, also a ...
... "brother of a king," an Israelite name, also a Hittite name. Transliteration: Achimelek
Phonetic Spelling: (akh-ee-meh'-lek) Short Definition: Ahimelech. ...
/hebrew/288.htm - 6k

Library

How David Fled to Ahimelech and Afterwards to the Kings of the ...
... CHAPTER 12. How David Fled To Ahimelech And Afterwards To The Kings Of The Philistines
And Of The Moabites, And How Saul Slew Ahimelech And His Family. ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 12 how david fled.htm

The Cost of a Lie
... Then David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest who came trembling to meet David
and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" David answered ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/the cost of a lie.htm

Love and Remorse
... son of Xer, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people
pitched round about him.6. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/love and remorse.htm

Jesus Defends Disciples who Pluck Grain on the Sabbath.
... [Jesus here refers to the incident recorded at I. Sam. xxi.1-6. Ahimelech and Abiathar
have been confused by transcribers. It should read Ahimelech. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxxviii jesus defends disciples who.htm

A Soldier who Spared his Enemy
... Now when Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to David in Keilah, he came down
with the priestly robe used in consulting Jehovah in his hand. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/a soldier who spared his.htm

Esther in Danger of Her Life Followed the Grace of virtue...
... friendly to him. For friendship must ever be combined with virtue, as
the examples of Jonathan and Ahimelech show. 123. Why did ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xxi esther in danger.htm

The Antiquities of the Jews
... CHAPTER 12. How David Fled To Ahimelech And Afterwards To The Kings Of The Philistines
And Of The Moabites, And How Saul Slew Ahimelech And His Family. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/josephus/the antiquities of the jews/

Psalm 52
... To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and
told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. 8,6,8,6. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/scottish psalter and paraphrases/psalm 52.htm

Book 9 Footnotes
... Accordingly, when Saul commanded his guards to slay Ahimelech and the priests at
Nob, they knew it to be an unlawful command, and would not obey it, 1 Samuel 22 ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/book 9 footnotes.htm

Having Adduced Examples of Certain Frauds Found in a Few Passages ...
... Thus that man drunk with the wine of wickedness brought death on the high priest
Ahimelech, [676] through a terrible act of treachery, because he had received ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xi having adduced examples.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Ahimelech

my brother is a king; my king's brother

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ahimelech

(brother of the king).

Son of Ahitub, (1 Samuel 22:11,12) and high priest of Nob in the days of Saul. He gave David the shew bread to eat, and the sword of Goliath; and for so doing was put to death, with his whole house, by Saul's order. Abiathar alone escaped. [ABIATHAR] (B.C. 1085-1060.)
A Hittite. (1 Samuel 26:6)

ATS Bible Dictionary

Ahimelech

1. Son of Ahitub, and brother of Ahiah, whom he succeeded in the high priesthood. Some think, however, that both names belong to the same person. During his priesthood the tabernacle was at Nob, where Ahimelech dwelt, with many priests. Here he received David when fleeing from Saul, and gave him the showbread and Goliath's sword. This act, as reported by Doeg the Edomite, Saul viewed as treasonous; and by the hand of this idolatrous and malignant foreigner, he put Ahimelech and eighty-five other priests of Jehovah to death, 1 Samuel 22:1-23-a crime sufficient of itself to forfeit the throne and the favor of God.

2. Also called Abimelech, 1 Chronicles 18:16, probably the same as Abiathar, which see, 1 Chronicles 24:3,6,31.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Brother of the king, the son of Ahitub and father of Abiathar (1 Samuel 22:20-23). He descended from Eli in the line of Ithamar. In 1 Chronicles 18:16 he is called Abimelec, and is probably the same as Ahiah (1 Samuel 14:3, 18). He was the twelfth high priest, and officiated at Nob, where he was visited by David (to whom and his companions he gave five loaves of the showbread) when he fled from Saul (1 Samuel 21:1-9). He was summoned into Saul's presence, and accused, on the information of Doeg the Edomite, of disloyalty because of his kindness to David; whereupon the king commanded that he, with the other priests who stood beside him (86 in all), should be put to death. This sentence was carried into execution by Doeg in the most cruel manner (1 Samuel 22:9-23). Possibly Abiathar had a son also called Ahimelech, or the two names, as some think, may have been accidentally transposed in 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 18:16, marg.; 24:3, 6, 31.

Thesaurus

Ahimelech (17 Occurrences)
... Possibly Abiathar had a son also called Ahimelech, or the two names, as some think,
may have been accidentally transposed in 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 18:16 ...
/a/ahimelech.htm - 20k

Ahimelech's (1 Occurrence)
...Ahimelech's (1 Occurrence). 1 Samuel 30:7 And David said to Abiathar the priest,
Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. ...
/a/ahimelech's.htm - 6k

Ahim'elech (16 Occurrences)
Ahim'elech. Ahimelech, Ahim'elech. Ahimelech's . Multi-Version Concordance
Ahim'elech (16 Occurrences). 1 Samuel 21:1 Then came ...
/a/ahim'elech.htm - 11k

Nob (6 Occurrences)
... city of the priests, first mentioned in the history of David's wanderings (1 Samuel
21:1). Here the tabernacle was then standing, and here Ahimelech the priest ...
/n/nob.htm - 12k

Ahijah (23 Occurrences)
... (3.) Son of Ahitub (1 Samuel 14:3, 18), Ichabod's brother; the same probably as
Ahimelech, who was high priest at Nob in the reign of Saul (1 Samuel 22:11). ...
/a/ahijah.htm - 21k

Ahitub (16 Occurrences)
... (2.) The father of Zadok, who was made high priest by Saul after the extermination
of the family of Ahimelech (1 Chronicles 6:7, 8; 2 Samuel 8:17). Int. ...
/a/ahitub.htm - 14k

Abi'athar (28 Occurrences)
... RSV). 1 Samuel 22:20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub,
named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. (See RSV). ...
/a/abi'athar.htm - 14k

Ahi'tub (15 Occurrences)
... 1 Samuel 22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul,
and said: 'I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of ...
/a/ahi'tub.htm - 9k

Doeg (6 Occurrences)
... Fearful, an Edomite, the chief overseer of Saul's flocks (1 Samuel 21:7). At the
command of Saul he slew the high priest Ahimelech (qv) at Nob, together with ...
/d/doeg.htm - 9k

Abimelech (63 Occurrences)
... 18:16). In the parallel passage, 2 Samuel 8:17, we have the name Ahimelech,
and Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. This most authorities ...
/a/abimelech.htm - 36k

Bible Concordance

Ahimelech (17 Occurrences)

1 Samuel 21:1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no man with you?"
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 21:2 David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me,'Let no man know anything of the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you; and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place.'
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 21:8 David said to Ahimelech, "Isn't there here under your hand spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 22:9 Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 22:11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. The First Book of Kings
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 22:14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, "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 honorable in your house?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 22:16 The king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father's house."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 22:20 One of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 23:6 It happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 26:6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?" Abishai said, "I will go down with you."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 30:7 David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Please bring me here the ephod." Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Samuel 8:17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Seraiah was scribe;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 18:16 And Zadok, the son of Ahitub; and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was the scribe;
(BBE NIV)

1 Chronicles 24:3 David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 24:6 Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers' house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 24:31 These likewise cast lots even as their brothers the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites; the fathers' houses of the chief even as those of his younger brother.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Psalms 52:1 <To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul saying, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.> Why do you take pride in wrongdoing, lifting yourself up against the upright man all the day?
(BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Ahimelech

Ahimelech: A Hittite, and Friend of David

Ahimelech: Also Called Ahia--A High Priest, During the Reign of David: Killed by the Command of Saul

Ahimelech: Gives Shewbread and the Sword of Goliath to David

Related Terms

Ahimelech's (1 Occurrence)

Ahim'elech (16 Occurrences)

Nob (6 Occurrences)

Ahijah (23 Occurrences)

Ahitub (16 Occurrences)

Abi'athar (28 Occurrences)