Who was the high priest when David ate the holy bread?

[tonychanyt]

David ran away from King Saul in 1 Samuel 21

1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

David and his men were hungry and asked Ahimelech for bread. Ahimelech ran out of ordinary bread.

6a So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence

When Saul found out, he killed the priests at Nob. 1 Samuel 22:

20But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22And 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. 23Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

In the NT, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in Mark 2:

25b “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest,

But the OT recorded Ahimelech as the one who gave David the bread.

and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

Who was the high priest when David ate the holy bread? How do we reconcile these passages?

One possibility is this: At the time, Ahimelech was old/weak and his son Abiathar was assisting him so much that Jesus saw Abiathar functionally as the high priest.

 

[HTacianas]

David ran away from King Saul in 1 Samuel 21


David and his men were hungry and asked Ahimelech for bread. Ahimelech ran out of ordinary bread.


When Saul found out, he killed the priests at Nob. 1 Samuel 22:


In the NT, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in Mark 2:


But the OT recorded Ahimelech as the one who gave David the bread.


Who was the high priest when David ate the holy bread? How do we reconcile these passages?

One possibility is this: At the time, Ahimelech was old/weak and his son Abiathar was assisting him so much that Jesus saw Abiathar functionally as the high priest.

“Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”

The rest are embellishments by novice scribes.

 

[tonychanyt]

The rest are embellishments by novice scribes.

I am having trouble understanding your point. Can you be more precise?

 

[HTacianas]

I am having trouble understanding your point. Can you be more precise?

You asked how we reconcile those passages. I showed you. The original of Mark 2:25 did not mention who was high priest. Neither did it mention anyone being with David. David was actually alone. Some scribe or copyist at some point who knew a bit about the old testament embellished the wording of Mar 2 to make it sound grander or more authoritative. That's how the mistakes crept into the new testament. Matthew 23:35 and Matthew 12:40 are similar.

 

[tonychanyt]

You asked how we reconcile those passages. I showed you. The original of Mark 2:25 did not mention who was high priest. Neither did it mention anyone being with David. David was actually alone. Some scribe or copyist at some point who knew a bit about the old testament embellished the wording of Mar 2 to make it sound grander or more authoritative. That's how the mistakes crept into the new testament. Matthew 23:35 and Matthew 12:40 are similar.

Sorry that I am slow. I am still having trouble making sense of what you have written.

This is how to do referencing in a scholarly manner:

1. Display and indent the quoted text.
2. Selectively bold the relevant keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole paragraph.

I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.

 

[Valletta]

David ran away from King Saul in 1 Samuel 21


David and his men were hungry and asked Ahimelech for bread. Ahimelech ran out of ordinary bread.


When Saul found out, he killed the priests at Nob. 1 Samuel 22:


In the NT, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in Mark 2:


But the OT recorded Ahimelech as the one who gave David the bread.


Who was the high priest when David ate the holy bread? How do we reconcile these passages?

One possibility is this: At the time, Ahimelech was old/weak and his son Abiathar was assisting him so much that Jesus saw Abiathar functionally as the high priest.

David was himself a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. The Bible does not come out and specifically state that, but you should see if you examine 1 Chronicles 15–16.

 

[tonychanyt]

David was himself a high priest in the order of Melchizedek. The Bible does not come out and specifically state that, but you should see if you examine 1 Chronicles 15–16.

Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing in a scholarly manner:

1. Display and indent the quoted text.
2. Selectively bold the relevant keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole paragraph.

I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.

 

[Valletta]

Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing in a scholarly manner:

1. Display and indent the quoted text.
2. Selectively bold the relevant keywords that are important to your point. There is no need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole paragraph.

I do this for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee it will sharpen your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.

Thank you. I was always a math guy.

 

[tonychanyt]

Thank you. I was always a math guy.

Great. Check out A Disciplined Probabilistic Approach to Biblical Hermeneutics

 

[Valletta]

Great. Check out A Disciplined Probabilistic Approach to Biblical Hermeneutics

Thank you again.